The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1871-04-13

GiSClOE OF II6SlttSlL anu ' ICE res 4
ident, or hold any. office civil or mil
itary, under the United States, or
under any State, who, having pre-
viously taken an oath as a member
Of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as member Of
any State Legislature, or as an ex-
eeutivc or judicial officer Of any
State, to support the constitution
Of the United States, shall have en-
gagged in instruction or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or
comfort to the enemies thereof" -
And then there is a disfranchise-
ment law, extending to these and
other parties conspicuous in the re-
bellion. Here, then, issthe difficult
ty These parties so punished are
the leading white men in intelli-
gence, political experience. influence
and property in the Southern
States. Their late slaves may go
to Congress, but these disabled
whites still bear the ban Of trail
tors. They have all the duties Of
submission imposed upon them,
but none Of the personal benefits
offs restoration to the Union. They
are held responsible, under pains
and penalties, for the crime Of q
whole people, and the whole con-
cerned sympathize with their suf-
fering confederates, many to the
extremity of the ''unlawful combi-
nations" Reach this difficulty, and
you reach the seat of this Southern
disease Of organized violence
against the laws of the land.
The remedy follows, in the four
teenth amendment, its specified re-
bel disabilities, and It's these sim
pie words, referring to the particu-
lar disability Of any individual
"bGt Congress may, by a vote of
two-thirds of each house, remove
such disability" All, then, that
is wanted to place the dominant
and responsible white classes of the
South in full rapport with the gov
eminent Of the United States is to
restore these men to the full and
equal condition of loyal citizens
They will trust you if you trust
them. Try it. The experiment has
been tried in scores Of individual
cases, and no failures, that we are
aware of, have been reported among
them. Try, then, a universal am
nesty, as provided for in the four
teenth amendment, such an amnes-
ty as will make even JEFF Davis eli.
gible again to the Presidency, and
you will do more to disarm the Ku
Klux Klans than you can possibly
accomplish by the employment Of
the army and the navy, and the Uni
| ted States courts and marshals, and
the suspension Of the habeas corpus
with the continuance of these rebe
disabilities.
Under these disabilities it is no
torious that the Southern men bes
qualified, from education, expert
ence and influence, to assist in re
storing law, order and harmony il
the Southern States, are ruled out
and ignorant Southern whites anC
blacks and INSCRIPTIONS Northern
adventures and spectators, com
ing into power, have done much t.
bring into general disrepute thes,
reconstructed Southern State gov
ernments. Make it the interest o
the Southern white men who givt
the tone and the public sentiment
to Southern society, make it an oh
ject with them to support the con
stitution as it is and the administFa
ton, and you viii gain them. In {
word, restore them completely to tia
rights, privileges and immunities'
of "citizens Of the United State
and of the State in which they re
side" and you viii make friends o
enemies and convert these horri,
Ku Klux Klans into law-abidinl
men; for their present occupation
viii be gone with the removal of tn
cause.