The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1865-11-01
JOllnsOn.

JOhnsOn.
Addition contemporaries affect to derive
consolation from the sentme nt> uttered by
johnson in his interview with Maj Siearns,
of Mass. The publication Of the CONVEX.
sa,on has the endorsement Of the presi
dent, and the public is therefore jnstifi d
in assuming its entire correctness. People
will thank him for this exposition; it car.
ries with It ofirial weight, and gives US
plain answers upon many matters in hi.
policy that have hitherto been in dispute.
Divcsted OF superfluities. the points in
Johnson's conversation are a. follows:
/ States, by the treason of portion Of
their citizens, cannot be taken out Of the
union.
Reconstruction is q work which belongs
to the people Of the interested states. The
central e ,vernment is not the pr'Me mover
in this abr, but simply the assistant;
The elective franchise is = political, not
q natural right; it is . matter under the
exclusive control Of the respective states;
II Johnson We're IN his own state, he
would tavor the gradual extension OF SUI
frag- to the negro; 1922.
Universal suffrage now would result in
war between whites and blacks.
These are the points Of importance in.
volved in the remarks Of Johnson; and,
upon close inspection Of them, We fail to
see the ideas upon which both conservative
a'd radical republ.csnism build their con.
40 atoms. In the teachings of either the
ore or the other Of the two factions, it IL
ass. rted that the southern states are out of
the union by virtue o. their acts Of secession;
that reconstruction shnuld be done by the
central gove, rmen; that the elective fran
chise is the inherent RICH, OF all men, and
that universal suffrage should BE- forced TN
the south by the action OF the general gov.
eminent Every one of these propositions
is IN direct contradiction Of those Of enun.
GATED by the president.
There thon only reinsins Mr. Joh" sons
remark with reference t. negro suffrage in
Tennessee in which cal be found any ap.
pearance OF opposition TO democratic ideas
and sympathy with republ'canism. Con.
corning this, the New York Tribune says
AS President johnson knew this con-
versation WAS 10 ne made public and cert.
d ID 10 It's correctness, il will probably mo
d,iy the new found enthusiasm of the
democratic party for the administration /"
Let US see how far This utterance Of the
president is opposed to democratic teach
"gs. Upon this question OF negro suff age
the democratic party in the north stands
exactly as it did upon the question Of slave
~. As a party, it never committed iteelf
either TOR or against the existence OF that
institution. All that democracy said off.
cially was, that the regulation of slavery
was matter resting exclusively with the
states in which it existed. There were
democrats who believed slavery right, ana
many others who believed it wrong. They
disagreed a. individuals "a to its moral
character; but they united in the belief that
Illinois or Massachusetts, had nothing to do
with slavery in South Carolina. ea.,-s
Upon the question of negro suffrag.
.here is likely TO b-, among the individuals
Of the democratic party, a greater urani.
ii''ty OF opinion against il than there was
in the case OF slavery. But, at the same
time 1t does not initiate against the sound
ness Of any democrat that he believes it
right to extend limited suffrage to the ne.
gro in his own state, II may believe this
OF not, precisely rs he may or not believe
in Congregation.lism or Judaism The
test OF democracy, in this resp ct, is a
mans belief AZ 10 the right Of illinois to
say who shall or VINO snail not vote il
Ohio
As citizen Of Tennessee, johnson
thinks that certain classes of negroes may,
with safety, be allowed to vote. 1t il not
with J,hnson's Tennessee politics that the
national democratic party has anything TO
do. So long a. he confines his belief to
mis- osn state he may entertain it; but il h.
should as>.r' not only that negroes should
vote ~ Tennessee, hut thst Tennessee
should have the right to say that negroes in
Alabama should have right of suffrage,
then would his democracy become mat
ter OF doubt.
II il be any satisfaction to the opposi
ton, We will Admit that the radical element
IN I, nne~see may derive some grains of
comfort from this portion of Mr.. JohDson's
The national democratic party
can do this 1t has no particular claim.
upon Mr.. johnson, Of 7eanessee but it
mas an exhaustive upon Mr.. johnson, pre-
-ident Of all the states, as being a man
who is in thorough accord with it upon all
ns.:onal issues - Chictg, Times