Nebraska advertiser., 1868-09-10
Gen. H.ongatreet,s Opinions.

j
The Tribune this morning prints the
following account of an interview al
legged to have taken place yesterday
between Gen. LOngstreet and q re-
porter of thatpaper:
Yesterday a chieftain Ofthe late re-
I beIliOn, Gen. James LOngstreet, arTiv-
ed in New York. Since the war he
accepted the situation and has used
/ his influence to counsel and guide his
! people and to lead them safely back to
| an enduring peace. Yesterday even
! ing reporter of the Tribune called
/ upon the General at the New York
! HOtels Imagine seated at q table q
tall, well built man in a suit of black.
The face is a kindly, pleasant one, the
beard is sandy and grizzled, and the
/ cheeks are flushed. The forehead is
high, and the eyes are gray and soft
in expression. The mouth, squarelv
cut, denotes decision, and there is that
! quiet, resOlute air about him that re-
minds one of Gen. Grant, whom he
strongly resembles in looks and man
ner. Although sUTfIer1nE from an at
tack of fever, he bore ehimselfresOlute-
! ly above pain, and after dinner con-
versed freely upon affairs in the South
ern States. AS portion of the con-
versatiOn bears directly upon the conf
ing campaign, I give it in full:
Reporter. Do you think we shall
have better days in the Southern
States?
General LOngstreet. Assuredly.
The cotton crop has been very large
| this year, and we viii soon have capi-
tai of our own to work upon.
Reporter. Suppose Seymour is
elected, do you think we viii have an
other war?
General Longstreet. I cannot say
as to that, but I believe that if he is
elected it will open all those old dissues,
and we will have trouble; but I don't
think he viii be elected.
Reporter. What do you think of
Grant?
General Longstreet. He is my
man. / believe he is a fair man. /
met him at West Point. I think he
is above meanness. His silence is
grand.
Reporter. There is one thing I
would like to ask. 1t is in regard to
the negro?
General Longstreet (smiling). I
will tell you all / know.
Reporter. Will he keep his con-
contracts in regard to labor?
General LOngstreet. I can relate
nv own experience. My men have
worked well. They like to have a
white man come out in the field and
tell them what to do. There was al
ways a class of lazy men who would
sit in their houses and give their orders.
These men deserved to have trouble.
'HRepOrter, And in regard to jury
trials-I mean negroes upon jury
bench?
General Longstreet. In some cases
that is bad-fOr instance, where an
action involves an account. Negroes
generally are ignorant upon intricate
matters of business. But if a district
is disposed to do right with them the
jury may be divided-white and black.
They (the negrOes) soon learn and
appreciate the position.
Reporter. About negro suprem-
acy?
General LOngstTeet-Ah, that can
never be it is silly to think of it.
They can never be stronger than they
are to-day, and the whites of the South
know it, but they are mislled by the
politicians.
''RepOrter-In regard to the acts Of
reconstruction
General LOngstreet-I advise my
friends to accept them, and come into
the Union and try to bring peace and
prosperity. / told the people Of Al
ALBANIA if they would not be guided by
the politicians they would come outall
right.
7'RepOrter-And you think it win
come out all right?
General LOngstreet-I do. The
crops are large. The Gotten crop is
worth $500, 600, 900. That is a step to-
ward bringing about the desired result.
Chase was my man. I think ifnOmi-
mated he could have been elected, and
the Southern people would rally about
him without knowing it. I cannot
vote for Seymour, but any way think
good times are not far distant"