The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-09-23
Another RECOMMENDATION needed.


( The present highland measure IN The
South are precisely what we have feared and
expected for the last three years. The c0Un-
( try Is suffering from the effect of chronic
rnsgnanlmlty- Fer some lnexpheable resl-
son Il was deemed peculiarly necessary 81 treat
rebels against the government a little better
than any other set OF men within our borders.
/ II there was = Law DISTINGUISHING them. i was
repealed before they asked IL If Iheif
T crimes had placed them under disability, they
/ had only to call attention TO the fact, and
Congress FASTENED to remove il. Swift haste
was made to repeal every law distastefGl TO
I them, and when the prosecutions and muir
I ders of the kuklux made it necessary TO pass
a law for their apprehension and for the pro-
I lection Of their victims, howl went up from
the Southern sympathizers in the North, and
so great "A pressure was brought TO bear. that
! a provision was inserted declaring that the
law should expire With the next Congress
after its enactment. This extreme delcacy
and tenderness, not of the rights bnt the
stead of terminating the troubles in the
South, and We are now reaping the bitter
fruits of an unwise, weak, and vaeillating
policy. This excessive magnanimity was
cruelty, for 1t encouraged these reckless men
to fresh deeds of darkness and outrage, and
has neeessitated a repetition of the work
which We had nearly completed. The warn
ings which events have proven so wise and
timely were disregarded. but in the light of
to-day they sound strangely like prophecies.
| These warnings were uttered by many Re
pGblicans in Congress, among others by the
present editor of this paper, who, on 18th Of
February, 1870 in opposing the bill for the
admission of Virginia said:
/ Il know that the spirit of hatred Of Cur
people, our laws and our theory of govern
ment rankles as bitterly now the hearts OF
the governing classes OF the States asking re-
admission on the day when the FIRST gun
was open ed upon our flag. And when the
record OF that party calling itself Democrat
/ &c Is taken into account for the last four
= fasffx
its defense of the cause of rebellion as it pro-
I gressed; its sorrow for the cause when il was
lost; its frauds upon an honest franchise like
those in New York, which silenced the voice
OF its Union electors in 1S6S-who can Won
der that the security Of the Union cause
should not to me look undeniably assured ?
II At the Presidential cleo
ttion year ago last fall, in the city of New
Orleans, General Grant should have received
10000 votes. How many did he receive?
dust 216 and no marei Why2 Because
, there was fraud and Intimidation, and VIC
My observation of the progress of recon
struction has taught me that oaths. and
statutes, and fundamental laws, are unrela-
bic guarantees for the good faith of the
masses OF the leaders, who precipated the
conditions of readmission mountain high,
Alps on Alps, and yet if the terrible lessons
staring us in the face from Tennessee, and
Georgia, and Louisiana. are to be accepted
can we honesty ignore then-we shall be
driven to the conclusion that the moment
the power to enforce these conditions shall
pass from our hands, they viii be thrown
back into our faces in the bitterness of treas
enable defiance
These warnings were not needed, but it
would be much better for the country to-day
if they had been. In the vain hope that ex-
eesslve kindness and Cancellation would rouse
something like gratitude in the hearts o.
! these men, all bar to their enjoyment of the
| full privileges of loyal citizens was removed,
and they We're not only once again repre-
scented ia Congress, but represented by the
government. Then followed the long and
siekening reign of terror in the South known
as the kuklux outrages. Stopped at last by
the passage and enforcement CT the kuklux
law, the country became quiet again until
the expiration of that law when persecution
began with more cruelty than ever. We are
in the latter reign of terror to-day. and this
great govern ment is presented in the humili-
ating light of standing a powerless observer,
while her free citizens are murdered for daT-
ing to exercise the rights conferred on them
by the Constitution.
! We tell Congress that the day OF dalliance
with such men has passed. The only in
iducement to their good behavior is that which
has the alternative of the halter or the dun
geon. Let the kul<iux law be reenacted
and remain upon the statute books. It can
hurt only Williams, and they deserve to be
hurt Then let Congress throw its timidity
and sentiment away and pass the civil rights
Fbill, provide for its rigid enforcement, and
teach these men that the humblest citizens in
the land has privileges which they can in
tertere with only At their peril. Ii the work
must be done over again, let it be done quick
ly and thoroughly.