The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-04-15

Southern politicians ever made. The South
jumped into the bramble-bush, and scratched
out both its eyes, In pursuance of the same
blunder, the South relinquished all its advan-
tages after Lincoln was elected. If the
Southern members of Congress had not re-
tired there would have been a majority in
both houses against the Black Republican
President. War could not have been waged
against the South, because it required an act
of Congress to raise and equip armies. Pre-
sident Lincoln could not have appointed even
his own Cabinet without the consent of a
Democratic Senate. Every foreign minister,
every custom-house officer, every marshal,
every postmaster, must have been a man
whom Democratic Senate approved. Lin
coin would have been utterly powerless, and
the Republlcan victory in the Presidential
election barren triumph, if the Southern
members of Congress had not insanely with
drawn, and left Republican majority in
both houses. Slavery would have stood to
this day, If they had not jumped into the
brapble-bush and scratched out their eyes,
The war was a consequence of their stu
pendous folly and blindness. Instead of
gaining their assumed right to carry slavery
into the Territories, they caused its abolition
in the States, where nobody, at the outset,
disputed their right to maintain and per-
petuate it. 1t was the most egregious mis-
calculation ever made by sane men The re-
suit was the impoverishment and prostration
of the South, the abolition of slavery, the
subversion of State rights, military
despotism, and negro suffrage And why?
Simply because the South wosld not admit
that Northern Democrats were competent
judges of Northern public sentiment. Mr..
Douglas understood the North, and if the
South had not foolishly assumed to be better
Judges of Northern sentiment than he was it
might have saved all it forfeited by scorning
his advice.
A few Southern ultrasts who ''learn no.
thing and forget nothing" fancy that they can
scratch their eyes in again by leaping into
the same bramble-bush in which they
scratched them out. We cannot pretend to
be very profound oculists, but we do not
believe that lost eyes can be replaced by any
such process. We have outgrown the simple
faith of the nursery. In the progress of in
tel)igence there arrives period when it be-
hooves men to put away childish things"
and of all childishness none is more supremely
silly than the expectation that the hands can
be turned back on the dial of events Why
will few deluded Southerners persist in
maintaining that we of the North are not bet
ter judges than they can possibly be of the
drift and tendency of Northern public senti-
ment? In 1860, Breckenridge against Douglas
was simple mistake it was not insanity.
But in 1871, it is the height of midsummer
madness for a afewSouthern ultraists to pretend
that they know the public mind of the North
better than the Northern Democrats. They
are urging us to repeat the same disastrous
bluDder which was committed in 1860; and
we tell them, In all sincerity, that they cannot
scratch their eyes in again by jumping into
the same bramble bush. We ask them to look
at New York, the strongest of all the Demo-
cratic States. The Southern press receives
our New York Democratic papers as ex-
changes; and if they have examined them
with attention during the last month they
have found that they all without exception,
earnestly deprecate the revival of dead issues,
and emphatically endorse the position of
Governor Hoffman. Nobody in New York
believes that New York could be kept Demo-
cratic on their platform, and if New York
cannot be retained with such platform, how
can other Northern States be gained? Surely,
the South cannot expect TO elect President
without Northern assistance.
We are impelled to make these frank
statements by article in the Montgomery
Mail, the Southern journal to which General
Blair addressed his recent letter, and which
replies with some warmth to our remarks on
that spirited production. We are not dis
pleased to find that the Montgomery Nail
admits the force of our logic, and is quite of
our opinion that it would be futile and ridi-
culous to direct the Democratic batteries
tuition if the party does not mean to disturb
negro suffrage. We copy the closing para
| graph of its article:-
''We certainly agree with the World that opposi-
ton TO the fifteenth amendment, far as the South
| is concerned, would amount to but little If the
| Democratic party has made up its mind to accept
negro suffrage. The known opposition to that
heTesy on the part OF the Northern Democracy was
the strongest gament that bound the South to that
organization, and we feel it TO be duty TO warn
the leaders of that party everywhere against the
danger they will incur by cutting that ligament in
twain"
General Blair stated explicitly in his letter
that he thought negro suffrage should have a
fair trial, and that no attempt should be made
| to abolish it unless experience should demon
strate its incompatibility with civil order
The Montgomery Mail is quite correct in
thinking that the Democratic party would be
| illogical in making war upon the new amend
ments and at the same time accepting the
things for which those amendments provide.
| 1t evinces perfect clearness and precision of
thought when it agrees with us that the pivot
of this controversy is negro suffrage If the
Democratic party do not intend to make that
a leading issue in the next Presidential
election, it would merely fight shadow in
opposing the fifteenth amendment. Gene
raj Blair really dismisses the whole con-
troversy respecting the amendments by
abandoning opposition to negro suffrage as
an issue In the next Presidential election. II
is precisely on the acceptance of negro suf.
frage that the question hangs and we must
concede that the Montgomery Mail is more
logical and consistent than General Blair
Every Southern journal which thus clearly
distinguishes between the husk of this contro-
versy and the kernel renders valuable assist
ance In bringing the question to focus.
Blink 1t and shlrk 1t as you NAV confuse il