The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-23

this broker of cadetships this venal scamp,
this unconvicted felon, was reelected as their
Representative, demonstrates the utter un-
fitness of the Southern negro for the political
functions thrust upon them by the Recon
struction acts. BY their fruits shall We know
them. The reelection of this disgraced felon
and thief is an instructive commentary on the
wisdom of negro reconstruction. 1t is no
longer President Johnson's vetoes or Demo-
cratic denuncations that bear witness against
that insane experiment, but solemn, delibe-
rate, and almost unanimous vote of the Radical
Congress itself. 1t is Republican House of
any Office of trust or profit under the United
States. But by that statute the disability
ensues only as the consequence of convection
by a court of justice. But Whittemore has
never been convicted, nor even tried. If a
court had found him guilty and passed SEN
tence upon him, Mr. Logans argument would
have been conclusive. He attempted to
strengthen it in its weak point by contending
that the former action of the House in con-
demnation of Whittemore was equivalent to
judicial conviction. This fetch is too flimsy
to bear a moments examination. If White
more should be chosen a Grant Presidential
elector in 1872, the difference between the
legal effect of judiciol sentence and of
parliamentary censure would be quite appa-
rent. After judicial conviction his vote as
a Presidential elector could not be
counted; but the censure of the
House would not operate as a bar.
Representatives that has impugned the char
acter of negro constituency, and declared
its unftness for political duties. 1t is not
Whittemore alone that is condemned but the
black voters who sent back this exposed
rascal to represent them in Congress. The
condemnation involved in the vote of Tues
day extends beyond Whittemore to the negro
constituency, and beyond the constituency to
the Congress and the political party that
created it. 1t used to be said of slavery that
it degraded labor by the contempt it caused
for those who performed labor. With equal
truth it may be said that negro voting de-
grades the elective franchise by the contempt
it causes for those who exercise the franchise.
The practical working of negro reconstruction
is such that its very authors pronounce its re-
suits disgraceful. 1t has foistedint Congressa a
set of scalawags and carpet-baggers of whom
this venal Whittemore is a sampler and Con-
gress finds no way to protect itself against
the disgrace but by denying the right of the
people to select their representatives, and to
exercise their prerogative of condoning their
offenses and giving them a new trial The
reconstruction system is blow at representa-
tive government. 1t has created a set of
constituencies so VIGOROUSLY unfit to exercise
the rights of electors, that Congress is COM
PEELED to protect itself against disgraceful
associations by denying the competency of
constituents to choose their representatives
The Judgment in Whittemore's case is sub
stantlally right but the principle on which
it rests ought to have been applied at an
earlier stage of the experiment and have pre-
vented this revolving degradation of Congress
sional constituencies.