The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1871-05-20
Too Much of a Good Thing.

A few weeks ago the New York Tribune, OBJ
jecting to the plan OF a mixed Kuklux CON-
mittee Of democrats and radicals to travel
over the south, as unlikely to get at the truth
of the case, announced with n flourish of
trumpets that the Tribune itself had adopted
a plan to get at the exact truth of the condi.
ton of the south, the plan being to send a
travelling correspondent incognito into each
southern state, who was to report in weekly
letters to the Tribune. These letters are be.
ginning to arrive, and the Tribune publishes
some of them with wry face as a little too
much ef a good thing. Here, for instance, is
an extract from one of them, written by its
correspondent visiting South Carolina, state
whose wretched condition under radical rule
is fast assuming prominence as the great scan
dial of the age:
In order to comprehend the cause of the
present disturbed condition of the state, it is
necessary to consider the elements of its popu-
latlon and their changed relations to each
other. In total of 729, 900 inhabitants, there
are about 425, 1000 negroes, who, as class, are
Af3hOA"he3 oupSASliliVuS, Out
little elevated in intelligence above their kim
dred in Africa. Upon these people not only
political rights have been conferred, but they
have absolute political supremacy. They are
the governing classes in South Carolina, and
class more totally unfit to govern does not
exist upon the face OF the earth.
Politically, party lines are race lines in
South Carolina; the white men make one party
and the negroes another; the number of white
men who have joined the latter being too
small to be worth considering. There are
scarcely dozen native white men who are re-
pnblicans from any other motive than greed
for Office, and with a few highly honorable
exceptions the northern men who have come
here are INSCRIPTIONS Adventures. 1t was
found that the new legislature, which met in
the winter, was more corrupt than its prede-
cessor. Leading republicans here tell me that
it was VIGOROUSLY incompetent and profigate
Eighty of the 124 members of the house and
ii Of the 81 senators were negroes. Many
could not read or write. Those negroes, igno-
rant Of all the forms of legislation, could have
done but little harm had it not been for few
white members, who conc0cted mischief and
initiated them into their schemes, telling those
who had some scrupes that 1t was the custom
of members Of all legislatures to make money
outside OF their salaries A final cause of irri.
tation was the collection of taxes, which be-
gan in March. The rate of taxation was
largely increased over that of previous years,
and the property owners honestly believed that
they were robbed to support the extravaganza
of the "nlgger government" which they so
cordially hated.
1t would be hard to imagine state of So
ciety more entirely untitled for a republican
form OF government than this. The lnteli.
gent people of the state have no voice in pub
lie affairs and no influence in the government,
and are obliged to submit to the rule of class
just released from slavery, and incompetent,
without guidance, to exercise the simplest
duties of citizenship.
A few more letters like this, and VIC reckon
the Tribune project of beating the radical Ku-
klux committee, now in session at Washing.
ton, in the business of manufacturing political
capital, will have to be abandoned as a failure.