The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-08-08
Greming State aloltrmat.
EUREKA! /!

In scientific or political studies, it is o
prime importance for the student to be an
fat in terms and symbols used by The
writer whose book he is studying. VIZ
have read SO much in the Whig, Enquire,
and Dispatch, as well as their rural imita.
tors, about carpet-baggers, scalawags, &C.,
that we were at loss to know what OF
who was meant--whether these enemies Of
our peace were bipeds of the genus "drum-
mer," or the original petroleum throw
ers," who carried little bags of combusti-
bles to the different hotels in New York,
for the purpose of causing general con-
migration, or duadrupeds, lean, lanky, and
unwholesome, foraging down on Virginia,
ready to devour what war had left.
Thanks to the Enquirer, we are enabled,
by process of reasoning from its elabor-
ate premises, to ascertain what is a, carpet
bagger, and we can now sleep o nights. A
carpet-baggcr is clearly biped, having
well developed backbone active habits,
and pertinacity of purpose. He isnot dam
gerous, except to old fossils, and to them,
only combative when they have dragged
into their sleepy recesses, rights and privil-
eges of which they have robbed unsuspect-
ing persons, under the plea they could care
for them better than the owners.
But to our discovery In the Enquire,
of Friday last, under head "The extent of
Carpet-bagism in the South" paragraph
2S, we read: "We may add that Governor
Scott, of South Carolina, halls from Penn
sylvania; Governor Yarmouth, of Louisi-
ana, from Illinois Governor Reed, of Flor
ida, from Wisconsin Governor Clayton
now Senator), of Arkansas, from Penn
sylvania and Kansas Governor Bullock,
Of Georgia, from New York." Now, al
though the birthplace of Homer is still in
doubt
"seven cities mourning, claim great Homer dead,
Through which when living he had begged his
bread"
there is such mystery attached to the
birthplace Of our honored Governor. Born
at Binghampton, State of New York,
Qike Bullock Of Georgia,) and last
hailing from a western point, Chicago, (as
Clayton of Arkansas,) now Governor of
Virginia, he is emphatically one Of them in
every natural characteristic. But the En-
qmrer does not class him as 'carpet-bag-
GER" and we have thus discovered what
"carpet-bagger" is by careful analysis of
what Is not one of those terrible creatures,
and proved our Mississippi friend right in
his diagnosis. "The term carpet-bagger is
applied by the Democracy in derision to
man of northern birth and raising, who
came South before or since, and especially
since, the war, and has had the stemerity
to vote the Republican ticket or advocate
the principles Of the Republican party.n
Now Governor Walker has never been
guilty of these crimes against fossildom,
and thus not only condones his oflense of
Northern birth, and escapes being termed
carpet-bagger, but actually was the subject
ola classic compliment at a late dinner of the
alunuai in Charlottesville, which may be uery
truly translated, Handsome is, as hand
some does" Happy result OF dorsal pill
ancy! who knows but with De Jarnette's
shamrock so green" he may be recipient
ofstill higher honors and escape the with
ering Ito him) reproach of belonging to the
noble army Of carpet-baggers, who have
kindled the fires of liberty at countless
hearths, on mountain side and lovely vale,
rugged height and spreading plain and
left them in the keeping Of men who defy
fossildom to extinguish them, either by
open attack, or more deadly suffocation,
called Conservatism.
Our Investigations are progressing, and
we can already assure our nervous readers
that the terrible scalawag is not a whit
more dangerous than the carpet-bagger.