Litchfield enquirer., 1872-05-30
cREElEy.slETTER.


 platform, he bids for the support of the Democracy and of the Free Traders in the shrewdly worded third and fifth heads of his political programme. To the former he promises policy of decentralization, of non-interference with the Ku Klux, and of opposition to the Civil Rights projects so dear to his friend MT. Sumner. He promises Free Traders that there shall be no executive interference with tariff meas ures; either direct, by veto, or indirect by removal of Free Traders from office.
 To the tariff plank of Mr. Greeley's pri- vate platform there are manifest obiec- ton In the first place the constitution has devolved upon the president an inn portant legislative responsibility in his right of veto. This responsibility Mir. Greeley declines in advance to assume, however great the necessity may be. In the next place the promise not to use in- direct influence is difficult one to keep, especially for person so liable topersonal bias as Mir. Greeley. A Liberal Republi- can administration ought naturally to avail itself of the services of man so eminent in his way as MT. David A. Wells. Now MT. Greeley can very safely agree net to remove MT. Wells for the very ex- cellent reason that he could never be in- duced to appoint him. Moreover, al- though President may possibly avoid the tariff question in his message, can his Secretary of the Treasury shirk all respon- sibility also?. A financial policy with which the tariff had nothing to do, would be the most remarkable performance of the play of Hamlet with the partof Ham, let omitted that has ever yet been seen.
 In regard to the tariff Mr. Greeley sim, ply promises to do nothing because his views are hostile to those of majority of his supporters. It is 8 queer state of things, and one not conducive to enthusi- asm, but there is nothing dishonest in it. His position on what the Democracy call the ''centralizing" policy of the Ni- can party is not SO creditable. The9S1Ia been no stronger advocate of this policy than the Tribune, yet MT. Greeley now takes it all back" and talks ''state rights in language that ought to mollify even NIT. \. H. Stephens. To be sure that lan- guage is vague, but its tone is ''eminently conservative" Now one of two things is certain; either MT. Greeley is bidding for Democratic votes in the most disingenuous manner, or he has completely changed the views so ably expressed in the Tribune throughout the whole agony of recon' struction. We cannot believe that the latter is the case, and that Horace Gree ley, if elected president, could sit content e& while half the South was being terror ized by the Ku Klux, the other half plum dered by the Carpet Baggers, and the whole lapsing into ignorance denser than the ig- norance of the old slave-holding rSginae! Inconsistent and insincere as we must consider MT. Greeley's talk in favor of de- centralization it becomes doubly shame full when we recollect how much that evil principle has already cost us. Under Democratic auspices the States rebelled, robbed the national government, and left it for dead. Under Republican auspices it revived, fought, conquered, and Liber- alism throughout the civilized world glo- ries in its strength. With Reconstruction half accomplished must the national gov ernment subside into its old Democratic insignifcancefand leave Ku Kluxdom and Carpet -Baggery to spoil the work it has so nobly begun? A State government found ed on either knavery or intimidation is monster that it is the constitutional duty of the national authority to destroy. Mir. Greeley will, we think, be more ready to do his duty in this regard than Demo- cratic Liberal Republican Congress, little as his present programme indicates such an inclination
 If the Southern States systematically neglect, as those Democratically governed do, the education of their citizens, can the general government do nothing but mourn over such dereliction of duty? The na- ton gives millions on millions to Western railroads, can it afford nothing for edu- cation? The intellectual needs of the South are vastly greater than the material needs of the West. Universal male suf- frage has made the government of many Southern State as corrupt as the Tamms- ny Society. Is the national government that forced such a measure through on the plea of necessity, to neglect the fur ther necessity of public education that grows out of it? In this respect too we would trust MT. Greeley much sooner than we could trust his proposed Demo- cratic-Liberal- Republican following. If the Southern voter has to wait till they teach him his alphabet the next genera ton will see Southern population more universally ignorant even than the pres ent.