New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-10-03
MIR. Greeley, JEFF. Davis, and the
South.

tor the past sixteen months reveals some
significant facts, to which we wish to call tn,
attention of all patriotic citizens. 1t vii
not be denied by even MIR. Greeley himsel
that Davis is still at heart secessionst
that has never repented, or thought of re
penting, of his . sin or error, Or whatever II
was" So late as the 9th of May, Of las
year, Davis haransued an admiring crowd al
Atlanta, Georgia, i'll these words:
- am not OF those who accept the situa'
ton. accept nothing. These cant phrases
that VIC hear so much Of about accepting the
situation, and about our rights having been
submitted TO the arbitrament of war, arc but
! the excuses of towards. | admit that power
prevails over truth. admit that that power
is so great that II would be folly to resist it,
and, therefore, l am in favor, myself, of be-
! ing acquiescent, and advise you to the same
course but | do not admit that our rights
have been submitted to the arhtrament al
/ the sword
/ This is sufficiently clear declaration OF
( principles. His statement Of his policy was
equally plain.
! "Wait.'' he said, "untl the tide Turns.
and turn it will, and the day il not far dis
| tant when the sun will shine upon free,
| independent, and sovereign State lie adj
| vised the South to say to the North, So We
/ know our rights, and know they arc invaded,
and then wait patiently until we see them
| divided, and at issue with themselves, and
join the party, and support the candidate
and the platform that promises n restoration
of constitutional liberty. 1t is then you will
hold the balance Of political power in your
own hands, and it is then that all your rights
will CnCe more be restored and guaranteed
No one can mistake the meaning of this
programme. Constitutional liberty" in
the mind of jefferson Davis, is the liberty Of
the whites in each State to do as they choose
with the negroes. The "rights" of the
South are, in his contemplation, precisely
those which he declared had not been sub.
mitted to the arbirament of war, and their
restoration and guarantee mean simply the
recognition of the right of secession. This
is what Davis, and those who agree with
him, were waiting for division in the Re
publican party to accomplish.
Now, looking back over the record of Mr..
Greeley to and since the period at which Da-
Wis was making these bold and telling
speeches, what do we see: We see Mr..
Greeley engaged at the same time and in the
same section with Davis, fattering the seces-
sionists of the South, and endcavorinG to win
their sympathy and approval. Thus, at the
very hour that Davis was counseling his
hearers in Atlanta, how to accomplish the
resurrection of the lost cause, Mr.. Greeley
(see Galveston Bulletin of that date) was de-
ciaring to the people Of Texas that "the States
cannot be held together by bayonets, and that
the great mass of the people are now opposed
to such attempts" The next day, referring
to Davis, who was at that moment delivering
another and more fiery appeal for secession
than the one at Atlanta, Mr.. Greeley refer
red to his signing the bal-bond in this Ian
guage, (see the Galveston dispatch OF Nav
20, 1871, to the New York Tribune. y
II did this out Of no particular regard for
jeff. Davis, nor for any political friendship,
for we were always opposed to each other.
The act was to effect my part, to reach the
heart of the Southern people, who felt that
their cause was involved with jeff Davis"
AT Vicksburg, three days later, he made
the famous promise that the North would one
day STEEL a just pride in the military charac-
ter and achievements of Lee and Stonewau
Jackson, just as we now take pride in the
character and achievements of Grant, and
Sherman, and Thomas" (See Mr.. Greeley's
own speech in New York, June II, 1878
These are specimens of Mr.. Greeley's tone
to the South. Why did he adopt il > Did he
see, as well as Davis, that time might come
when the ''baiance of political power" would
lie in the hands of those whom he was then
Gathering?
Wencxt find him engaged in bringing about
precisely the state Of things Davis looked
forward to, as the condition precedent to the
restoration of Southern "rights." He la
bored to divide the Republican party. He
began campaign of insinuations agaisnt the
Administration. He misrepresented the
action Of Congress. He suppressed the truth,
and invented and magnified charges against
party. Especially he did this with reference
to amnesty, and sought to create the i'm
preston that the party in power were acting
in bad faith to the South, pretending to favor
amnesty, and really Withholding it. All this
nursed the Cincinnati movement, which he
manipulated With great shrewdness to secure
an independent Republican nomination. Up
to the time of the Baltimore Convention, and
for some weeks after, Mr.. Greeley's utmost
efforts were directed to creating division in
the Republican party. At the last moment,
the breach being as wide as he could hope to
make it, he threw himself unreservedly into
the arms of the Democracy.
Mark the striking correspondence of his
acts with the programme laid down by JEFF
fersOn Davis. Davis advised the South to
wait for division in the North, and then go
with the candidate that promised them most.
Greeley labored to bring about the division,
and then began to promise the South every
thing. Does he not believe the time has
come to bid for "the balance Of political
power" Davis predicted they would hold:
Why else does he continually plead "above
all things" for the amnesty Of the original
secessionists? Why else does he iterate and
reiteratc his clamor for Cancellation" of
the extreme South? Why else does he
claim excuses and provOcations" for the
ku-Klux? Finally, why else does he de,
clare that if the question of secession had
to be settled over again, he would st take the
chances" of a vote of the States rather than
war?
The inference is unavoidable. Mr.. Greeley
is carrying out the avowed plans Of Jeffer-
son Davis. He is seeking his personal adj
vancement by tiattery and subserviency to-
ward the only really dangerous element in
American political society. In doing so, he
compels the people of this country to decide
again on the questions of the war. He will
not long be fooled by the hope that their
answer will be different now from what it
was when given on the battlefield.
The Philosopher Muddling Mat
tiers.