The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1867-01-19

A NEW nHOO&o4aUO4A6R POLTCY.
Fourteen States reject the Constitutional
Amendment psoposed b. Cnsrsss, With
the exception Of Tennessee, me States com
posing the late Confederacy are unanimous
on This score. They know that some plan Of
reconstruction must BE- adopted-will BE-
adopted. Most of them haye made their
choice With CONVICTION that their action 10
FINAL as to the mode proposed, and that its
rejection BY them will lead to the abandon.
ment Of the plan embraced in the Amend
ments, and the adoption Of new and more
radical policy by Congress. 1t is noticeable
how, despite our protested championship of
Freedom and Human Rights, it has been left
10 the South TO measure the extent Of our
Progress, and to assign The limitations 70 the
triuuphs of Liberty and Manhood. How
that, too, that measure and those limitations,
determined, not by US, but by the South,
have determined the positive character Of
the achievements Of these recent years, and
given us whatever of political good has grown
ont of them. e9. s
At the commencement of the rebellion, to
prevent civil war, the couptry would have
forever established slavery throughout the
South, BY constitutional ameAdnsnt thus
making human bondage xlegitimate and en-.
during feature of the nation. Not the North,
but the South, by its action prevented that
result. After strife had come, and rebellion
had cost the country so many noble sons; af-
ter the South had had time and opportunity
to discover the invincible and irreversible
spirit in which the loyal States had accepted
the struggle, and how hopeless was her strug-
gle to disrupt the Union, the South was in.
vited to save slavery and nationalze chattel-
ism by ceasing proved hopeless contest.
Not the North, but the South, by its decision
prevented that result
Slavery is no more inimical to the spirit o.
Republican government than is the denial o.
suffrage. The theory, the soul of Republi
canism is the liberty personally, the equality
and consequent sovereignty politically, of thu
individual Those who do not wish to &C
cept that proposition, must 90 back to frs
principles and deny the legitimacy of demo-
cratic ideas as applied to government. Dem
ocratic government is onething, monarchc Oh
aristocratic government another. You may
if you please, convince yourself that either
of the latter il preferable to Democracy, bu
you have no right 10 try to engraff monarchit
or sristocratic policy upon Republicansm
.lnt Il
frsge is as antagonistic to Republicanism a.
slavery. The North offered the South re.
peated opportunities to preserve the latter,
which in its blindness but unconsidered wis.
dom it rejected and so the end came and sla,
very persisted. Since the death of rebellion,
the South has had daily q chance to preserve
that other crime against Republicanism-the
denial of manhood suffrage, and those
chances it has persisiently set at nanght.
Shall Freedom and Human Rights be the
gamer by this action of the Southern States,
rs they were by Southern action concerning
slavery? That should be the controlling
question IN the new reconstruction policy to
be adopted.
For new policy will be adopted. We
know how earnestly many Republicans have
wished Congress to remain faithful to its pro-
posed amendments as an ultimatum in recon.
struction; to accept the late seeding States
II they accepted those amendments, and thus
complete the work of Reorganization. Con.
gress has remained faithful to tina. plan. l,
Is the South that has definitely rejected it.
Every Republican viii expect now that an
other policy will be adopted; every Republi,
can will not hesitate to claim that that policy
shall save to Repubhcanism its proper a,tri.
butes, and to every man the rights that would
have been sacrificed, had the South adopted
the amendments.