Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-14
WHITTIER DRIFTING?
Is the Banner for or Against Us?-
What do the Facts show?

we We h6arQ that whip crack Def0rl
g. You have, eh? Well it would be stran
oil if you have not The people who trust
ne with an extraordinary degree of con
y dence in the Banner have been puzzl
= beyond measure to locate it since L
~ somewhat celebrated Radical can-can
Is ! the capital on the Goth and Dist of Ma
), The men who have stood by that pap
~ through many long years have bee
|. greatly panied at its Vacillating cour
: during the past few months. If it hi
# not been drifting into Republicanism j
!. course has been the strangest imaginabl
If it has given said and comfort to an
8 party, is has certainly been the Republi
;, can party. If it has not desired to al
= that party, should like to know what
:, meant when it declared on the 25th {
t May that "long before there was even a
" anticipation that the Republican party {
: Tennessee would meet with such disas
e ter as that which overlook it throug
! Senator Gates indescretion, and Brown
lows stubborness last Thursday, Ma
20 the Banner had repeatedly expressed
itself in favor of seeing returned to tn
General Assembly such Republicans al
Mr.. Roach, Mr.. A. V. S. Lindsey, Nh
| Fletcher, and others of that liberia
SCHOOL,
And what did the Banner mean wher
on the 18th of June it declared Gin al
earnestness and sincerity, that it is oul
(its) sober and deliberate conviction thai
it would be best for us all if the next
Legislature should be exclusively Repub-
lican2"
When the Press and Times asserted
that Republicans will furnish major
ity of the Assembly" and asked "WhO'l
send us sharp, active minority the
Banner responded as follows:
"lf anybody does, we shall begin to
believe the fools are net all dead yet, and
pray very earnestly for an epidemic. We
have had enough of minorities-enough
of minority reports, and the gasconade
and rhetorical yaporings of champions
who could do US no earthly good but
talk We do not need any talk View
had enough. Let the minority go into
the woods and BAY the moon. The huns
bugs and shams who may be fondly
looking forward to good time in the
next Assembly, ventilating their beauti-
ful records to the admiring galleries and
through the newspapers, will be disaps
pointed So far as this journal is con-
| cerned, we announce at the outset that
we shall not be guilty of the sin of en-
eOuraging demagogues, even on our own
side of the question, by occupying our
columns with their platitudes and com-
monplaces. If it is all the same TO the
Press and Times, we prefer no minority
we prefer no opposition"
When a Radical carpet. Dagger an
nOunced himself candidate for Repres
sentative from Davidson county, the
Banner DULY l0) gave him this endorse.
ment
"Our fellow citizen, J. W. Paramore,
Esq, announces himself through the
Banner, this mornir g, in response to the
call of large number of Republicans of
this county, as a candidate for the Lower
House in the next General Assembly, on
the national Republican platform of uni
versal suffrage and equal rights to all.
We bespeak for him the unanimous vote
of all the Conservatives and Republicans
of this county"
What sort of Representatives from
Davidson county would we have had if
the people had followed the advice of the
Banner? Finding that the people were
not needing its counsels to give the Re-
publicans the whole Legislature, the
Banner threw the weight of its infu-
ence in favor of division, giving ones
half the members to the Republicans
Throughout the canvass, up to the time
it became apparent that the people Of
this county had determined to select
candidates Of their own, and elect them,
the Banner sought persistently to have
only Republicans elected to the Legisla"
| ture. And if the advice Of the Banner
had been followed, we should now have
q Republican Legislature in full sympa-
thy with that party throughout the eoun>
try. The whole power Of the Banner
was exerted for two months after the
Radical disruption at the capitol, to build
up "liberal' Republican party; and if
it had succeeded in convincing the peo-
pie of Tennessee that they ought to elect
none but Republicans to the Legislature,
it would unquestionably have entitled
itself to the credit of having assisted to
build up "a Republican party in Tennes-
| see. The Banner was, during the two
months to which have referred, more
efficient laborer in the Republican
cause than the Press and Times While
it thus labored for the Republicans it
discouraged and sought to repress every
indication that the anti-Republicans
gave of an intention to bring out candi-
dates for the Legislature. repeat that
if the advice of the Banner had been
| followed we would have had Republic
can Legislature, Republican Senator in
! Congress, as the successor Of Mr.. FOw-
Ter, a Republican Treasurer, Republi>
can Comptroller and Republican Pub.
lie Printer, with fair prospect of fast
ening Republican rule upon the State for
two to four years longer If this service
entities a paper to the organship of a
party, Irespe ctfully suggest that the Ban,
ner has fairly earned that position in the
Republi an party.
What has been the course OF the Ban
ner since the election Has it not made
war upon the Democratic party, as un.
ceasingly as it sought to strengthen
the Republicans for two months after
the disruption OF the Radical conven-
ton Did it not seek to build up a
Liberal party until the Indignation OF
the anti>Republican people drove it in
gloriously from that position There
are but two national parties in this
country at this time, and the Banner Is
making war upon one of them with all
the ability and venom it can command
1t has no word of Teproach too severe
too vindictive to hurl at the Democratic
party, while its columns fail to show any
such implacable hatred toward the Re-
publican party The Banner may not
mean to assist in building up "a Repub'
lean party in Tennessee" but it has the
most Singular way in the world of man
ifesting lite purpose. So evenly do tbs
Democratic and Republican parties di
: vide the voting strength Of this country
, that those of US who are opposed to Re-
| publican rule, which means usurpatiOr
, fraud, and force if necessary, must ARA
ourselves with the Democratic party. w
| must make common cause with that par
, tv against the Republicans, or Radicals
| or whatever they may choose to cal
, | themselves, until the country is redeemed
, from that grinding despOtism unde
which it has groaned for eight years, Tn
Banner has no heart for this fight, an
refuses to go with us ltpTefers TO irlt
ter away It's influence in vain attemI
to break down the only party We hav
r had to look to in the unequal struggl
| through which we have fought since tn
war ceased in the field AN OLD WING
--------
IT is nip and tuck" with the Banne
= Memphis Ledger and Avalanche in ii
!. race to "head off" Andy johnson. 4