Full Text of Article:
To hear small editors who are neither Solomons nor Heroes, boast that they
never hesitated nor wavered about this or that, and blowing the silly blast
of their own self-conceit - that for five months, the small editor conducted
the only journal in the State, which openly and boldly opposed the nefarious
device of the call of a Convention; that others were advocating it, and there are in this place one of them, whom no
doubt the small editor considers in the way, obstructing
his sunshine - did so own up to the election, that he was right all the time - that no voter would now
be without the Spectator." This last is the key to all the boasting. The
Spectator wants money so badly, that he is willing to make it in the worst
of all ways, (having gassed about his circulation until the whole thing has
become ridiculous), by villifying [sic] his neighbors. We should like to
know if the Spectator was right when he domiciled
himself in the enemy's lines during the war. That was a very conservative
policy indeed, but did not help much to save Virginia from "Radical or negro
rule." Was he right when he was very erroneously calling on all
Conservatives to stay away from the polls. - Thus, with a majority of 13,000
registered voters in Virginia, leaving everything in the hands of radicals
and negroes. We think this unerring mortal repented of this policy before he
got through. Was this right, when he opposed the call of the Convention,
when that man whom gentlemen delight to honor, General Robert E. Lee, who
fought in his own lines while the small Editor
was out of them, thought the convention ought to
be held and so ventured to advise his countrymen. True the result showed
that the convention was inevitable. Now the white registered vote greatly
exceeded the blacks in number. And by proper organization and a full turn
out the conservative element had every reasonable hope of electing a
conservative convention, now that by the advice of the small editor and his
aid the election went by default and resulted in filling the capital with a
disgraceful set of animals who never could have
gotten there if the conservatives had voted their strength. But "the
Spectator is right all the time." - Conservatives
fork over your half dollars. His wise council may succeed in keeping you
away from the polls again when the tug comes. Such things were
disgusting.
