The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-28
- rTHR DAILY EVENING TEIHGRAPH- nlADELPHIA


ideas which have so much influence when no
great question is before the people. He must
weigh the matter in its widest sense, and
North, South, East, and West seek for The
general welfare. The salient question which,
above all Others forces itself into notice is that
of civilization versus barbarism It is the
question which we have been fighting to, de-
eide. In 1861 we found half of our territorial
extension and one-third of our white popull-
tiOn welded to q semi-civilized element which,
wherever its touch was felt left its inherent
cuIse.
The black contact forced us into four years
exhaustive war, filled the land with civil
hatreds heaped debt upon us that makes US
stagger, and unsettled the whole national pro-
gress. No sooner have we shaken off tue one
curse-ot four millions of slaves-than this
same black element springs into a new and
even more threatening attitude than ever it
before possessed. This time it takes head aud
front as 2 compact and unrelenting ruling
power ignorant, and consequently lacking in
Judgment and swayed entirely by passions
which are stirred to action by the most un-
principled of the demagogues who make our
system OF government a mockery. Here this
element stands to-day, demanding the same
rights, the same power, the same consdera-
tion as any equal number Of the population Of
the United States, no matter how many centu-
ries of toll they have had to reach their pre-
sent standard Of civilization.
Let us suppose, for moment, that four
millions of negroes from Africa could be
landed en- mdSSe upon the shores of the North
ern States, with brains undeveloped, stepped
in barbarism that forty centuries contact
with the earliest civilization of the world never
could penetrate, who is there among us that
would engraft such an element upon our poiti-
cal fortunes and stake the future of the coun-
4rx nd "a, fg 41,,
thing that the crazy politicians are attempting.
The power which the concentrated energies of
the nation gave them in the war they would
preserve by raising into existence a worse
political curse than slavery.
Did we raise the sword to cut loose from the
barbaTic element only to bind it the tighter to
the throat of the nation by after legislation
Strange result, indeed, of all our efforts.
Surely our Legislators cannot understand the
will of the people, much less their good when
they undertake in worse form to fasten upon
them this negro question. Our politicians are
organizing here a magnificent edition of St.
Domingo, Soudan, and Central Africa. Here
we were laboring to establish all that was
lofty in civilization. We were making brain
power the standard of the man; we were dri-
wing on our car of progress at a pace that
threatened to leave Europe far in the rear. In
the midst of all this we stoop to Africa and
voluntarily force into existence barbaric
| power worse than any that ever flooded Eu-
| rope. Europe had an invasion of fresh and
vigorous brains from the north; ours is of
| brains cooked to crisp under more than forty
| centuries Of African sunshine. No folly in the
| whole progress of civilization equals this one.
| Not in the range of all history can be found an
| instance where nation voluntarily receded
| in civilization. Nor can we believe that our
| people, by endorsing the action of the radicals,
| are about to retrace their steps and lapse into
| barbarism.
The situation as it now presents itself has
| nothing to do with the Rebellion. If the negro
| cursed us while a slave he doubly curses us
| now; and in the mad idea that everything in
| the shape of man should count one, we have
| forced him into political power where not he
nor we can profit by it. Frightened at the
| signs of the coming reaction, the demagogues,
| whose existence depends now upon the amount
| of ignorance they can bring to their support,
| spring to the forum and make desperate efforts
| to prop up their falling fortunes. ColfaX,
| Speaker of the House of Representatives, is
among them. His late speech, like the rest,
| must depend upon ignorance to appreciate it.
| 1t disgusts intelligence. Nor is the radical
| opposition speech of Seymour any better.
| Seymour neither appreciates the situation nor
| is able to analyze it. The most puerile finan-
| cial ideas are the whole burden of his brain.
1t is in the power of the people to launch again
| our stranded wreck. The coming elections OF
| this State will show how they appreciate the
| condition of the country. 1t will show, too, il
| they are willing to shake hands with the great
| West, and in common with the conservative
| element from Ohio to Kansas, dictate the law
| so that our rulers cannot fail to understand it,
In debating that law let the people remember
that they are called upon to decide if the
country shall commence a retrograde move
ment, and that the great issue of the hour i:
to choose between civilization and barbarism