The Portland daily press., 1868-01-28
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
Tuesday Morning, January a8, 1863.
Doo,itIe as n Phi,nn,.,rou;,,.
PORTLAND

The humane impulses of Mr.. James r.
| Doolittle, like. jacques melancholy. are a
strange compound. The Racine philan.hro-
pist must be credited, nevertheless, with be-
ing the first Deme crat in Congress who has
yentured outside of the beaten track of vague
generalities in opposing reconstruction. In
doing So however, he assumes as the basis Of
hisattack an absolute fasehood-''open, gross
and palpable. That basis is the assumption
thai Tie pains penalties, disfrancbisements,
military control, denial Of representation, and
other unpleasant regulations pertaining 10
reconstruction are a part of q yindictIye poll
cy; that Northern Radicals want to punish
the South. irrespective of any good TO the
country or TO the Southern people that NAV
be expected TO arise from the disci binary
measures adopted; that the Southern people
are to be "paid OFF, for their trauscressiens
.and that all the legislation OF the 3Oth and
40th Congresses, from The Genesis Of the 14th
constitutional amendment to the Revelations
Of the bill now pe,;ding In the Senate, is
mere wanton exer se OF power aud an ex-
preston OF savage eXultation over a fallen foe
Therefore the tender-heartel Mr. Doolittle.
in the plentitude of his compassionate feel
in2s, lifts up his voice and walls in Senatorial
phrase at great length, imagining no doubt,
that when history tells Of Byron going to the
assistance Of the oppressed Greeks. and La
iayette unsheathiuga French sword fo- Amer
lean liberty, the Muse will also sing of Doolit-
tie, standing in mediatorial attitude between
North and South. II is an unfeeling part to
be obliged to upset the Senator's Spanish cas-
ties. but he as already been told, and must
sooner or later know, that If history takes
any note OF his euphonous name, it will be to
write him down under very different head
irein that of philanthropist. This is perfectly
clear from the following considerations.
He complains of the prescription of ReLels.
The number who are denied the ballo. under
existing laws win not by the most liberal es-
tinate exceed 100000. The disIranchisement
OF that number was resofted to as the cnlv
alternative for permitting the disfranchise-
ment of 100000 loyal men by the late insur-
gents. 1t is passing strange that DIR. Doolit-
tie should have so many tears to shed over
one white rebel who has lost his vote, but
not thought for the sere,l black patriots
who would otherwise have lost not only their
votes, but their civil rights. The Southern
people had a fair offer of restoration TO
the Union with no other requirement than
that they should share political power with
tue loyal part ofthe population. Z hey proxp.-
ly rejected it. All that has followed has been
by way Of reaching in some other manner the
just end originally proposed, but Mr.. Doolittle
weeps all the same.
Another thing TO be considered in esthna-
ting the character of the new school OF NOR
al philosophy of which the Wisconsin Sena-
tor is the head, is the fact that there was 30
prospect tFat the negroes, LETT to the control
Of their old masters, would ecer be relieved
from the cieil aud political disabilities which
it was designed to impose upon them On
tue other hand, political prescription is all
t hat the whites suffer in any case. and that is
IN its nature temporary. by the much
abused acts of Congress the disfranchisement
of the more prominent Rebels has refer
eIce solely to the elections pending the
fornotion and adoption of State con-
solutions After this preliminary work
is done, the regulation Of the franchise
l. left TO the States themselves. They can
not rob the negro Of his vested right to the
ballot, but they can remove the disabilities of
the whites. The whites have a majority of
registered voters in five of the ten unrepre-
sented States, and If the ends of Justice per-
nit or require it, they may, BY amending the
constitutions adopted, tif, in fact, those con
Stitutions continue in force the iranch Sc
clause of the act OF Congress) admit their
prescribed associates to their former privi-
leges. In the other five States, where the
returns Of registration show slight predom-
nance OF blacks, no disposition has been
been manifested by the negroes to take adj
vantage OF their position for any other pur-
pose than to establish their own safety. In
Alabama, one OF the States where the blacks
are in the majority, and where greatest pro-
gress has been made in reconstruction,
lis o. the disfranehised whites who had con-
sented to the proposition Of the equal rights
OF all men was promptly forwarded to Con-
gress with petition that they might be re-
stored TO all the rights of citizenship.
Here, then, is the difference between DEM
ocfatic and genuine philanthropy: The for
mer requires that one white rebel shall vote
when as necessary consequence sever
black loyalsts are debarred from that privi-
lcse. In the case Of the disfranchised black,
tue loss of the ballot involves the loss of safe
ty and OF civil rights with no hope Of relief;
in the case OF the tlisiranchised white man.
the disability is but temporary aud is attended
with the loss Of political power alone. Cen
uine humanity requires that the proposition
OF the Conservatives should be exactly re-
versed, and reversed il will be, Doolittle TO
the contrary Notwithstanding.