The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-10-31
A LIVELY DAY.
Lots of Fun-Democracy and Ma
hOneiSm.

Monday last closed the COurt-day con
tests for the campaign, and was the live
Hest of them ALL The morning prom
;ed the usual dull routine. The Ma
honeites had the Court House and
B 4rkeley and Lurty as speakers, while
the Democrats were outdoors, and at a
late hour their speakers had not put In
an appearance. Judge Staples did not
appear at all AM Judge Harris did not
arrive from Harrisonburg until Berkeley
had been speaking some time. The Ma
hone;tes seemed to be under full sail
and to the windward. 1t was after the
sun had warmed the damp earth, and
had passed the meridian in its course,
when the Mahoneite ship, guided by
unskilIful hands and boastful captains,
ran against a rock, which proved to be
the Scylla upon which the hopes of the
day were wrecked.
Capt. Lurty, in opening his speech, in
sharp, bitter. and 'tantalizing terms,
charged that John T. Harris dare not
meet him in discussion. Some of Har-
ris' friends told him what was going on
inside the Court House. Harris came in
and an immense number of Democrats
with him, filling every available space
( in the Court House. Harris and his
! friends moved in n steady column to
the stand Lurty's people had cried
when Harris was at the door: Bring
him in; bring him in;a but when
Ir.tx ri
+ to relish it so much. When the two
crowds had well mixed, all the furies
broke loose, and pandemonium reigned
supreme 1t was a scene of widest con-
fusion, and John II. Harris was the only
man on the stage calm enough to try to
enforce der He shook hands with
Lurty, and called on his chairman to
come forward and arrange terms, as he
accepted Lurty's challenge. As he was
the challeged party, Harris proposed
terms. One hour 10 each speaker and
half hour for each to reply. S. Brown
Allen, acting for Lurty, claimed it as
their meeting. and the right to propose
terms: Harris, 40 minutes; Republican,
40 minutes: Harris, 10 minutes Lurty, 10
minutes. Harris countered with the
following: Open with 80 minutes; next,
20: and first man close in 20 minutes.
Take your choice, said Harris, and |
dare YOU to accept During all this time
the widest confusion prevailed; hats
were waived; thoot," bah" and hide
Gus noises prevented anything like bust
ii
Harris said: | make a peace Offering,
and renewed his proposition of so min
utes, 20 minutes, and 20 minutes to close.
Now. said Harris, say yvs or no; take
your choice as to position, and if you do
not accept | shall leave the Court House.
Allen declined and Harris left, and with
him the larger part of the audience on
the lower floor of the Court House
The Mahoneites were anxious for a
discussion. and thought the last propo-
sition a fair one. Col. Allen said after
wards that he would have accepted for
himself The Mahoneite cause did not
rally from this disaster during the day
Lurty's speech after this fell fiat, and his
crowd was leaving. His address to the
coiOred people was exceedingly impru-
dent. and when he said: 'If | had been
slave | would have cut my way to lib
erty,n he passed far beyond the limits of
prudence, and showed a want OF judg-
ment and discretion. unsuited to one as
piring to a high position in the govern
ment of our State.
Knowing our colored people as we do,
and feeling jealous Of their good name,
and love OF just dealings to all classes of
citizens we undertake to say on their
behalf that they do not endorse the ut.
teranee of Mr.. Lurty. They have proven
faithful in the past. and we venture to
stand sponsor for their fidelity in the
future.
Col. S. Brown Allen Deputy United
States Collector. acted as master of GER
emonies in the absence of Hon. w. E.
Craig, United States District Attorney.
Mahoneite County Chairman.
In introducing r. B. Berkeley, Collec-
tor Allen took occasion, as is his wont.
to make little speech. He wanted to
know what was the matter with the Re-
publicans of Augusta. Thought they got
their ideas from the VALLEY VIRGINIAN,
which had been a good Republican paper
for ten years. but was now on the other
side. He had just returned from Rock
bridge. Said the Republicans there stood
shoulder to shoulder; that they would
not read the VALLEY VIRGINIAN. That
they would mob J. A. Frazier, if he
would go among the people. That the
people were for Malone two to one, and
il all the ballots put in the boxes were
fairly counted, Malone would be elected
by 10000. He wanted the Democrats to
hear it if there were any present. The
loud and continued reply to this chal-
lenge sounded as though nearly all pres
ent We're Democrats.
Some things Col. Allen did not say
about Rockbridge: He did not say any
thing about the size of his audiences in
Rockbridge; nor did he repeat what he
said about Malone at Fairfield; nor
what arrangement he made to divide
time with a Roclbridge Republican at
Fairfield
Col. Berkeley is a chaste, ornate, and
attractive speaker; but he is not a poll
tician; he has not touched elbows with
the people. and his speeches have too
much Berkeley in them. Said he was
fighting in the ranks; that the Kickers
were assistant Democrats. Said he had
been invited to conference of Republi-
cans at Richmond few weeks since by
V. ID. Groner; that Groner said he had
kicked, but was tired of it, and did not
intend to kick out entirely. They did,
however, kick out, and as | did not go
down to interfere with my party, asked
to be excused, and retired and dropped
the unclean thing. Said the papers did
not tell what was SO, when they said
was Republican and called Republicans
from outside the State foreigners and
interlopers, and abused or reflected upon
Lamb; that tfie flowers presented by
the LADIES of Staunton We're Dur-
chased by others than the ladies'.
Said there had been war between the
white man and the Red man, and the
white man would make war between the