The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-10-25
WAsnINaroN, o.. I8th=l11E q. q

! WAsu1NaroN, oct. 18thA111< "A. NJ. ]
Ilnve lust returned from an interview
with President Johnson, in which III
talked for an hour on the process of re
| construction of rebel States. His man
| ner waS0s cordial, and his conversation
as free, MS in 1868, when met him daily
| in Nashville.
His countenance is healthy, even
more so than when first knew him.
remarked that the people of the
North were anxious that the process OF
reconstruction should be thorough, md
| they wished to support him in the ardu-
Gus work, buttheir ideas were confused
by the conflicting reports constantly
circulated. and especially by tho pres
ent position of the Democratic party. 1t
is industriOusly circulated in the DEM
Ocratic Clubs that he was going over to
them. He laughingly replied, 'AIajor,
have you never known n man who for
many years had differed from your
views because yOu were in advance of
him claim them as his own when he
came up to your standpoint"
l replied, 1 have often. He said so
have /, and went on: the Democratic
party finds its old position untennble,
and is coming TO ours 1t has come up
TO our position, an glad of it. You
and need no preparation for this con-
vorsation; we can talk freely on this
subject for the thoughts are familiar to
us; we can be perfectly frank with say
ing, that the States nre in the Union
whiG his whole and indivisible.
Individuals tried to carry them out,
but did not succeed, as a man may try
to cut his throat md be prevented by
the bysthnders; and you cannot say he
cut his throat because he tried to do il.
Individuals may commit treason,
and be punished, and n large number
of individuals may constitute rebel
lion ind be punished rs traitors. Some
States tried to get out OF tho Union,
and we opposed it, honestly, because
we believed IL to be wrong; and we
have succeeded in putting down tho re-
belltOn. The power of those persons
who made the attempt has been crush
ed, and now we wnnt to reconstruct the
State governments and have the power
to do it. The State institutions are
FRUSTRATED, laid out on the ground, and
they must be taken up and adapted to
the progress of events; this cannot be
done in II moment. We arc making
very rapid progress, SO rapid 1 some
times cannot renlize 1t; it appears like a
dream.
We must not be in too much of a
hurry; it is better to let them recon-
strucU themselves than to force them to
1t; for If they go wrong, the power is in
our hands and We can check them ut
any stage to the end, and Oblige them to
correct their errors; we must be patient
with them. L did not expect to keep
out NIL who were excluded from the
amnesty, or even large number of
them, but intended they should sue
for pardon, and SO realize the enormity
of the crime they had committed.
You could not have preached the
III -
seven years ago, and We must remem-
her that the changes at the South have
been more rapid, and they have been
Obliged to accept more unpalntable
truth than the North has; we must give
them time to digest n part, for we can.
not expect such large affairs will bC
cOmprshended and digested ut once
We must give them time to understand
their now position.
have nothing to conceal in thesI
mntters, and have no desire or willing
ness to tnke indirect courses to obtafT
what we want
Our Government is grand and Lofty
structure; in searching for its foundn
dntiOn we find 1t rests on the broaC
bAsis Of popular rights. Tho electiV,
/ franchise is not n NATURAL right. 6ut ,
political right. 1 am opposed to giVini
the States too much power, and also t
n great consolidation of power in tn
central Government.
If 1 intSrfcred with the vote in til
rebel States, to dictate TINT the negr
shall vote, l might do the Same thin
| for my own purposes in Pennsylvania
Our only snfety lies in allowing enc
State to control the right of voting b
its own laws, and we have the power {
control the rebel States If they q
wrong. If thoy rebel, we have til
army, and can control them by It, anC
/ IL necessary, by legislation also. II th
general Government controls the riEt
to vote in the States, 1t may establis
such rules as will restrict the vote to
small number of persons, and thu
create n central despotism.
My position here is different 1fFoT
what II would he If 1 was in Tennessee
There should try to Introduce negr
suffrage gradually; first those who ha
served in the army; those who coul
read and write, and perhaps a prOpert
qualification for the others, say 500 q
$50.
1t will not do to let the negroes hav
universal suffrage now; 1t would bree
n war of races.
\ There WINS a tinle In tho Souther
States when the slaves OF large owner
looked down upon non-SlavoholdeF
because they did not own slaves; tn
| larger the number of slaves their mas
tiers owned, the prouder they were, an
this has produced hostility between tn
mass of the whites and the negroes
The outrngeS are mostly from non
slavehOlding whites against the negro
and from the negro upon the non-slaSt
holding whites.
The negro will vote with the lat
master whom he does not hate, rathe
than with the on-slaSeholding white
whom he does hate. Universal suffrag
would create another war, not agains
us, but 4: war OF races.
Another thing. This government /
the freest and best on the earth, and
| feel sure Is destined to last; but to Sc
cure this, we must elevate and purff
the ballot. j for many years contends
at the Snmih That 81 nVaI.Hz WINS a t,nlitI,.n