National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-11-02
GRYFRAL MrDOWELL's REPORT.

GENERAL A'DOWELL'S REPORT
The report of General Mcdowell Of the
operations of the troops under his COM
mand in the Southern States, which we
printed last Saturday, ought to convince
even the most obdurate doubter that the
tales ofoutrages in that section ofthe country
have not been exaggerated. Trained as
soldier to take conservative view of mat
tiers in general, and being Democrat, if
he IS anything, in politics, it was not to be
expected that General Mcdowell would
make a report of which the Opposition
could justly complain, and it is certain that
he has not made one ''for political pur-
poses" His character as a soldier and his
reputation as an officer serve as sufficient
guarantees for the correctness of his state
ments. What do they show2 Simply and
briefly that feeling of distrust exists be-
tween the whites and the blacks, which
had its origin in the reconstruction acts
and other ''sequels of the war, " and has
now, under the proyocation of political
excitement broken out into murderous
strife. That the victims of this strife have
always been either black men or white Re-
publicans is fact we have long maintained,
and one which is proven by the report in
question.
"It is philosophical as well as politi-
cal question" says General Mcdowell,
abiding to the solution of the difficulties,
and adds that 'the problem presents very
great complications, and of which do
"any one knows, although he may think
che does" OF course, it was not his duty
to solve the problem. as he calls it, but his
opinions will carry great weight with them.
and when he says that the troubles are
"largeiy the result of causes which look
away back to the past, " he hits the nail
square and fair on the head. They began
when intelligent and educated white citi-
zens of the South refused to take part in
political affairs, and thereby allowed the
control of their respective State govern
ments to pass into the hands of their
political opponents. When this was done,
when the blacks were organized as one
mass against the Democracy, and when new
ideas of governmental policy were being
enforced, it was too late for them to wrest
the power from the hands Of their enemies
which they had so foolishly thrown away.
Disseminated as they were with the
result of the war, they became
more discontinued with the result of
succeeding elections, and finding it impos-
sible to regain power by fair means, they
have resorted to foul measures. When the
war ended they boosted that their previous
relations with the blacks had been Of such
a character as to ensure friendly intercourse
in the future, but gradually this possibility
faded away as they began to show their
opposition not only to negro suffrage, but
to equal political rights. Ifthey had nursed
those friendly feelings, if they had from
the beginning given evidence of kind in
tentions toward the blacks, or if they had
tempered their political prejudices with the
mercy of strict justice, the organizations
which now exist to oppose them would
never have been called into existence. But
they have gone so far as to organize them
selves, not for political purposes alone as
the blacks have, but for the persecution,
the robbery and the murder of their polit-
ical enemies, and the only recourse left for
the Government is the use Of its armed
forces to preserve peace. We may as well
make up our minds to this now, unpleasant
as the thought may be and really is, as
after while, because if General Mellow
ellis report shows any one thing palmer
than another, it is that the whites of the
South are SO lawless as to require the con-
slant presence of United States soldiers to
keep them in order.