Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1868-07-16
Tlls gepnblisan,
WhIch DO They Meant

uemanulng Tile lmmeulate feStOfaIlOn
of all the States to their right in the
Union. Seven of the ten seeding
States have just been restored to
their rights in the Union against the
vote of every Democratic member of
either House of Congress, and over
the adverse vote of Democratic
President. The platform demands,
also, "civil government for the Amer
lean people," while every vote of
the party at the South or in Con
gross is for perpetuating military
government, rather than allowing
civil government to be established
on the basis of universal suffrage
These two demands, therefore, are
hypocritical, and do not express the
true intent and sense of the Demo
cratic party, which really desires the
delay of the restoration of the South
ern States until the present Recon
struction laws can be repealed, the
present State governments overturn-
ed and new ones established based
on the white vote only. Should the
Democratic party elect the next Pres
ident, Both Houses of Congress wo'd
still be more than two. thirds Repub-
lican, and these majorities could not,
by any number of Democratic ,icto-
ries, be changed in less than four
years, or until 1872, SO as to effect
the appeal of the present mode of re-
construction ard the adoption of a
new one. III, therefore the Demo
cratic party are in favor of'recon-
structing the South on the white vote
only, it follows, "as the night the
day." that they cannot be in favor
OF the immediate restoration of those
States, but must be in favor ofmain-
tanning military governments therein
tor at least four years longer. I'm
mediate restoration" and ''restora-
ton on the white vote only" are at
present wholly incompatible with
each other. Which will the Demo
cratic party really stand by? Their
platform lodges this vital point. If
the party, in the event of success,
will stand by immediate restoration,
they mnst abandon their crusade
against the rightfnl authority of the
present Southern State Governments;
must accept universal suffrage, and
submit 70 what they have styled ne
gro supremacy,"i. G., the right of
the black man to vote, hold office,
and sit OH juries. But if all these
things are irreversible facts, the
Democratic party accept reconstruc
ton on the Republican basis, just as
they have accepted a Union sustained
by coercion and emancipation. They
have really no mission or aim what
ever relative to reconstruction, or
the colored race. Such q course
would swindle and cheat the Demo
cratic party out Of that very princi-
pie or prejudice which forms their
strongest bond of affinity and cohe-
sion, viz, their desire to maintain
some sort of legal supremacy Of the
white race over the black. Such a
course, therefore, is not to be expect
ed.
But if the negrophobic element in
the Democratic party is neither to
be surrendered nor cheated of its
success in the event ola Democratic
triumph, how is it to be gratified?-
sSIn,nose their utmost dreams fulfilled.
Suppose n Democratic President
and a decision of the SUI
preme Court rendered declaring the
reconstruction acts unconstitutional.
Seven of the ten States are already
in the Union under constitutions
which forbid any restriction of tho
suffrage, and most Of which forbid
any person who desires to restrict
the suffrage from voting at ALL
Moreover, the two Houses of Con-
gress remain Republican, and as they
refused heretofore to accept consti-
tutions or admit Representatives
chosen by the white and rebel vote
only, they probably would do 50
again. Beside, the experiment of
the South on the
white vote only would not promise
any better result when tried the Sec
ond time than when tried the first
Then it tended directly to restore
slavery, to produce negro massacres
and a war of races, to place rebels in
power, and TO dissolve the Union
There is nothing so attractive in that
mode Of reconstruction that the |
country pants to get back to it. For
all these reason it is obvious the eff
fort Of a Democratic President and
Supreme Court to- disfranchise the
colored race and reconstruct the
South on the white vote only, with
the Southern constitutions, the |
Southern Republican party, white |
and black, the two Houses of Con-
gress, and the great Republican party |
of the North opposing them, would |
only protract during four years to
come, the agony and discord during
the past four years, increase the an
tagonism between the races, and re-
kindle the smoldering and nearly ex-
embers of the late REBEL
ion. The continuance of military
governments for many years to come
would be the least of the evils grow
ing out of such an attempt to make a
revolution move backward. When
the Demo cratic party demand in the
same platform the ''immediate resto-
ration of the Union" and the aboli- !
ton of negro suffrage, we ask which
they mean. Both are impossible
". Y. 1i1duneaf enc s-8Bd2
ErFr T-
The Tammal y Convention de-
mands "one currency for the gov-'I
eminent and the people" dc. Will
it be n little more explicit and tell us