Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1872-06-25
ALEXANDRIA, June Is, 1872.

ALEXANDRIA, June Is, 1872.
III Messrs Brown, Ross and Others.
GENTLEMEN | have just received your let
ter of the 18th inst, which is before me- L
have no hesitation in giving my views or defin-
ing my position upon any question OF public
policy.
1t is almost needless to say that | shall under
no circumstances vote for the reelection OF
General Grant He has been fairly tried; he
has been weighed In the balances and found
waiting. AT the conclusion of the late war he
exhibited some evidences OF possessing the mag
panimity of soldier he was kind to General
Lee, he was kind to our paroled prisoners, he
was doubtless kind in many matters which have
never been brought to the notice OF the public.
He was then victorious general, the leader'o
great armies, the hero of a mighty revolution,
the IDOL of all The Northern States He could
afford to be generous He could afford to do
many things without the fear Of provoking com
lnant or criticism, which in a man OF lesser note
would have been deemed reprehenslble He
was to some extent above pubic opinion, and
could mould it to his own views. The people
of the South admired and applauded his good
deeds, they were deeply grateful, their highest
hopes we're kindled, and amid the contending
passions of men, they looked to him as their
future deliyerer Good heavens, how were they
deceived! Grant became politician. From
that moment he seemed to lose his personal
identity The difference between ''Philip sober
and Philip drunk at once became manifest. -
The first sally which he made in his civic career
resulted In an issue of veraclty between himself
and Andrew johnson. For proof, Mr.. John
son, who was then President Of the United
States, appealed to the witnesses, This Caonet,)
ard the witnesses sustained him. La this en-
counter the hero of Appomattox came out
seriously damaged liz vital polot OF honor
His worst passions at once became aroused.
Although Democrat ne grew furious against
the President, furious against the admlnlstra-
ton, furious against the South, regardless OF
justice or principle, and with single leap went
over bag and baggage to the camp OF the enc
my In brief, he accepted the Radical noml
nation, and was elected President, an avowed
Republican and the recognized leader of what
is now known as the military radical ring
What next? The guilty ambition which had
taken root In his soul was IN measure gratified,
but his vengeance was not appeased. He rolled
his dull blood shot eyes over the smouldering
ruins and desoated fields Of the South. and not
satisfied with all the tragic horrors of recon-
sruciion. but thirsting for more blood, and
willing to plunge our people into lower deep
beyond the lowest depth of humiliation and
shame, he suddenly raised the cry of Ku Ktuc,
when all the buzzards carrion crows, and vul-
lures in the land who are fed from the public
crib, tapped their wings, and In truculent re-
sponses howled ''ku kIux Ku Klux Ku
Klux II The hue and Cry thus raised was taken
up by Congress, and shortly afterwards the in
famous ku klux bill was passed The power
of the Chief Executive was used to secure the
passage Of this measure, and it now stands up-
On the statute book of the nation, a living dis
grace to the annals of modern civilization.
Under this bill the President was clothed
with power to suspend the writ of ha5eas cor
pas at will, and to declare martial lawssin any
portion of the land. In the remorseless exer-
else of this power the heart sickeDs at recital
of the wrongs infic,cd upon the helpless and
defenceless people of the South. American
citizens, whether North or South, are not
wholly destitute of virtue, intelligence, and
patriotism, and the passage of law so utterly
in violation of the Constitution, and so directly
in conflict with every principle Of civil and poll
tical liberty, sounded like an alarum through
the States, and was the first signal Of that over
whelming deluge which is to sweep the present
administration from power in the approaching
November election. But the passage of the
Ku Klux law was small affair as compared
with the horrors OF its executive.
The suspension of the writ Of habeas corpus
and the declaration of martial law followed by
arDlIrafy arrests III Noftu anu OoutA OaIolud
abundantly testify to this truth. Whereuer
martial Law was proclaimed it struck terror into
the hearts of the people. Thousands fed from
their homes either to escape arrest or the hate
full espionage of official spies, pimps and de-
tectives. The energies of the people were
paralyzed. Plowshares were left rusting in the
| furrows of the fields, workshops were abandon
ed, and in short time those States were re-
duced to condition of poverty, desperation,
and crime, such as beggars all description.
Personal liberty is a right older and more
sacred than constitutions, and can only be sus
pended by the fat of the Almighty. There can
be DO higher or grosser act OF usurpatlon than
for government to undertake by force to de-
prive citizen of this right, except as punish
ment for the commission of crime Yet upon
the merest pretext, and under color of law
| which in itself was violation Of every law, hu-