The mountain Democrat., 1865-12-02
Radical Logic

read the silly and ridiculous arguments
Of the Abolitionists in favor Of granting
The right Of suffrage to the negroes Of the
South. Their fanaticism carries them to
absurd lengths, and must ultimately make
them the laughing stock of the country.
Blinded by prejudice and imbittered BY
the conciIiatory course of the President
which rebukes their brutal cry for blood,
they seem incapable Of reasoning. They
feel power slipping from their hands, and
this makes them the more desperate. II
is enough to make them savage, to be de-
prived Of the power and the privilege Of
plunderiug the treasury and Of persecut,
ing those who refuse to indorse their
wicked policy. Some Of their organs are
publishing the following from New York
paper, as "knock down argument" in
favor Of negro suffrage
"If the negroes Of the cotton States have
have not beeSme sSSz&S2 by the Proclamation
of Emancipation, what have they become and
how will they be enumerated in the census,
since they can no longer be cassed among the
three fifths' people provided for by the Con.
stitution! II they be enumerated as citizens,
and be represented as such, then they must
have conferred upon them the rights Of citizens.
There is but one alternative for Congress, ex.
cept that of considering the blacks as citizens,
and that is to ignore their existence altogether
in the census as entitled TO representation
II they are not citizens they are nothing. II
they cannot vote, they cannot be represented"
A clincher, iSp't it! Let US see. If
white women and children, paupers and
foreigners not HaturaIized are not citizens,
they are nothing. If they cannot vote,
they cannot be represented they must
be endowed with all the rights Of citizens,
or else their existence must be ignored
altogether in the census as entitled to
representation This is as true and sen.
sible in regard to these classes Of white
people as it is in respect to the negroes.
Yet all those classes are counted in the
census as entitled to representation, and
not allowed to vote. According to the
radical logic above quoted. no person can
be counted in the census or entitled to
representation except voters; yet in the
Northern States, out Of population Of
over twenty millions, there are only some
four millions of voters The absurdity
of this logic is made apparent by this fact
alone. Yet such is the poor and ridicu.
lous sophistry used to bolster up the ne
gro suffrage scheme. But it is the best
the advocates of that scheme can do; they
can urge no good reason, no sound argu-
ment in favor of forcing it upon people
who have the undoubted constitutional
right to decide it for themselves-a right
which the President admits.
The radicals are directing all their ef-
forts to postpone as long as possible the
restoration Of the seeded States to their
proper position and influence in the Tn.
ion. They hope to obtain another lease
Of power by comforting the right of suf-
frage on the negroes Of the South, or by
keeping the Southern States out Of the
Union till after the next Presidential elec
ton. They supposed they could dragon
the President into their plan Of forcing
negro suffrage upon the South, by which
they hoped to control the Southern Elec-
toral votes. That game has failed the
President declares be will adhere to his
plan and now they rely upon Congress
to override the policy Of the President,
and keep the Southern representatives out
till after the election in 1868. Next yeal
we shall have another Congressional elec.
tion, and if the issue is left to be decided
at that time, the immediate Unionists will
be ready TO meet it, and the result will
be a crushing defeat Of the radicals. The
white men of the United States are not
yet prepared to surrender their Govern
ment into the hands Of negroes and their
allies.