The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1870-08-06
DEMoCEACY.
mHOcracy and the Southern
White Mans Party

The Louisville Courier-J Journa1, II
commenting on speech recently de-
ltvered by one Judge Craddock, at La
grange, Kentucky, says:
The keynote of Judge Craddock'
speech is the idea that the Democratic
party will sacrifice its honor, set al
uaught its principles, "adopt Radica1
measures and even 60 further than the
Radicals Themselves" if it refuses to
inaugurate and sustain an agitation for
the repeal of the Fifteenth amendment
From all the premises that seemingly
justify his conclusion, it follows as
logically that the Democratic party will
| repudiate its principles and "adopt
Radical measures if it fails to agitate
for the overthrow of the Thirteenth
amendment, for the reinstatement of
the negroes and for the extension of
slavery irto the territories. IF our .du-
| ty is to vindicate, in our present plat
form, every shred of ancient Democratic
faith and display our doctrinal consis-
tency to a wondering world, we must
do all this and perhaps mitch more.
And we can 60 the whole length of this
programme just as easy as we can
rullity the Fifteenth amendment. In
deed, any movement in the latter direc-
tion would be universally held and re-
sisted as involving all the rest. We
should have to fight the war over again,
with ten-fold his former advantage on
the side Of our enemy. Thousands of
MEN who opposed the Thirteenth amend
ment as violation Of property rights,
consented to the Fifteenth because they
thought republic should contain no
large class of disfranchised fresmen. A
party proclaiming it's reputation of
the Fifteenth amendment as part of
the Constitution and led by a State
which does not permit the negro even
to testify III her courts against the
white man who has murdered his chill
dren before his eyes, would drive into
the other party even those Northern
men who only demanded civil rights for
the blacks. Disfranchise 100000 vo-
ters by logical argument and a peaceful
contest at the polls! Where on earth
was such feat srer performed4 1t
is fruit that must be sought among
the thorns of war. The great money
rings and manufacturing combinations
in the North have a direct pecuniary
interest in the negro's vote. The party
in power lives by it. No President
elect proclaiming a mental reservation
as to the Fifteenth amendment in his
inauguration oath would be permitted
to enter the Write House, and even the
conservatives Of the North, who are
sick of negro agitation, would vote
against him.
In the opinion of Northern Democra
ey the disf1anchisement of the negroes
is a Quixotic conception, and in the
opinion of not few Southern Democrats
it is not shly impolitic but wrong. Eve
ry omen IN the political horizon indi-
Gates that, if the Democratic party will
take no part In the government of the
country but OH condition that the me-
groes are to be disfranchised. it had as
well bury itself at once in the darkest
caves of the ocean. And yet Judge
Cfaadock deliberately declares that,
unless it will undertake this hopeless
crusade and inscribe undying hostility
to the Fifteenth amendment Upon its
banners, he cares not how long the
Radicals retain and abuse the power
they holdt His words are, that he
cares not whether Caesar or Pompey
reigns. He has no confidence in the
instincts Of the Democratic party that
will enlist him on It's side, unless an
idea which happens to be popular in
Kentuckey is made its platform He
thinks it has no mission on earth dis
connected with some fern of the negro
agitation.
Here then is the difference between
the supporters of the National Demoera-
cy and those who advocate the White
Mans party as means Of keeping
alive the negro agitation-an agitation
which has been, and always must be,
hurtful to the Democratic party, and
advantageous only to its opponents and
to local oA6ce-seekers in Kentucky. A
Democrat who hires his former slave
and acknowledges the Thirteenth
amendment as a fnality, does not there
by abandon his former faith or "adopt
Radical measure" Neither does the
Democrat who accepts the Fifteenth
amendment as finality and advises the
negroes to vote the Democratic ticket.
Those who take this position desire
the cessation Of the negro agitation, be-
cause. they prefer the success of the
Democratic party to that Of the Radicals
and have faith in its will and power to
relieve the country from the evils of
misgovernment. Those who advocate
the formation Of White Mans party
and propose the continuance of a futile
agitation against negro suffrage as the
test par excellence Of Democratic ortho-
doxy. seem to study only the interests
of local of6ce.seakers in this State, and
proclaim that, if the Democratic party
will not lay itself out on their platform,
as on bier. they "care not whether
Cesar or Pompey reigns."
~~~~~~~~-@s->~~~>~---
In Massachusetts, during the past
year there were fewer. marriages than
in the year before, OF the year preceding
that, fact which may to sone extent
be explained by The emigration Of young