The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-03-25
General Lee and the Congressional
Plan of Reconstruction.


General Lee and the Congressional
Plan of Reconstruction.
No better evidence of the increasing popularity
of the Congressional plan of reconstruction
could be desired than the manifesto of General
Robert L. Lee, published by us a few days
since. In that document he avows himself
strongly in favor of the people of Virginia
voting for a convention, and urges every man,
not actually disfranchised not only to take
the necessary steps to prepare himself to vote,
but to prepare all his friends, white and
colored, to vote also. Not only this but the
General actually endorses the oath to be taken
by voters, saying that it els such as every
citizen, not disfranchised, ought now to be
able to take, as a simple matter of truth and
duty as a citizen of the country"
These are significant words, and, coming
from General Lee will have wonderful weight
with the late Rebel portion of the Southern
people. He is their idol. He was their great
leader during the war, and it must be con-
fessed displayed many fine military qualities.
His modest and unostentatious behavior since
the war closed has done much to soften the
feelings even of loyal men towards him. His
present utterances will tell powerfully upon
public sentiment all over the South.
And what a contrast does this action of
Robert L. Lees present tothat of our Northern
conservative fanatics While they are de-
nouncing the wise and humane provisions of
the Reconstruction law, making mock lamen-
tations over the destruction of so-caled South
ern "States," hypocridcally bemoaning the
downfall of civil liberty, prating about mill
tary despOtism, and making noodles of them
selves generally, General Lee accepts the
situation in good faith, recognizes the citizen
ship of the freedmen, declares the test oath to
be such one as every good citizen ought to
be able to take, and urges the people to go to
work honestly and unitedly under the law.
The truth is, our Northern conservative
fanatics are terribly chagrined and exaspe-
rated because they see that the Congressional
plan of reconstruction is working like a
charm, and is going to succeed. They
had lot of little pocket States, cooked
up by President Johnson, in which all
the political power was placed in the hands
of the late Rebels, and the Union men dis
franchised, by the admission OF which they
hoped to rush into Congress lot of Demo
cratic Senators and Representatives, and then
cast a solid Southern vote for the Democratic
candidate for President in 1868. This nice
little scheme was "knocked into a cooked
hat" by the plan of reconstruction adopted
by Congress and hence the tears and groans
of the conservative fanatics. Practical men,
however, of all parties-men who care more
!or the reconstruction of the Union upon fair
and liberal terms than they do for the tri-
umph of partisanship-will rejoice that the
plan adopted by Congress is likely to prove so
successful. Already the New York World is
forced to admit that no party in its senses will
dare to go into the campaign of 1868 on the
issue of repeating the Reconstruction law.
What better evidence of its intrinsic adapted
ness to the case in hand could be desired
1t is doing the work. 1t is restoring the
Union. 1t is promoting a better state of feel
ing between the Southern whites and blacks
than has ever before prevailed. 1t is breaking
up Southern lethargy and despair 1t is send
ing new life through the entire framework of
Southern society. In the face of practical
results like these, what do the rawlings of our
old pro-slavery, conservative, Rip Van Winkle
fanatics of the North amount to?