The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1874-09-17
1.-THE SOUTH

THE SOUTH
The Ripon Commonwealth, N a half |
column article, under the above head,
accuses us of taking sides with the white
people of the South as against the gen
eral government, insinuating that we
sanction the murder Of negroes, etc.
What we said was, in effect, that the
blacks, In many instances, brought on
the difficulties which have inaugurated
n reign of terror In Louisiana and Ten
aessee: that the civil authorities Of
these States were anxious to punish the
perpetrators Of all crimes, and that they
we're able to do so; that the negro in
the South is disposed to show his free
dom and equal rights by being over
bearing. impudent and mean, and that
it tended to keep up old animosities by
quartering United States troops upon
the country. This we believe, and again
state it as our opinion that the South
should be let alone. We further venture
the statement that the Southern negro,
as race, is lazy, hcsntious, will steal,
beg or kill rather than work for his hv-
ing, and we defy any honest-minded
Northern man to go South and live
among them for six years, as we have,
and maintain any other opinion. That
there are desperados and rnurderers
among the white men there, we do not
deny-they are in every State and ID
every cline but we contend that the
Southern people are law-abiding to an
equal extent with those of the North
that they have had enough Of war; that
they are anxious to have Northern men
come to their States and assist them III
improving the country made desolate by
war and extend to such the assurance
of an undistnrbed enjoyment of their
rights and liberties, be he Republican
OF Democrat We published a paper
The Sparta TtJune-for three years, in
what was, during the war, stronghold
Of secession we never were questioned
as to where we stood politically ; were
taken into the houses and confidence of
the people and never had occasion to
note that we were from different cline.
We have seen two hundred negro votes
cast for the straight Republican ticket,
at an election where that ticket received
but fourteen white votes, and that in a
SoI
crate soldiers TO one negro. The only
cases OF murder, or hanging, which oc
Cured in three adjoining counties dur
ing those three years, were white ex-
confederate soldiers, and they were e.
ecuted on sentence from the Supreme
Court of the State.
We do not want to be understood as
being the champion of the Southern
people, further than that the question
of outrages should be regarded in a just
light, and the fact taken into considera-
ton that there are negro murderers as
we'll as white that there are Northern
carpet baggers and Adventures in the
South who would not hesitate to wade
in blood SO that they landed in Office,
and that their bread and butter depends
upon representing the whites of the
South IN the very worst light. We ac-
cord to the negro every right which the
amendments to the constitution set forth,
and we want every effort on the part of
any set of men, under any name, to sub
iugate them, punished to the extreme
measure of law.
But we do object to this continual
howl OF ''Ku-Klux,'' and an effort to
bring the whole South under military
rule, because of .feo desperados and
outlaws-white or black
We beg to assure the editor of the
Commonwealth that we are no such lick
spittal as we take him to be. from the
vehenence with which he advocates
negro rights and howls down every effort
to have justice done TO rebels.