Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-09-22
nEMrxrscExr GENERAL WALKER


REMINrsCENT GENERAL WALKER.
Congressman James A. Walker. Of the
| Ninth Virginia District, may be described
as n statesman whose future lies behind
him. n reminiscent sort OF character. who
has left some very interesting. though
| Inconsistent. tracks on the sands of poll
tics. One of those tracks we have re-
Gently discovered in the American. a
newspaper in Philadelphia, contained In
its issue OF February s. 1881, being
reply from General Walker to some
questions II had sent him. Since
those replies he has changed TO be
Mckinley tariff Republican. and as the
Republican party has changed in no
thing-having only In its last presidential
term attempted to pass a force bill Tor
the South. and it's success having only
been prevented by two free-siver Repub-
lican senators-his replies are both inte-
resting and amusing. He says:
'"rhe South is solid against the political
! heresies and political principles OF the
| Republican party. and not against the
] North as a section. Southern Democrats
/ as well as northern Democrats, are OPP
tendencies OF the Republican party. which
would destroy the last vestige oil
States rights" and make sovereign
| States no more than counties. The
| southern people are. and have always
been. opposed 10 high protective tarihs'
| TO the use of troops AZ the polls, ana 10
| the subordination of the civil to the MILL
tary power while all these things nave
been advocated and upheld by the Re
| publican party"
In some OF the paragraphs of his letter
the General evidently had the gift OF
provision Of the presidential campaign OF
1896. and Mark Hanna's millions. lie
says:
you ask me to give you the opinion
| of the South upon the best means OF
removing the bUg-bear' Ga solid SCUM.
| The hest and only means j know OF 10
| remove the friGhtful spectacle OF mn
| lions of people voting their honest anu
| sincere political principles AZ the paiiol
| box is to corrupt them. and by prlpels
| induce them to vote for policy, ana NOT
| for principle.
About the feeling of the kepuoHcan'
party to the South, the General mas tnis
plain and accurate estimate to make:
"It is useless for you TO deny that II
| the northern statesmen and the northern
press on the Republican side are the 'rue
opponents of the Republican teehhg' uie
| Republican party OF the Norm h"'
tves thot is the world the South and
| the southern people, and hate sown VIII
| like the dragons teeth, breed crop
| of armed men, The price which the re
publican party has always hxed as tne
| equivalent for its ceasing 10 persecute
| the South has been m unconditional sur
| render of its Democratic principles anu
| the adoption of the creed OF tnat parry
Thank God, the Democratic whlte people
| of the South are not for SALE ana all inc
| ,,.,ro,aga and all the Establishments OF NJ
| Ienublican administration could not make
| them prove false 10 their political prin-
ciples."
As tho General Is now on the stump
| assisting the election of Mckinley and
the restoration of his tarln-the highest
ever known in the history of the country
his opinion expressed about the tarit
then is not without interest. He says TINS:
"'ro a Democratic administration we
| look for relief from the onerous ana
unjust taxes placed upon the lhuustiies W
| The South: and from the enormous ana
grinding impositions placed upon 1t by
n bounty tariff, which puts millions upon
! millions annually into the pockets or
4
| northern manufacturers at the expense
| Of the southern producer.
The following question and answer on
a subject on which the Republican party
in Virginia is peculiarly sensitive are TO
the point:
~ Has the time come or Is II near
when the white people Of your state
viii sock utilization with new partiesY
| Answer: with the Republican or
negro marty, I answer, NO, NEVER, I'M
less that party changes its principles
II IS 10 be regretted that General
| Walker should have so far forgotten the
nronrieties as to call the Republican party
n negro party" 1t will give gratutous
ard uncalled-for pain to the white men
in that party. who very naturally cannot
see why party Of whom only three
| fourths are negroes should be called
"negro party" And not only VIII IL
do that. but It will give pain TO those
Palmer and Buckner boilers who are on
their way to join that party, largely with
the patriotic purpose of raising its color
IN the grade of a third dilution. But the
| gallant General was always an inpetuous
sort of person. OF course, since thls
letter of the General was written there
has been a change somewhere, but most
certainly not I'm the Republican party
Not only did that party when last IN
mower. show II by it's effort at force DILL
hut it emphasized It by turning Democrats
ont Of their seats in the Fifty-third Con-
press without rhyme or reason, and seat
inc negroes in some OF the seats forcipiy
vacated. And so congenial was this WORK
that il stirred up the blood OF recon-
struction times in the veins OF one mem
her of the majority, inducing him 10
blariously cry out: Bring on announcer
Niger" There having been no chahse
in the party of the first part we can
hardly see how the party OF the second
nart-to wit, General James A. Walker
can explain his letter to his Democratic
competitor. save by the assurance that
"a wear ago last spring he began the
stldy of the subject" and is now con-
WINGED that Democratic principles are
J only 10 be found In Republican platforms.
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