Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-11-02
To the President of the United States.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Oct. 3-11t, A.

WASHINGTON, u. u, oct 3-ll5, A. NJ.
| have just returned from an interview
with President johnson, in which he talked
for an hour on the process of reconstruction
Of Rebel States. His manner was as cor
dial, and his conversation as free, as in
1868, when l met him daily in Nashville,
Tenn.
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 recon
structiop should be thorough, and they
wished to support him in the arduous work,
but their ideas were confused by the con-
hicting reports constantly circulated, and
especially by the present position of the
Democratic party. 1t is industriously cir
culated in the Democratic Clubs that he
was going over to them. He laughingly
replied, Major, have you never known a
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 ?'
replied, ~ have often" He said, So
have l." and went on the Democratic
party finds its old position untenable, and
is coming to ours ; ifit has come up to our
position, am glad Of it, You and | need
no preparation for this conversation we
can talk freely on this subject, for the
thoughts are familiar to us we can be per-
fectly frank with each other" He then
commenced with saying that the States are
in the Union, which is whole and indivisi-
BILE.
Individuals tried to carry them out, but
did not succeed, as man may Try to cut
his throat and be prevented by the bystand-
ers and you cannot say he cut his throat
because he tried to do it.
Individuals may commit treason, and be
punished, and large number of individu-
ais may constitute rebellion and be pun
ished as traitors Some States tried to get
out Of the Union and we opposed it, honest
ly, because we believed it to be wrong
and we have succeeded in putting down the
Rebellion. The power Of those persons who
made the attempt has been crushed, and
now we want to reconstruct the State Gov,
ernmcnts and 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 a moment. We are max
ing very rapid progress, so rapid | some
times cannot realize it; it appears like a
dream.
We must not be in too much Of a hurry
it is better to let them reconstruct them
selves then to force them to it for if they
go wrong, the power is in our hands anC
we can check them at any stage, to the end
and oblige them to correct their errors We
must be patient with them. | did not cx
pect to keep out all who were excluded from
| the Amnesty, or even large number o
them, but ! intended they should sue fo
pardon, and so realize the eGormity of thu
crime they had committed
You could not have broached the subiec
of equal suffrage, at the North, seven years
ago, and we must remember that the
changes at the South have been more rapid
and they have been obliged to accept mor
unpalatable truth than the North had W,
must give them time to digest a part, fo
we cannot expect such large affairs will b.
comprehended and digested at once W.
must give them time to understand thei
new position.
| have nothing to conceal in these mat
ters, and have no desire or willingness t.
take indirect courses to obtain what W
want
Our Government is grand and loft
structure in searching for its foundatio
we find it rests on the broad basis of poT
ular rights. The elective franchise is not
natural right, but political right I al
opposed to giving the States too much pow
Grand also to ii great consolidation of pow
er in the Central Government.
If interfarred with the vote in the Reb
ell States, to dictate that the negro sha1
vote, | might do the same thing for my ow
purposes in Pennsylvania. Our only safe
ty lies i'll allowing each State to contrC
the right of voting by its own laws, and W
have the Powep to control the Rebel State
if they go wrong. If they rebel, we hav
the army and can control them by it, and
if necessary, by Legislation also. If tn
General Government controls the right t
vote in the States, it may establish sue
rules as will restrict the vote to smal
humber of persons, and thus create a cer
ira! despotism.
My position here is different from wha
it would be if | was i'll ',enaessee.
There | should try to introduce negr
suffrage gradually first those who ha
served in the asu.y those who could rea
and write, and perhaps g propar iEaliics
i tioa t0r others, say 5000 or $3.50.
1t would not 10 to let the negroes hav
universal suffrage now il would breed
Waf Of races,
There vas time in the Southern State
when the slaves of large owners locke
down upon nOn-slave-owners because the
did not own slaves the larger the numbe
of slaves their masters owned, the proude
they were, aJ,d this mas prodnced hostilit
! between the mass of the whites and the nt
groes, the out RACES are mostlyfrom nor
slaveholding whites agaiast the negro an
from the negro upon the on-siaVehoidini
whites
The negro will vote with the late maste
whom he does not hate, rather than wit