The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-07-20
SOME POLITICAL TALK.

There is a chance that one of the nearest liv-
ing relatives of Washington will be member
of the Fifty-second Congress from the district in
which the Father of His Country was born
Among the candidates for the honor of repre-
senting the First Virginia District in the Fifty
second Congress is Col Robert j. Washington,
of Westmoreland County. The Democrats of
the First District feel assured that the district
will be transferred from the Republican to the
Democratic column next fall, and they could
not choose more able and popular man than
Col Washington to represent them. Among
the dozen or more aspirants for the nomination
Col. Washington is probably the only one who
could go into convention with the solid delega-
tion OF his country to back him, and should the
Tappahannock convention nominate him his
great popularity all over the district will insure
him the full party vote of his district. A gal
lant soldier, tried and true Democrat a bril-
liant lawyer, an eloquent speaker, and a pol
ished gentleman, and possessing in marked
degree personal magnetism which gives him
the respect and friendship of all classes and
conditions of men, Col. Washington, if sent
to Congress, would soon challenge recognition,
not only as q leader in his State delegation, but
as member of the National Legislature of
whom the whole OF his party might be proud.
X r
There is danger that the Democrats may lose
the Eighth Virginia Congress ional District this
which are being used to insure the nomination
of Gen. w. II. F. Lee. The latter is strongly
opposed by a considerable and influential Sec
tion of the party in the district, who claim that
he has lost the confidence of the Democratic
voters. Among the gentlemen who have been
put forward against him in the contest for the
nomination are Mr. Meredith, an able and
popular lawyer of Prince William County, and
Mr.. Frank Hume, who is well known in Wash
aE a m n ability
prise. The nominating convention will be held
in Leesburg August 20, and the delegates to the
convention, according to usage, should be
elected at popular primaries in the various
towns. The opponents of Gen. Lee claim that
his managers have, in an unusual, not to say
unfair and underhand manner, already fore
stalled the action of the primaries by selecting
delegates who are pledged to Gen. Lee, thus
preventing an open contest for the Congress
sional nomination before the Democratic
voters and at the convention at Lcesburg. The
friends of Messrs. Meredith and Hume are in
dignant at what they claim is unfair and un-
Democratic treatment, and they threaten to
make things very hot if the tactics of Gen. Lees
managers are not changed.
X X 4
In Stafford County it is said the friends of
Gen. Lee, disregarding the recommendation of
the district committee that the primaries be held
on the 9th of August, week ago yesterday is
day of last week. This call was made in a
Fredericksburg paper, printed out of the Eighth
| District, and the consequence was that few
| voters of the county knew anything about the
matter until after the mass convention was held
at Stafford Courthouse. Those who
attended the mass meeting, it is alleged, were
| exclusively Lee men who had been specially
| gottogether in the interest of that candidate. At
this meeting eight Lee delegates were elected
to the district convention. These were the first
delegates elected and Gen. Lees opponents say
the latter's friends took this extraordinary
course with view to the effect the election of
solid Lee delegation from Stafford would
have on the other counties. promi-
nent Democratic politician of Stafford,
writing to a friend in this city, de-
| declares that Frank Hume could carry the
county against Lee if he should run an inde-
pendent Democratic candidate for Congress.
Altogether great deal of feeling has been
worked up over the matter in the Eighth Dis
trict, and there is likely to be abundance of ex-
citement before the nominating convention is
| held.
The District Democrats are already LAYING
| pipe for the control of the convention here
| which will send delegates to the next National
Democratic Convention. 1t is expected to
prove rather hard fight for the friends of Mr.
| Cleveland, among whom are ex-Marshal Will
son, ex-Commissioner Wheatley, and Register
Clagett. They are expected to use strenuous
efforts to capture the convention in the Cleve-
land interest Arrayed against them will be
many of the old rank and file of the party in
the District who do not regard Mr. Cleveland
as the best candidate at this time, but look with
more favor on Governor Hill, of NewYor There
will be hard fight in some of the districts for
control, particularly in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth,
| Ninth Tenth, Fifth, and Twentieth, and the
clans are already marshaling for the fray. The
Central Democratic Committee had a called
meeting for last Thursday, but as no quorum
showed up the meeting was adjourned until the
middle of August. The composition of this
committee is antagonistc to exPresident Cleve-