Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-12-17
Bnpyrillt a}'rrklN Chronicle.
WHAT SOUTHERN CONGRESSMAN SHOULD
DO.

Now the questions growing out of the
late war are being rapidly settled. The
animosities engendered by domestic strife
are being softened. \ large number of
ex-Confederate officials occupy seats in
both Houses of Congress, and their right
to such seats are not called in question.
Even jeff. Davis, the leader Of the great
conspiracy to break up the Government,
may probably lie eligible to a seatlin Con-
gress before the close of the present
session. but we trust the Southern
people will have the good taste and
good sense, not to so elevate him. If he is
the friend to the South that he processes to
be, he will not thrust himself before the
public So of Toombs, Wigfall, Early,
and others, who owe their present existence
to the leniency of the Government they
would have destroyed.
The Southern people have higher and
nobler destiny at their command than to
engage in raising their late rebillious lead
er or any one else TO official position. Our
Representatives in Congress from the
South ought to unite as one man, regard
less of political differences, and work for
their people. We are opposed to
sectionalism, but Representatives owe
something more to their immediate con-
sttuencies than they do to the people in
other localities. We want our rivers and
harbors improved and our commercial in
terests placed on an equal footing with 9TH
er sections of the country, or as near so as
Justice would demand. The bill of Sena-
tor Alcorn, providing for the construction
of leVees on the Mississippi is q case in
point. While it is local improvement,
1t is at the same time one of national i'm
portance. The same of our own Tennes-
see river, and other improvements we could
mention.
By uniting, combining and consulting
with each other on public questions, our
national lawmakers can act together un-
derstandingly, and will command more
respect and exercise greater infiuen ce
in the National Congress. In the past
dozen years we have presented a broken
front. We have been fighting among our
selves The rebellion almost ruined us, and
We have been trying to finish the work of
devastation by joining in Kilkenny fight
among ourselves. The result is, we
have been ignored in the Nation
al councils. Our men of ability
that have been henored with places in
Congress have been kept in back seats
while the North and West have had a
lions share. We have no representation
in the Supreme Court from the South.
Until the present session no Southern Rep
resentative has been honored with chair
manship of any leading committee in
either the House or Senate. This is the
result of our divisions and distractions.
We trust this will be kept up no longer.
We trust that Southern Congressman will
take these matters into considera-
ton. There are a great many things
we might say farther on this subject, if we
had space. Let our Representatives differ
on political questions. This we expect
Let them agree to disagree on purely po-
litical questions, but they have no right tC
allow these differences to interfere with
their duties to the section they represent
When matters of local interest are being
discussed, they should be so organized as
TO act together. Nothing else will give US
the prestige we should have In the nation
"a prestige we lost by our foolish course
in the days of slavery, and during ant
since the war.