The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-09-19
THE INTERESTING CONTEST IN VIRGINIA.

IN Jne 6l0CIlOn IN Une L OufUn congress
sional district of Virginia, which occurred
at the same time the Presidential choice
was being made-in November last-Prof
JOHN NJ LANGsTON, a ge'man of color, ran
for the House of Representatives and get
left to the tune of more than one thousand
majority. He was at that time a bitter
anti-MAHONE Republican, bu: now, all at
once, he swings into line and is taking or
going to take the stump in behalf of the
little sawed-off relic of the rebellion. On
general prin ciples there could be no obiec-
ton to this, since man, colored or plain.
has right to worship at any political
shrine he may see fit to; but people will
continue to, as they always have, put this
and that together, and in this par
ticular case they have reached
a conclusion regarding the remarkable, the
unprecedented, the almost breath-t taking
conversion of his soOty nibs, the would-be
Honorable JOHN NJ. LANGsTON from one
thing to another.
The conclusion arrived at is simply this:
That the Republican party have a.gossamer-
like majority in the next national House of
REPRESENTATIVES,, W dL6 uOI OILY
willing, but actually intend to increase, and
the only manner in which this can be done
is by unseating number of Democrats
who were elected and duly installing a
corresponding number of the faithful in
their places. This may not strike the aver
age citizen of Independent proclivities as a
strictly just and altogether fair method
of accomplishing such purpose
using the power of might indis-
criminately-but such citizen should re-
member that such power is in the hands of
men who aim at success as a conclusion
without reference to the means employed
to obtain it.
Well, as before suggested, Hon" JOHN
NJ. LANGsToN figures as a contestant be-
fore the next House. He needs the place
and the party that needs him is opposed to
give it to him, always provided that the
unities be preserved an Old Dominion
gubernatorial ROLAND be Forthcoming for
the Congressional OLIVER which the party
there in power promise to produce. In other
words, if LANGsToN contributes to the sue
cess of MALONE in his race for the gov
of Virginia, the party having the
said narrow majority in the House of Re
will give him seat therein;
and the fact that majority of
the voters of the district in which
the dusky-hued citizen essayed to get
there repudiated, and so far as they could
legally, annihilated him, will not be per-
mitted to figure in the computation at all.
In addition to all this, il is said by what
is customarily under such circumstances
as good evidence that "N1istah''
LANGsToN t3ld the grand moguls and chief
fuglemen of the party in whose behalf he
is labOring, that if they would promise to
seat him the colored vote of Virginia
should be solid for MALONE. The pre-
is that he speaks by the card and
the logical sequence is that said required
promise has been delivered. So that the
situation in Virginia may be thus briefly |
summed up: LANGsToN, holding, as he be- |
ieves, the colored vote by reason of race |
primarily, and doubtless !
more substantial Announcements, has sold it |
20 the Republican party represented by |
MALONE and other ex-rebels, the con
;ideration being the robbing of |
man who was elected to Congress of his |
seat and giving it to said LANGsToS. If |
here be those who are disposed to ques-
ion the correctness of these statements |
and their conclusion because of no aft !
iavits or other evidence on oath having |
been presented in support of them, we will |
nave to resort to an appeal to correlative
circumstances and the questioner's mem
,ry.
Republicans, on contested cases, nearly |
f not quite every time, decide in favor of |
he contestant or contestee who may |
happen to be of that political faith. Not |
'ven so often, have they unseated Repub-
lean in favor of Democrat, and if any |
such case ever occurred at all, it was be-
,ause the pressure from without was very
yreat and to have done otherwise would
lave subjected them to inexplicable
,ensure on the eve of cam
,aign, and even then the contestants
if a Democrat) or contestees Gf a Re
case was held off till the very
asst minute of the eleventh hour. Demo
ratio maiorities have acted differently.
While it cannot be said for them that they
AVE always lost sight of party predilec-
ions and ignored their preferences in
,rder that substantial justice might be
lone, it can be said that instances in
which they have retained Republicans who
leld certificates of election and unseated
Democrats who held such certificates in
avor of their opponents, have been com
non, in fact numerous. But what does