The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-12-04
Can We Whip Them

South And we feel that there has been time
in all the terrible days through which have passed
in which it has been asked with real doubling,
than in the present In the past wise have feared
and predicted ruin; now it is mere foreboding of
coming evil but it upon with all the force OF GER
tainty and now while the thunders of the guns and
the shouts of the popuace which tell US of the Veto
ries of the Northern Democracy, yet almost sound
ing in our ears it may we'll become to survey the
battle field, and see who the enemies who have
brought this deep and dreul ruin upon us, and ask
once more the question, "can we whip them:'
To begin with these, must people, fully un-
derstand and recognise the condition in which we find
ourselves placed, and to do so, must examine the
issues involved in the late elections in the North We
cannot expect but view of the will be heard
WITH at best, shrug of ncredulity. Nevertheless, we
think all facts will bear out in saying that though
it would have been supposed that the political cond
ton of the South, aud measures for its ameloration
would have entered into the late canvass one of the
chief elements, if not the leading living issue, still
such was not the case To speak plainly, We
think, upon close investigation, it will be found that
neither great party in the North assumed itself the
championship of the rights Of the South. In other
words, have no friends in the great parties which
divide between them the support of the great masses
of the people of the North individuals there are, of
course who in pure and enthusiastic devotion to the
principles OF truth and justice, have espoused our
cause, portrayed our wrongs comniseraed our ruin,
and appealed the conquerors to treat US with justice
and moderation; but no issue has been Joined which,
be decided which way it might, would give any good
20 hC,, Of aud, n
election to take place tomorrow, with the parties
gansed upon their present bases, cannot shut our
eyes to the fact that it would be election in which
the white men of the South possess MATERIAL tangi
BE interest To be sure, the Democracy would alude
to the manner in which Southern affairs have been
managed as one more evidence of the folly of the
Radicals and Of their incapacity to administer the
affairs of the Government but those arguments would
be only incidental to others of Importance to the
| Northern people.
But we have friends where are they? We have
enemies; who they, and can we whip them? We
| have fight to make hcw can win it? Our friends
are the white men Of the Southern States. Our enc
mics the white men who allied with the blacks, our
late Slaves now control the politics and fortunes of the
South. The fight we have to make is the old battle
! between capital and labor, and whip enc
mics and win the fight This battle is not to be fought
with arms--the knife, pistol and musket; no blood
will be shed, violence used it is not to be fought
| upon battle field.
| Do not let US be misunderstood This language is
fguratve but it is the only kind proper to be used in
order that it may be fully understood. Men talk of
of races in the sense they use, we have no APP
prchensions of such There will be no violence
or blOodshed, but between capital and labor
it is upon US, in all its fury. The white men OF
the South the lands, the buildings and the locks
and the herds III the country. This is capital The
black men own nothing but they are free, and have
strong hands, and each seeks to control the other
Their interest is IDENTICAL and where the power is prop
ey balanced, that interest produces prosperity, and if
judge from the experience OF the world, this
struggle can have but one result. The capital must
and will control the labor. The white man must not
wrong the black Capital must Cypress labor,
because the moment it does then labor asserts its
physical power and produces revolution. But We re-
peat, if the who the capital Of the South,
that capital which is in contact with labor can but be
made to feel and understand that they not to look
for relief to the voting population of the North that
they not rest their rights with the sense of ius-
tice Of who alive their own interests and
whose interests not identical with ours but that
the struggle must be made at home the victory must
be won, if won be- by each individual for himself;
that each man who holds rood of land and mule is
capitalist and that he has only to create competition
for the privilege of earning living upon that land by
the laborers who have capital! then the victory will
be son and the struggle will be over
But how is all this to be accomplished or rather how
net. Not by denouncing the negro as trfing and
worthless net by Rising cotton in competition with
the cooe labor of India; not by and running in
debt; not by trying to get rich, get back to the
old days Of prosperity in day year. but by let
ting the negro alone, and each man who owns lands
becoming, for himself and his family, producers by
holding to the lands and the stock taking good care
of what have got, each for himself trying to make
living and no more; by avoiding debt, by DESTROYING
each man for himself the whole credit system, credit
ing nobody and asking nobody to credit YOU; each
man raising oly very small crop of cotton letting
politics alone and spending not CEN. annecessarily
abandoning the past without stopping to ask whether
it good bad in short by each man taking care
of himself and the little he has got left and letting
States, nations, systems and political PRINCIPLES take
care of themselves The question is too often asked
as to the feasibility of this or that schcmc as to which
system was the best. We must abandon schemes and
systems Let each man, by his own freside, look |
around his own land, and say, "Here is nv can
ita. must myself by myself take this capital be it
large small, and make my living from it, Yonder.
my neghbor has capital. He is a aborer; he wants
my capital; if deal with him, he begins to struggle
with me for the possession Of it, I must rely upon
myself; my crop may be small, but my expense
will be SMALL and my will not amount to much
If every man who land in large bodies or small
will take this to himself and act fully and squarey up
to the solioquy, in year the tables will be turned
the negroes will have nothing to do but 90 fishing and
attend to the politics of the country 90 steadily to
preaching four days in the week, and to the stated
meetings of the Union League the other three, march
in professions and drill for the militia while the white
men will begin to feel that he live by his own in
dividual cxcrtons, without having his boots backed
more than once week. and then doing it himself
The will not be felt and the era of real perma
nent prosperity will have commenced, and lands will
begin to rise in value capital will begin to flow here
the battle will have been fought and the victory won.
4 hrs ~