American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-05-31
A Party of Strife.

The Republican party's capacity for
fomenting strife and producing that state
of things which makes martial law, can
non and musketry the two familiar agents
of the Government, may be set down as
one of its leading characteristics. 1t
seems as if the long tranquility which was
broken by its first accession to power was
never to return-even though President
Grant said, Let us have peace" in his
first inaugural, and the whole country re
sponded, ''amen." 1t is eight years since
| the war, which this party brought with it,
ended; the time is so great in these DAYS
of rapid accomplishment that the great
war between Germany and France, which
took place long after ours, has passed into
history and been almost forgotten except
for reference. Yet we are still without re-
pose. The peace which the President in
voked and promised, more than four years
ago, he has been most sgnally successful
in retarding; and he cannot take a little
trip of relaxation and pleasure over the
country without being disturbed by eXcit-
ing dispatches from two different seats of
war. There is fragrant civil war in
Louisiana, where armies, with artillery
and musketry are pitted against each
other, and whittier Federal troops are be-
ing ordered to take part in "A strife which
they should have nothing whatever to do
with; and even the boosted peace" policy
with the Indians has yielded the bloodiest
series of disasters in this relation that we
have had since st. Clair's defeat in the
last century.
The Louisiana war is the most cruel,
causeless and wanton piece of mischief
| that can be imagined. 1t should never
have been permitted to occur. 1t could
have been easily avoided. Indeed, it could
not and would not have occurred, had the
| unthreatening and insignificant question
in which it had its origin been left to it.
self Our people are tired of war; even
the people of Louisiana proved by their
admirable patience and selfposscssion all
through this controversy, that they could
bear more than any Northern State would
submit to- rather than be scourged with it.
| But the Presidents partisans would have
war, and they have managed, with won
| derful adroitness on their part, and strik-
| ing wisdom on the part of the President,
| to drag him into their despicable quarrel,
and make him the chief agent of dis
turbance which he now bitterly regrets,
and will regret yet more bitterly before he
| is done with it. 1t is the President alone
| who has complicated the Louisiana ques-
| ton, and forced it to a condition of war.
| The proper constitutional treatment which
it called for was plain and simple; all that
| the President had to do was to leave KEEL
| locg to exhibit the high authority which
1
leave him to be supported by his
boosted majority of the people, or to sur
| render-to leave him to stand in his own
strength or to fall, in his weakness. Had
this been the Presidents policy at the be-
| ginning, the Louisiana question would not
have lasted single week, and the Lonisi-
| ana war would not have been heard of.
That the trouble was not permitted to reach
| this easy and peaceful solution is hardly
more Kellogg's fault than the Presidents
| and that of the worthless Congress which
| left it to disquiet the country. To say
| that the President was bound to enforce
the admittedly null and void'' orders of
Judge Durell, which recognized the kel-
| lOgg government places the President in
a more discreditable light than the known
| facts themselves do; for if President
Grant holds that the executive of the
United States is bound to be the service
agent of every inebriate partisan, like
| Durell and Delahay, who may chance to
| be a Federal Judge he degrades the exc
| cutive Office and needs to be instructed in
| its dignity and power The whole history
and present attitude of this Louisiana war
show that Republican President and a
| Republican Congress have been willing TIC
| plunge a State into civil strife to main
| tain the most detestable men of their
party in local ascendancy; that they
| have preferred the interests of their parti-
sans to the interests of the country, and
have not scrupled to imperil the one to
secure the other. The Republican party
have added civil war to bankruptcy, mis-
rule and usurpation in the South, and
have arrayed the white and black races
against each other in hostility which
will threaten us with strife as long as that
party continues this disastrous policy.
That President Grant perceives the
grave mistake he committed is evident
| from the anxious care with which he
hedges his instructions to Colonel Emory,
and the sternness with which he tells kel-
logg not to expect Federal help till he
does something to help himself Had this
been the treatment of the case at the be-
| ginning, its difficulties would long since
| have been over. 1t is not too late to apply
it now, and if the President has any sin
cere friends among his followers, they can
not render him a better service than by
commencing it to him. All that the Pres
ident may do in Louisiana will only ag-
gravate the disorder; he needs only to re-
solve to do nothing, to cure it. This
might lose Kellogg his position, but it
would bring peace to the country.-.His-
souri, Republican, May -.
| S-