The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-04-01
VIRGINIA AND THE PRESIDENCY.

VIRGINIA AND THE PRESIDENCY.
| OF all the narrow-minded. sectional and
| predjudiced papers in the United States, save
/ perhaps the one owned and printed in New
| York by a son-in-law Of Mr.. Vanderbilt, the
| Chicago Inter-Ocean takes the lead. 1t knows
| no principle above sectionalism. and has no
conception of politics beyond hatred OF the
South. Let it discuss what subject it will
and it invariably drifts into line Of thought
biased by these two ideas, and in consequence
it is, 10 use the language of Guiteau the assas-
sin. "a stalwart OF the stalwarts."
A striking exemplfcation of this wss shown
in a recent article in that paper based upon
| the interviews recently published in The
| Times as 10 the sentiment of the Virginia
Democracy upon the best Democratic candi-
date for the Presidency in 1892. Commenting
on the result Of these interviews as published
In this paper. our Chicago Radical contem-
porary has this 10 say:
But John VI. Palmer is not mentioned
| once. He is not as much a. unit among the
seventy scatterngs. His quarrel with Sheri-
dan has not atoned with the Nirginians for his
service in the army Of the Union. No soldier
Of the Union army is included among the
seventy scattering preferences of Virginia.
The South holds the reins that guide the ac-
tions Of the Democratic party, and no step
| toward the nomination of any soldier of the
Union will be permitted when the National
| convention assemblies. General Palmer Will
not be in IT, when the time for brewing the
| Presidential punch arrives"
Was ever the cloven-foot Of sectional hate
more clearly shown? Neither The TniEs nor
any Of the Democrats interviewed by it ever
had the slightest intention of discriminating
against Union soldiers in ehciting and giving
utterance to the sentiment Of the State upon
the next Democratic Presidential nomination.
| Whether the candidate was or was not an ex-
| Union soldier never once entered the
mind Of anyone. The war of ls6l-65
was not dreamed Of in connection with
the subject. The only point attempted TO be
brought ont was whether or not Mr.. Cleveland
still retained his hold upon the Democratic
masses of the State, and not one of the parties
who expressed opinions in the matter
whether their choice was Cleveland, Hill, Pal
mer, German, or any other leading light in
the party-ever took time 10 think whether
any or all Of them saw service against the
| South in the war between the States
But like all narrow-minded people. who
permit their minds and thoughts 70 be warped
and absorbed by one single prejudice, the
Inter Ocean decidedly over-reaches itself.
| That Virginia prefers Cleveland is evidence
| above everything else that she is guided by
no war spirit. OF all men mentioned for the
Democratic nomination, he is the least amen
able to the charge Of sectionalism, for
the objection most conspicuously urged
against him by his Democratic opponents
! of North is that he is too much Of a mug
wump, that is that he is inclined TO be too
conservative and too lenient towards the Rad
| icals. If the Democracy Of Virginia were
| guided by any such spirit as that attributedto
them by the Inter-Ocean they would assur-
edly not give the slightest countenance 10 any
one against whom the faintest faint of friend
illness to anything savoring of Radicalism
could be charged. If hatred of the
| North and the Union army was the
principle underlying their Presidential
preferences they would take General Palmer
or any one else rather than Mr.. Cleveland.
\ Has the Inter- Ocean so soon forgotten that
not many years ago the Democracy Of the
South and Of the whole Union gave hearty
and cordial support TO one of the brightest
and most gallant soldiers Of the Union army,
the late General Hancock;
Fortunately. however. such papers rs the
Inter-O Ocean are in this day and generation,
few and far between, and such as do exist can
exert little or no influence for harm. The
farmers Of the West, who compose the bulk Of
the population of the section in which the
Chicago contemporary has its being, are much
more concerned now about being freed from
debt and getting relief from the burdens Of
taxation imposed on them 10y the Inter-Ocean's
party for the benefit Of monopoly than they
are about reviving sectionalism and fighting
over again a war which was settled moro than
quarter Of a century ago. They will prove
this too, by their votes when they come TO the
polls in November 1892.