Search the Newspapers Browse Newspapers by Date Articles Indexed by Topic About the Newspapers Valley of the Shadow Home

Valley Virginian: September 16, 1868 Go To Page : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

Shall we have Presidential Electors?
(Column 02)

Summary: This article concurs with the sentiment of a Mississippi publication stating that a vote in accordance with constitutional rights will reveal a Democratic majority throughout Virginia. The author notes that white southern men have lost the power to exercise this right and calls on Democratic "brothers" in the North to rectify this problem.

Full Text of Article:

This is a question that should be deliberately considered by the Democratic Central Committee of Virginia. We have urged it to act and called upon the people of the States to act out. The time for being politic, or whatever you chose to call it, has passed.--Action is the word now, and the voice of old Virginia should be heard. Hear what a brave Mississippi paper says to the people of that gallant State. It applies with equal force to Virginia.

"We should have electors in the field even now. The State is democratic and the Northern Democracy should know it is a certainty. After the election her votes should be counted; and when it is ascertained that the State is largely democratic--which she undoubtedly will be--her vote should be handed in to the electoral college with the following address to the Democracy: 'Gentlemen, we have voted in accordance with our constitutional right. True to our country and our principles, we have given a large Democratic majority. In so doing we exercised a legal right--but, so far as we are concerned, we have not the power to enforce this right.--You brother Democrats of the North, have the power to see us righted--to have our vote counted.

Can anyone doubt the result of such an application? We, for one, do not; and are in favor of trying it, not only as a chance for the restoration of our constitutional rights, but to test the sincerity and 'pluck' of our Northern friends, many of whom have at the masthead of their leading newspapers "A free vote or a free fight."

The Destiny of the Negro
(Column 02)

Summary: This article is in essence an admonition directed to the black people of the South. The author suggests that regardless of the upcoming election results, blacks' fate will ultimately be in the hands of the white people of the state in which they reside. Their power will wane once competing political factions hammer out all conflicts. Thus, how blacks wield their current power will be a deciding factor in blacks' future positions.

Full Text of Article:

We extract the following from an able article in the Petersburg Index upon this subject, and suggest to employers the duty of reading and explaining it to the Colored people. There is no dodging this serious question, and though disagreeable, we must meet it and do our duty to this unfortunate race.

The Index well says:

"And now is the time, in this contest between the party of GRANT and that of SEYMOUR, for the negro to determine what the attitude toward him of the Democratic party shall be--whether the white people of the South are to regard him as a citizen or a radical tool--a free voter, or a pack-mule bearing the burdens of a domineering faction wherever bidden. And this the whites should make the blacks understand.

The negroes' destiny will not be decided by the success of SEYMOUR or GRANT. His status will be not secured by a republican triumph. No matter which party wins the present field--a very few years of shifting issues and conflicts between the interests of the whites in different sections of the country, will leave the negro high and dry off the sea of national politics, and his fate will remain in the hands of the people of his State. And the impression which his use of power may make upon the minds of that people now, is the real key to the future fate of the negro in the South."

The Augusta Academy of Medicine
(Column 02)

Summary: The old Medical Association has transformed itself into the Augusta Academy of Medicine. The new organization, patterned on the American Medical Association, will work to elevate "the standard of medical education," and conserve "the public health." Different committees will work on key questions confronting the medical community, ensuring a "wide field of inquiry."

[No Title]
(Column 01)

Summary: 75 students of an expected 138 have arrived at the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institution for the upcoming term.

[No Title]
(Column 01)

Summary: Fred Scheffer, "the Flying Dutchman," has secured the services of R. M. Ayers as Superintendent of the Virginia Hotel.
(Names in announcement: Fred Scheffer, R. M. Ayers)

Insurance Paid
(Column 02)

Summary: Phillips and Garber, agents of the United States Marine Fire Insurance Company, paid out $1000 to Col. A. W. Harman to replace his granary that was recently burned by lightning.
(Names in announcement: Phillips, Garber, Col. A. W. Harman)

A Nuisance
(Column 02)

Summary: The paper urges Major Whitcomb to place a railing around the train depot platform to keep away the crowds that gather every time a train arrives. The paper asserts that most of these are "idle people who should be at work."
(Names in announcement: Maj. Whitcomb)

A Warning to Boys
(Column 02)

Summary: The police arrested an African American boy for jumping on the railroad cars. He was held for trespassing on the property of the C and O Railroad, in the sum of $50. "Boys and men should remember that the grounds and cars belong to the company, and that they are not warranted in going upon them, except upon business connected with the R. R."

Religious
(Column 02)

Summary: The Central Bible Society of Augusta calls upon ministers to aid them "in supplying every destitute family in the county with a copy of the Bible."

Robbery
(Column 02)

Summary: An unknown thief robbed the collection box of the Baptist Church. It contained donations to make up three-month's salary for the Rev. G. B. Taylor.
(Names in announcement: Rev. G. B. Taylor)

Marriages
(Column 02)

Summary: L. A. S. Tillery of Missouri and Miss Louisa A. Cowger, daughter of Job Cowger, were married at the residence of Jacob Neff on September 10th by the Rev. John Pinkerton.
(Names in announcement: L. A. S. Tillery, Louisa A. Cowger, Job Cowger, Jacob Neff, Rev. John Pinkerton)

Marriages
(Column 02)

Summary: Martin S. Shiplet and Miss Catherine E. Wright, daughter of the late William Wright, were married near Moscow on September 3rd by the Rev. Jacob Thomas.
(Names in announcement: Martin S. Shiplet, Catherine E. Wright, William Wright, Rev. Jacob Thomas)

Deaths
(Column 02)

Summary: Robert White died at his residence near Waynesboro on September 3rd. He was 72 years old.
(Names in announcement: Robert White)