New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-07-09
WHICH DO THEY MEANT

WHICH DO THEY MEANT
The Democratic platform opens by demand
ING the immediate restoration of all the States
to their rights in the Union. Seven of the ten
seeding States have just been restored to their
rights in the Union against the votes OF every
Democratic member of either house of Con-
gress. and over the adverse veto of Demo-
cratic President. The platform demands, also,
civil government for the American people"
while every vote of the party at the South or
in Congress is for perpetuating military gov
eminent, rather than allowing civil government
to be established on the basis of universal sui
frage. These two demands, therefore, are
hypocritica and do not express the true intent
and sense of the Democratic party, which really
desires the delay of the restoration OF the
Southern States until the present RecOnstruc-
ton laws can be repealed, the pres
ent State Governments overturned and
new ones established based on the white
vote only. Should the Democratic party
elect the next President, both houses of Con-
gress will still be more than twO-thirds Repu0-
lican and these majOrties could not, by any
number of Democratic victories, be changed III
less than four years, or until 1872, so as to et-
feet the repeal of the present mode Of recon-
struction and the adoption of new one. III,
therefore, the Democratic party are In favor OF
reconstructng the South on the white vote
only, it follows, "as the night the day." that
they cannot be in favor of the immediate res
toration of those States, but must be i'll favor
of maintaining military governments therein
for at least five years longer. Immediate res
"toration," and restoration on the white vote
"only,n are at present wholly Incompatible
with each other Which will the Democratic
party really stand by7 Their platform lodges
this vital point If the party, in the event of
success, will stand by immediate restoration,
they must abandon their crusade against
the rightful authority of the present
Southern State Governments; must accept uni
versal suffrage, and submit to what they have
STYLED "negro supremacy i. G., the right of the
black man TO vote, hold Office, and sit on
jures But if all these things are iueversible
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 whatever relative 20 reconstruction or the
colored race. Such a course would swindlc
and cheat the democratic party out of that
very principle or prejudice which forms their
strongest bond of affinity and cohesion, viz:
their desire to maintain some sort of legal SUI
prcntcy of the white race over the black.
Such a course, therefore, is not to be ex-
pected.
But if the negrophObic element in the Dem
ocratc party is neither TO be surrendered nor
cheated of its success in the event of DEM
ocrltic triumph, how is it TO be gTatihedG
Suppose their utmost dreams fulfilled. Sup
pose a Democratic President elected, and a de
cison Of the Supreme Court rendered declar
ing the Reconstruction acts unconstitutional.
Seven of the ten States are already in the
Union under Constitutions which forbid any
restriction of the suffrage, and most of which
forbid any person who desires to restrict the
suffrage from voting at all. Moreover, the two
houses a Congress remain Republican, and as
they refused heretofore to accept cOnstitu-
tions OF admit Representatives chosen by
the wlite and rebel vote only, they
probably would do so again. Beside, the ex-
pertinent of reconstructing the South on the
white vde only would not promise any better
results when tried a second time than when
tried Tn, first Then it tended directly to
restore ShNtINb 10 pIOuuCc utgIo IudSSdCICS
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 reasons it is obvious that the effort
of Democratic President and Supreme Court
to disfralchise 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
Congress, and the great Republican party of
the North opposing them, would only prOtract,
during four years to come, the agony and dis
cord of the past four years, increase the an
tagonism between the races, and rekindle the
smoldering and nearly extingushed embers
of the late rebellion. The continuance of mil
itary governments for many years to come
would be the least of the evils growing out of
such an attempt to make revolution move
backward When the Democratic party de-
mand in the same platform the immediate
restoration of the Union" and the abolition
of negro suffrage, we ask which they mean.
Both are impossible.