Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-10-16
am OLE VIRGIEEY.D
An Interesting Resume of the Political
~uati In the Old Dominion.

SITUATION In the Via DOuAAH+o
LYNcHBURG, VA, October 15.-The
Virginia campaign has opened up In
earnest, and its people take to politics,
seemingly by a sort of instinct. Poll
, tics is for them what faith is to the
Christian, according TO the familiar
hymn-their vltsl breath, their vital
air. Horace Greedy stopped aver In
this city for a day before the war, and
in response to a call of the citizens
made q brief address, in which he said
that if ever Virginia should perish her
| epitaph would be-: "Died OF too much
politics." The surcharged conditions
| OF the political atmosphere finds 4 vent
in the recurring canVasses for President
and for State offices. One Of unusual
interest, aud promise OF unusual in
tensity and acrimony, has just set In.
In some fifteen or twenty counties pub
lie discussions we're held on last Mon
day and the Monday proceeding. These
were the first big, black drops before
| the storm that will soon overcast the
| political heavens In all It's fury.
At the November election there Is to
be chosen a Governor, Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor, Attorney General and a new Leg
islature-that is to say, all the members
OF the lower House and one-half OF the
| Senators, the other half OF the Senators
holding over. The Legislature to be
| elected will meet in December, and will
have o larger number Of important
| offices to fill than has ever before eeen
the case with any similar body in this
State. The heads OF all the State
| bureaus are TO be chosen-the 'base-
ment officers" as they are called from
| the circumstance that their offices are
in the basement Of the Capitol build
ing-the Auditor, Treasurer and Sec
rotary Of the Commonwealth. The
five members Of the Supreme Court
OF Appeals, who hold for a term OF
twelve wears, are TO be chosen to sue
coed the court selected by Malone
when that political Corsair captured the
| State; eighteen Circuit Judges and
thirteen Corporation or City Judges are
| also TO be chosen; also the Superintend-
ent OF Public Instruction. And then
| the predominant matter Of public inter-
est will be the election Of two United
States Senators, one to fill the unex.
pired term Of the late John s. Barbour,
ending March 4, 1895, the other for the
full term of six years, commencing on
that day. 1t may, OF course, happen
that the choice for both terms may fall
upon the same person.
1t may readily be conceived that with
these numerous and important offices TO
I'll g spectacle of lobbying, e%lectioneer-
ing and legislative jugglery of the most
animated character Is likely to be pre-
scented. Indeed, 1t commenced weeks
and even months ago In the manipula-
tions Of the party managers and the as
p!rants to secure the nomination OF
| members Of the Legislature favorable
TO their respective interests.
Col. Charles T. 0'Ferrell, the member
of Congress from the Seventh district,
is the Democratic nominee for Govern
or. He is. more especially than any
| other member from Virginia, a friend
| and admirer Of Mr.. Cleveland. His COM
petitor for the nomination, Maj. Hoge
Tyler, wasa typical end intense free sill
YER man, and, OF course, %unfrieEdly to
administration; and the triumph OF
O'Ferrall on the first ballot was &C
cepted, as in some sense, q triumph
also for Cleveland. O'Ferrall Is 3 self
made mai, having come up from the
people without the faVoring advantages
Of family or collegiate education.
Though not a man Of decided intellec-
tual force, he is q captivating speaker,
and no man in the State can excel him
in catching the popular acclaim on the
hastings. This, with his fine Confeder-
ate record, gives him great prestige
with the people. His opponent, the
Populist candidate, Capt. Edmund
Cooke, is a quiet, accomplished gentle
man of the old Virginia school, with
ancestral blood In his veins which is
considered here in the Old Dominion as
not only bluer than that Of Boston, but
redder and richer than that OF the
P~lautagenetS. How 1t is that he has
left his aristocratic affiliations and
strayed into the ple6ian, II not Commu-
nistic, camp Of the Populists is a worlds
wonder to his old friends and associ-
ates. Doubtless 1t was the seductive
hope Of high Office that ambition
against which Wolsey was warned, and
which in this case, as In that, is quite
certain to "o'erleap itself and fall on
'tother side" He is wealthy, and nc
doubt his nomination is due largely to
the. expectation that he would contrib
ute libeially to the "sinews Of war"
Then, too. high social position was sup
posed to give some advantage to the
new movement. He is a very poor
speaker and entirely without experience
in public discussion. He will hardly
venture to meet 0'Ferrall; il he does he