The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-08-06
Dangerous Doctrine

:
be fraught with too much danger to be
ventured upon.
Dangerous Doctrine.
We referred last week to the speech of
Mr.. Brad. Beverly in the Court House,
at Staunton, on the 9th of July. In it
he proclaimed the ultimate doctrine Of
bloody revolution, if the present peace
full movement to carry into effect certain
national and State reforms was not sue
cessful. This revolution is to be more
extensive, according to Mr.. Beverly,
than the French revolution, or the Reign
of Terror in France. 1t will be. remem-
bered by our readers what the -condi>
ton of things in France at that time
was The historian tells us that France
was drunk with blood The guilotine
was busy III beheading suspected offend
ers; property was confiscated; persons
imprisoned or murdered; the laws of
God and man defied; the Age of Reason
proclaimed and ma ked female en-
throned as the idol to be worshipped;
revealed religion and morality were
secuted, and universal terror swept over
the fair face of sunny France. OF course
Mr. Beverly used the illustration as a
figure of speech, and a very inappropri-
ate and revolving and foolish figure. but
it was used, and used by an official
speaker of a public organization, whose
Il n
with pass words and signs to guard its
proceedings.
The following day, before meeting OF
Knights of Labor and farmers of two
districts in Texas, president Powers, y
of Indiana, made an incendiary speech,
in which he delivered equally as dan
gerous sentiment, AS those announced
by Mr. Beverly. He was for closing
the bloody chasln" between north and
south with the dead bodies of politi-
clans; aboIishing national banks; issuing
fiat money; destroying capital as repre-
scented in monopoly so called, which is a
designation given to capital accumulated
by industry and business sagacity and to
give ldDOI 6lAtjlOy lliOiu, Iie~SiAiS 1919
roads and telegraphs in the control OF
the national government, a IN onopoly
of the worst kind, and one that would
soon grow into a monopoly, surprising
all other monopolies in arbitrary power
and popular oppression. With the rail
roads and telegraph in the control of the
government, the party in power would
be perpetuated through the millions OF
slavish employees it would have at its
command, and defy the people at every
step and in every relation.
Senator PETER, of Kansas, on the Both
of July addressed the farmers encamp-
rnent of 1000 people at Sulphur Springs,
Texas. He wanted the government to
loan to the people money at one per
cent. to lift nine millions mortgages
and to pull the teeth and close the mouth
of the great dragon IN Wall street. He
proposed to do this with fat money is
sued directly to the people who had
mortgaged their homes. He declared
that upon this doctrine the President
and Congress will certainly be elected
and if the Supreme Court was not with
them, they would make another that
would be.
We have no apprehension that such
incendiary and revolutionary notions
will ever find Judgment with the Amer
lean people, when their purport and ulti-
| mate effect are known. But in the pro-
| oh ho r,,, H.
| done. Politicians may compromise with
| the projectors of these dangerous doc
! trines, for the sake of office, just as PETER
| has done The whole financial system
of the government may be shocked and
/ denoralized,. to such an extent as to
bring disaster to the country, and pro
| duce a condition of things bordering on
anarchy Certainly, 1T is the duty OF all
conserv alive citizens to set their faces
against such revolutionary proceedings
and to appeal to the reason and common
sense of the people to arrest the further
progress of such incendiary sentiment.
There is no surer cure for radicalism,
| in whatever form it may come, than to
| confront it with the robust honesty and
conservatism of the American people,
/ when they are cognizant of and aroused
| to the threatened danger. There is not
| good citizen in the country, of suf1i-
cient comprehension to understand the
import of language and policies, that
would not revolt from such utterances
as are now becoming common with these
crusaders of new gospel of revolution.
All that is wanting is for the people to
take in the situation and appreciate the
danger that may threaten, for them to
crush it with an indignant emphasis
that will forever give it quiet.