Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-10-27
A sCATHING LAMPOON

SpGcCut uCLN u Ou HI Az"
last Friday, the Honorable Samuel 5.
Cox, in one of those inimitable efforts
which make him an orator of the hust-
ings without an equal, delineated the
genus "carpet-bagger."
The distinction he draws between the
foreign element of our population, as
class adding largely to the wealth and
permanent growth Of the country, and
the itinerant Jeremy Diddlers from the
North now overruning,the South and
claiming to be valuable acquisitions to
its population, is we'll taken. lie, also,
distinguishes between the Northern set
tier in the Southern States, both before
and since the war, who came with some.
thing more or less, and put in his indus
try as an investment intending to remain
and become an integral portion of the
community.
But the genuine "carpet-bagger''-the
lhrirtless, characterless, moneyless fellow
who left his native haunts for the good Of
the people among whom he had drened
and sponged until he was a nuisance,
and came here to bum around, and specu.
late in negro politics-he dissects merci-
lessly. This extract will be found very
readable
Immigration is a part of theshistory of
these last few centuries. We have many
millions of people now living in America
whose homes, or that of their fathers,
were along the Rhine, the Liffey, the
Danube or the Thames We affect to
believe in the utility and beauty Of this
exodus of the old world to the new. We
feelingly understand the grandeur, not to
say the value, OF the movements Of the
masses from the other to this hemisphere.
If we had had no foreign population IN
this country from 1870 till 1865, our pop
ulation would be now but ten millions.
The difference of twenty three millions
is due to emigration and its progeny But
for immigration our values would have
been immensely less. Each emigrant
brings TO us about $3.50 Will you be
Heve it? The largest accession to our
| wealth during any one period of five
years was from 1870 to 1854. During
that period we had l, 9l7 527 immigrants,
who brought with them in goods, gold
and silver S4793Sl,O 600! Nearly five
hundred millions of wealth! No one
surely will fight this kind of carpet
| bagging - hut fit came to Overturn our
attractive system of government and to
| establish negro rule; if it came TO change
| by new codes the form and substance Of
our government and displace in OnethiTd
| OF the nation the white race, then we
| should at once have closed our gates to
| the exodus. AS to internal lOcOmOtiOn,
the number of people dOmicled in France
! out of the departments they were born
| in. is twelve per cent In this country,
| in reference to States, it is twenty-five
per cent. No one can complain of such
| movements. They illustrate primer
dial principle of public liberty. It's the
right of locomotiOn. 1t is as old as Magma
! Charter that instrument provided for
free egress and Tcgrcss. Only tyrants
have by passports and other impediments
| forbidden loCOmOtiOn. DR.. Lelber in his
volume, Political Ethics has discussed
these principles; but they bear a pecu-
liar significance now, not so much for
their observance as their breach. HUI
| mainly would die, advancement would
stop, unless people should come and 60.
| 1t is not alone trees or plants that are
improved by transplanting. Whole ma
| tions are thus improved. But the trans
planting should be rightly done. The
| plant should be suited to the soil. 1t
should be cared for. Mere transplaRting,
without the honest juices, which make
the life Of nations, is death. The right
| of inter state, or international cOmmu-
nicn, and its guarantee by government
is as sacred as the rightto postal or other
| communion. And when revolution
comes in the old world, or civil war dis
turbs us here when the social order Is
broken up, and new elements to be en-
grated, it is necessary not only to recOg-
nize the right of free lOcomOtiOn but 10
guard all who in good faith become
part Of the newly crystalizing cOmmuni-
ties. When the people South denOunce
carpet baggers' they do not denounce
a healthy or rightful egress or regress.
The right Of free motion within coun-
try with goods and moneys is as sacred
as the right of free speech or free con-
science. 1t is a source, too, Of wealth.
Germany and ireland have illustrated 1t
from abroad. Twenty millions of dol
lars annually come from Germany alone
as q consequence of the exercise of this
right from abroad. How much would
come from 4 fair and free lOcomotiOn