New-York tribune., 1867-10-16
TIE ONE THING THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY
BE DONE.

satisfied, and refused to 90 to the polls:
"The State Ticket and Legislature IN some OF the
large counties borne down by the question OF Negro
Suffrage unWscly and numerically forced upon them,
and put in the worst possible form 1t was coupled with
disranchiscmen OF deserters, many OF whom were en-
trey innocent having left the army without regular dis
charges How many there were, none can tel; nut,
think great many But, entirely aside from ths the
people of Ohio will not vote for Negro Suffrage TIL they
change their minds The fact that It was practically OF
little Importance, only showed that the party ed-
crs wanted to force II upon them against their cOnNc
tions lead horse 10 water, but you cannot
deroo to shave the long hair OF ms soldiers ana could
not do Party leaders cannot do much as he could ~
is perfect nonsense 10 talk about logical sequences ana
the right of suffrage TO people who don't know what
logical sequence Is and care nothing about suffrage
for others besides the doctrine itself is man
who has not vote has more right TO vote tIan
those who have. The single women OF this county mum
berng many thousands taxed for their property have
no rg 10 VOC ION IN acco 9SU tSc Smepdme6 of Re-
publicans who either did at ALL or virtually
voted against the whole ticket III word you cannot
force men 10 vote against both their convictions and
their preJudices. II is well that the attempt Is made In
year when the lesson will be useful and not do great
deal Of mischief IregdTd this lesson ne StePpgSone
for success IN 1868 The Republican party # it wishes tore
tain power at throw aside all the wld reV0u
tonary theories which ultra men, by working the War
fever have endeavOred TO engra on the policy o the
country In other words the side issues me moral anu
social Questions must be left where they belong 70 the
reason and conscience OF the people IL not the Chris
tan idea to legislate men into anything Ohthe contrary
the appeal from human tribunals TO the higher tribunal
of the conscience The German must be allowed 10 drink
his lager beer unmoested; the young men to chew to,
bacco the negro to be educated (as he will be to nigh
condition In one word, national party must be ma
tonal dealing only with the general policy We lost one
beer and the city Of Philadelphia lost from the same
The Republican party must at once return 10 us
restoration and prosperity OF the country
Comments by the Tribune.
I. II is n blessed consolation that the Uni
verse is so governed that men are not at lib
erty to evince in their conduct all the base
ness that turks in their hearts. Were it other
hot sl,af fha
stupidly miscalls "side issue" would be given
the go-by; the party managers ignoring all
moral and social questions" devoting all
attention to the grand problem" How shall
eve retain our present Offices, or be enabled to
Exchange them for better" Thus, Emancipa-
ton was a side issue" till it pleased God to
make it palpably indispensable to the saliva
ton of the Union; Negro soldiership was
" side issue" till'i.' became impossible to fill
the ranks of, the National armies fast enough
with Whites alone And now the Republican
party ,riH enfranchise the Blacks or die in the
effort not mainly because tliree-fourths OF It's
members ardcntly desire to do 1t, but because
the more cunning minority, who would otherwise
outmanage or betray the great majority, will soon
discover that they cannot help thcmselycs-
that they have exactly llobson's choice IN the
premises-"to be or not to be-"
III. The Southern States must be restored to
their normal position in the Union. This Is
not only right but urgent. Every hour OF
needless delay is National injury, and OF
course q damage to the Republican party.
Any attempt to postpone it on party grounds
till after the next Presidential election, will
certainly injure and probably defeat the party
that makes it.
III. And, since Reconstruction cannot be
postponed, the Negro question cannot be
lodged The Blacks of the South must be
guaranteed the Right of Suffrage when their
States are reconstructed, or they will never get
it--never All adverse talk of side issues"
"mOral questions" "natonal measures"
" general policy" &c. &c, is, in view of this
fact, a simple defiance of common sense.
". For the Republicans are bound to 90 under
(thank GodD if they don't earGnchiSe the Blacks.
Manhood Suffrage is no side issue' for them,
but one of life and death. If the Blacks are
not enfranchised, Vallandigham could beat
Gen. Grant for President. If the Southern States
were reconstructed on White basis, he
could and would carry all but one of the
fifteen late Slave States by overwhelming ma
.jorities as the late elections in Maryland and
Kentucky conclusvely attest. The Democratic
party, reinforced by the late Rebels, would
rule us with a rod of iron from the hour that
Reconstruction without Negro Suffrage was con-
summated. We defy any one who can count
twenty to shut his eyes to the fact that the
fourteen Southern States Tennessee standing
ouO will unanimously choose Democratic Elect
ers of President, and send twcnty-cight Demo
Gratis to the Senate, with nearly Il hundred to
the House, from the hour in which they are
"rehabilitatedp with their Blacks under the
feet of their Whites.
V. OF course, our devotion to Manhood as
contradstingushcd from White Suffrage is not
governed by the above considerations We
worked as heartily for it in 1916, when Slavery
ruled the land and there was but the faintest
hope of its ultimate overthrow, as we do now.
We are simply showing why even the other
sort of Republicans can't "go back" on the
Negro if they would. Unless they intend to
make Blairs of themselves by going over to the
Sham Democracy, they will have to face the
music no matter though they have no ear
Tony Lumpkin, urged by his mother to disap-
point his friends who are expecting him at the
tavern, naively answers, Though / could
"easily consent to disappoint my friends, can't
"afford to disappont myself" And every pro-
fessed Republican who turns against Man
hood Suffrage, should bespeak and secure be-
forehand a place in the Democratic caravan.
There is no other going his way; and, if his
policy wins, the other one won't go at all
much longer.
We are not surprised to learn from Wash
ington that in the opinion of such profound
oonet,.ut;onaI Iowvers os tbe President and