The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-04-06
The NEGRO Vote ana the National

The negro Vote ana the National
Debt.
The Mobile (Ala.) Tribune processes
to be quite confident that if the blacks
of the South are admitted to the elective
franchise, they will ultimately vote for
a reputation of the National debt.
We quote from its article as follows:
"OnIy let the cry of Down with the
moneyed aristocracyp be skillfully and
persistently kept up in country like
the late United States, and there will
be the mischief to pay in u very short
time.
at was by such cry that the hosts
OF Abolitionism were mustered for the
the overthrow of Southern Institutions.
There is. as Mr.. Johnson remarked, a
new aristOcracy, and one of the most
ouious character, erected on the ruins
ofthat which has been overthrown.
Already has the lever been planted
under the new concern, and there are
sturdy workers at the end of it. Less
than a year ago, Brick Pomeroy in
serted that lever, TO the horror of hun
dreds OF his own party, not man of
whom dared then to lend a helping
hand for the purpose of prying up the
Radical monster by the roots-
Now there are upwards OF hum
dred papers Juggling cheerily on the
levers end. Every ship-load of immi-
grants that land at Castle Garden afford
msterial from which to gather strength
for this movement
The negro vote, which is a fixed
fact, may and will be turned in the
same direction. Let it be explained 10
the negroes that out of every 400
pounds of cotton that they raise they
pay SIS to u New England master,
The new master gets more clear profit
from the negroes labor than his former
master ever got, and he lives away of
yOnder in New Entfland, never caring
a continental how his negroes fare, SO
long as he puts into his pocket fully
Cne-third OF all his Niger earns Ev-
erybOdy in the South knows how ne
grOes used to fare when their masters
did not live on the plantation with
them, to see thBt they were properly
clothed and fed, not overworked, and
received necessary attention when sick.
The negroes have changed masters and
been terribly swindled in the bargain.
And they have not got for masters the
men by whose lighting they became
free, but the men who sat down at
home and had Black substitutes killed
for their benefit. Down with the aris-
tocrutic bond-holders That is the
battle cry Of the party that has entered
the field to win"
The above article discloses one thing
for certain, and that is the heartburn
paper to see population brought about
by some means or other. That is the
only certain feature that we see in all he
says. We naye no doubt that such as he
will advocate reputation OF the Nation
al debt at the first good opportunity.
Perhaps "A majority of the whole South
would do so tomorrow. We have al
ways believed as much, and therefore
have always taken the ground that
1t was unsafe to let them back into
power, or even influence, before we had
done everything possible to insure the
permanency of the Government, or, in
other words, to render it iron-clad
against the political assaults of the
rebels.
We think it will be found that the
dangers OF population are not in
creased by negro suffrage at the South,
but rather diminished. The probability
is that their votes will quite likely
serve in some degree to neutralize the
general tendency of the white vote in
favor of population The negroes have
not the same incentive TO vote in that
direction. Our debt does not represent
their overthrow. 1t is no reminder to
them of humiliation. But, on the con-
trary, It is n memento OF their emanci-
patton, elevation and Acknowledgement.
a great deal has been ventured as "a
matter of opinion, pro and con, as to
what will be the ultimate of negro suE.
frage. We profess to no clear concep-
ton, either upon the point raised by the
Mobile Tribune, or upon any other point
likely to arise in connection with that
vote. An ignorant suffrage Is always
dangerous, as n matter of course. Dc
TocquevIlle long ago pointed out iti
perils to n Republic. But thus far the
experience of the American people has
been that their most dangerous foes
were the Intelligent whites OF the South.
They are the dangerous class" even
yet.
The common people Of the coun,
try saved it from destruction at the
hands of the Southern aristocracy
What may be the future OF the repub.
lie no man can foresee. While IL is nc
argument against intelligence to say
that the most intelligent people of the
South were the cOuutrN's bitterest
foes, yet it shows that education and
patriotism do not always go hand in
hand. We should expect the negroes
to vote for population whenever they
supposed, ignorantly or otherwise.
they were subscribing their interests,
just as We are sure the whites will
vote under the same circumstances.