The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1890-10-24
Friday, October "a, 1890.
A Dose Of Politics.


ton to the political campaign now in
progress and consequently less to indus
trial matters. 1t seems difficult for these
valued readers of the PosT to realize the
fact that the South has for half century
been cursed Ivy too much politics; that
politics prccipitatcd needless and disas-
trous war which swept her fields with II
bloody dclugc and flied her homes with
agony. Politics too have retarded both
our material and intellectual progress
since that destructive conflict; and II
one-half the money, one-half the time,
talent and energy were now devoted to
our material development that are eX-
pended on petty political contests, we
would soon see IL vast difference iii our
physical as we'll as our moral progress.
Notwithstanding the fact that the present
industrial movement affords the only pos
sble hope we have to rescue this State
from bankruptcy and to restore 1t to
something like its former prestige and
power the leading papers from one end OF
the commonwealth to the other almost
ignore such vital interests and fill their
columns with the platitudes of platforms
and the pratings of politicians.
1t is of course we'll for the masses to he
thoroughly Informed on important politi-
cal issues: that the: be made to under
stand the constitution of their country
and to reverence and love its institutions,
hut beyond this the clattcr that is heard
from one end of the State to the other, is
as tnkling cymbal and as sounding
brass.
Neither one of the existing parties is
entirely right nor entirely wrong. The
tendency OF the republican party ON the
tariff, we believe to he sound and helpful.
Its tendency to invade the rights Of the
local governments and to raise the igno-
rant and vicious to power which they
have neither the intelligence nor the
moral principle to properly cxcrcise-itS
disposition to resort TO corrupt and dam
gerous legislation TO maintain its ascend
ency ami its efforts to rob taxpayers and
lavish their hard earnings upon PAM
pered band Of cx-soldicrs, Ear in excess of
any lust claims they have to the aims of
govcrnmcnt--arc dcmoralizing to the bcnc-
Gciarics and unjust and outrageous to the
masses.
On the other hand the democrats have
displayed woctu ncompctcncy in finance,
and have done everything in their power
to rctard material progress.
The issue may he sharply drawn by
cOnceding credit to the republicans for
guarding and promoting the business in
forests of the country, save when they
corruptly waste and misapply the revenues
of the State, and giving the democrats
the credit for resisting the usurpations of
powers that do not belong to the national
government and for preserving the social
and political asccndcncv of superior
race against the squalor, vice and igno-
rance of an inferior and incompetent
element, whose permanent triumph would
result in the horrors of Il bloody revou-
ton and precipiiate the overthrow and
ruin of our institutions.
Under these conditions we cannot we'll
see how an intelligent and patriotic citi-
zen, particularly in the South which would
be the scene and center of the resulting
disorder and ruin, can sanction the cx-
IRENE and perilous policy Of the republic
can party.
For these reasons our sympatics are
with the democratic party.
A prominent political writer once illus
trated his independent position by main
tanning that as geographical survey
would prove the line which divides our
parties is very crooked one he who pur
sues the straight path of public duty
often finds himself passing the boundaries
OF those intricate frontiers which parti
analogy can never be established between
the physical and the moral world, and,
however well such an assumption may
serve to cover defects of study and politi-
cal obliQuity, from the eyes of the igno-
rant and unrehccting, it does not Ovcrturn
the incontrovcrtibc fact that it is next to
impossible for two political parties TO he
equally right and equally wrong; and upon
no other theory can this kind OF indcpen-
dence be justified. The one party or the
other must have 4 better set of principles.
The enc or the other must have men TO put
them in practical operation; so,whcthcr We
adopt the cant Of men not measures, or of
measures not men, it is impossible for our
convictions. il we have any, to keep us
equally removed from both. And if there
is one atom of good on the one side, which
prepondcrates over the other after bal
ance has been struck, ON that side should
We labor, always with Justice and temper
ance but always with zeal. 1t was, i'll some
respects, =, wise provision Of tho Spartan
code which compelled every citizen to join
one party or the other. Burke remarks,
in one OF his most thoughtful pamphlets,
that az party is u body Of men united
for promoting, by their joint cndeayors,
the national interest upon some particular