Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-04-13

My Dear Sir Il send you copy of my
recent letter as to what we should do in our
next convention, and want you to read it
and help me carry out those views. I am
not at all Jealous to have the plan adopted
in the shape I have submitted it, and am
perfectly willing to change it as may be
found best upon conference; but we are
bound to abandon the present plan of Or
ganization, which makes the State Chair
man absolute autocrat and leaves nothing
to the people, or our party is irretrievably
gone.
The only pretence on which the present
plan is justified is that it is necessary in the
southside counties. 1t may be necessary
but it has done no good. for we lose by
tremendous majorities many of those coun-
ties, and while it does no good in the sec
tions for which it was adopted, it hurts us
incidentally in the other sections. Besides
my plan places in the hands of the district
committee, power to secure us good chair
men where those named by the people are
unfit or incompetent. That covers the point.
1t is better the district committee should
have this power than the State Chairman.
The district committeeman are on the
ground, understand the peculiarities of the
surroundings, and being responsible direct
ly to the ne1ghborhood are circumspect in
consulting the wishes of the voters as we'll
as in procuring efficiency. Taking this
power away from the chairman makes him
stronger. 1t takes him out of all the nasty
little local jealousies. The accumulation of
great number of these on his shoulders is
now seriously impairing General Mahone's
popularity.
As to the unit rule, it is out of the ques-
Noho1xy hat hao vi
of, except General Malone and those under
his immediate influence, wants it. To pass
it now, after all that has been said and
done. will split the party all to pieces.
Now on these two points I am right and
General Malone is wrong. You must help
me save our party from them. 1 do not
write as his personal antagonist On the
contrary, you all know that l love General
Malone. I believe that in making this con-
tention am doing him real service by pre-
venting the triumph of his bad Judgment
on these points, and the hopeless division
of our party.
1 have asked for no assistance in making
this issue from that class of malcontents
known as CHECKERS" or from the personal
enemies of General Malone, lest [ be
classed with them. AS true republican,
and as General Mahone's friend, I appeal
to you as true republican and as his
friend to unite with me in stopping him
from injuring the party aud himself by the
course he is pursuing. Let us his friends,
unite and put our foot down Argument
. seems to have no effect with him. Let us
stop him by force of our firm refusal as his
friends to go his way and then he will go
our way.
am in favor of General Malone being
our chairman Nobody else can serve us
half so well. But while General Malone
may know more than any one of us, no
man knows more than all of US; at any
rate he does not know what we want better
than we do ourselves, and 1 want the ab-
solute power of our Chairman curtailed so
that the views of somebody else than him
self may have some weight and that we
may not be forced all the time to go his
way whether we wish to or not 1t is as
much our party as his, and when we do
not want to do particular thing don't let's
do it against our feeling and against our
judgment merely because he wants it. We
have INDUCED General Malone in this way
long enough, through false friendship.
Fed thus by our own folly, the result is
that he has become more and more exact
ing, until now he thinks it disloyalty to
party and to friendship for any one to OPP
pose him. He does not mix with the peo-
pie as we do. He does not know how obi
Gus some of the things he proposes are to
the people. And we have let friendship
make US weak and yielding until General
Malone has injured the party and himself.
Now let us be affectionate and kind with
him, but firm and unyielding in our de-
mands that these things be amended.
Let us demand that he yield some of this
absolute power with which he has wound
himself about. He has accumulated to
himself all the functions of all the Offices
of the party, until he is like kitten in
ball of yarn-spoiling the yarn. yet SO ty-
ing herself up that she cannot walk. Be
firm and kind and true with me, and let
us get the party and General Malone out
of this mess. Let me hear from you.
Yours truly,
JOHN S. WISE.