The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-18
SATURDAY, DECEMBER IS, 1869.
REBEL DLsFRANCHLSEuENT

RHBEL DISfRAN CHISEIHENI.
AN epistolary contest has been commenced
between Horace Greeley and General Butler
in regard to what the former terms "the
policy of vengeance, while the latter claims
that the question in dispute involves the
Termination of 'the war of the Rebellion in
successful reconstruction" The main point
at issue is whether the existing political dis
abilities should be removed from all the Rebel
leaders who favor the fifteenth amendment, or
whether even those who support that amend
baent shall be kept on probation until the
sincerity of their motives and the complete
ness of their conversion to Unionism are fully
attested. The dispute is of best not one of
much consequence, for the country will be
able to worry through, after some fashion,
whether few thousand ex-Rebel leaders are
permitted to vote and hold Office or not. These
men have been so thoroughly shorn of their
old influence, and so completely supplanted by
host of new aspirants, that no considerable
portion of them can regain prominence under
the most favorable circumstances. Played
out politicians are at discount in all Ameri-
Can communities, and after they have once
been fairly shelved for a few years, they are
rarely able to rewin public favor. The lead
ing Rebels staked everything on secession,
and the downfall of the Confederacy destroyed
forever their hopes of political preferment
Still, some of the members of the prescribed
class may be useful as local or national
officials and as Congress has already acted on
this theory by grants of amnesty in large
number of cases, we see no good reason why
there should lot be further extension of the
samo principle. 1t is q grave question
whether prescription is not doing quite as
much harm as good by its tendency to keep
alive bitter memories, and to engender ami
mosities which the great body of the Ameri-
can people are anxious to destroy forever.
II is quite possible that prescribed Rebel may
be more dangerous than an enfranchised one.
Whatever may be thought of the extreme
leniency Of our mode of dealing with the Rebel
lion after the destruction of it's armies, it has
certainly proved in many respects, wonder
fully successful. England has been vainly
trying, for seven centuries, to pacify Ireland,
and in all that long period she has done less
to secure willing obedience than our Govern
mont has accomplished in less than five years.
If we had tried, convicted, hung, and quar-
tered every leading Rebel in the South, cry
for vengeance would have gone up from every
Southern hamlet which would inevitably
have resulted, sooner or later, in new out
breaks. But the unprecedented leniency of
&he course actually pursued has achieved a
9poral conquest only second in Importance to
he victory of our armies. And whatever
may have been the crimes of Ku-Klux
llans OF Southern rowdies, no age or coun-
Dry has witnessed an equally complete re-
establishment of national authority over such
vast district OF country in SO brief period
OF individual outrages there have been many,
but of concerted movements to galvanize the
Southern Confederacy, not one, and any man
who would propose such a scheme now in the
most rabid Rebel district would be deemed a
crazy enthusiast or downright fool. Since
leniency has aided to secure these results, and
since prescription in Tennessee and Virginia
has resulted i'll Republican dissensions, which
have enabled the Rebel element to dictate the
policy of those States, it is a mere question OF
time when every ban against men concerned
in the Rebellion will be removed, and Con,
gress should manifest disposition to hasten
rather than to retard this period. The desire
for the complete restoration of peace prevails
among the sensible men of all sections, with
out reference to their past records ant
while the nation is appealing to the whole
South to subdue its ancient antagonisms, i
should, in turn, do all in it's power to avoit
petty irritations Many Rebels, who are still
prescribed, are quite as worthy subjects o
forgiveness as large portion Of those whC
have been relieved of their political disabili
ties by the special grace of Congress, and W,
trust the period is near at hand when the re
manning restrictions can be removed by
sweeping enactment, so that all citizens o
the oountry can stand on footing of equal
: ty before the law.
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