Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 June 1881 — the Mahone Movement. [ARTICLE]

the Mahone Movement.

Mahone’s convention at Richmond has carried out the programme originally intended. The main idea of the whole movement is open repudiation of one-third of the State debt, without any honest provision for the remaining twothirds, as prescribed in the now-notori-ous Riddleberger bill, which is the basis of the platform. The rest of the programme is mere claptrap, brought in with the hope of misleading Northern opinion, and of securing aid and comfort from the administration.

John F. Lewis, who is nominated for Lieutenant Governor, with the promise of the next Senatorship in case of success, is now United States Marshal for the Western district of Virginia. Charges of fraud, or extortion and of corrupt collusion were made against this officer. The Attorney General sent a special agent to find out the truth of the accusations. That agent made a careful investigation as to every charge, and reported as follows, with the testimony in detail covering each case : “ Upon consideration of the above facts, but one conclusion can be drawn, and that is that the Marshal’s office is responsible for grave irregularities and corruption. The manner in which the office has been conducted for the last eighteen months has been a disgrace to the Federal judiciary, and a great hardship to the citizen; for the Deputy Marshals have engaged in regular traffic of Government processes, apparently recognizing no superior but their greed for fees.”

Mr. Lewis became a Republican Senator in the days of reconstruction, and, in the regular course of events, became an office-holder when the people regained possession of the State. He joined hands with Mahone in the repudiating movement, and visited Mentor, at the head of a committee, to procure recognition and support from Gen. Garfield. There is hardly any doubt that he came away with the promise of succor, and that the President subsequently favored the coalition which gave the Republicans the committees of the Senate aud nominated Gorham and Riddleberger. In testimony of his good will, Gen. Garfield sent Mahone a floral tribute from the conservatory of the White House on the day after his speech, together with a gushing note. The attempt to cover this coalition scheme with a pretense of reform aud of liberal ideas is already a failure. It is known to be a selfish sham, under the lead of a cunning Confederate Brigadier, who told the Senate he had no apology to make there or elsewhere for his endeavor to destroy the Union. The regular aud respectable Republicans of Virginia will hold a convention in August and nominate a full ticket, and they cannot be repudiated at Washington without danger elsewhere.