New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-09-24

| Pun SUIT oi happiness unmOleSted, so long a
ne does not violate the laws, as man born
10 the South has to come to Indiana or an,
Northern State; that the life, liberty, ant
property of the humblest citizen in the Com
monwealth, no matter what his race, color
or previous condition, must be as jealousl,
guarded and protected as those Of the mos
lntelliSent, wealthy, and aristOcratic citizens
that every inch of soil under the jurisdiction
OF the national emblem is too sacred to be
stained by the blood Of its children; that The
hand OF the assassin must be stayed even i
4 1t requires resort to the Mosaic doctrine O
AN eye for an eye, and tooth for a tno:h;
that the change of governments or of OBJ
noNious officers in the South must be effected
not by mobs, who intimdate, drive OFF, OF
XII, but in the manner provided by the con
done IN the North; that the enlightened
Christian sentiment of the age demands q
healthier and better order of things, and that
the North will continue to insist on Federal
interference in those States so long as the
| southern people continue to outrage and muir
der men because they are Republicans, even
though they may lie Ignorant negroes, car
pet-basgers or scalawaGs."
The great hue and cry about the ignorance
extravaganza and corruption Of the colorcd
voter does not surprise me, nor ought the
Northern people to marvel at it, when they
remember how bitterly every measure for the
Improvement and protection of our people
has been opposed by the men making these
charges, and that mo stone has been left
unturned' to prove negro suffrage a failure.
III these charges be true, and do not pro-
pose to say that the men who have controlled
public affairs in the South since reconstruc-
ton were all immaculate; its history an
terror to the war and long before negro free
dom was considered a possibility, much less
negro suffrage, affords proof of many irstan-
ces of corruption and malleasancc on the
part of the leaders, and if in the new order
OF things REGULATION, fraud and corruption
have crept in, it is but another evidence that
history repeats itself. Why, fellOw-citizens,
The history of your own State furnishes
abundant evidence that the condition Of
things in the South is not half so hopeless as
our enemies and some of our weakened
friends would have YOU believe. So far as
its financial and industrial interests are con-
cernch, in 1916, when your State was admit
ted into the Union through unwise lcgisla-
toni will not call it fraud and corruption
these terms are only applied to legislatures
composed in part Of colorcd mrn--your
finances were in a frightful condition and
your progress greatly INSTRUCTED, and have
no doubt but that there wars as much clamor
about ignorance, venality, and corruption
against your rulers then as can he heard about
the Republican governments in the South
now. Your condition then was in some sort
like the condition Of the South to-day. You
had just come out of IA devastating aud fear
full war with the Indians, ami suffrage had
been enlarged, your public men were mex
perienced many Of them called for the first
time to the performance 'of official duties
what more natural than that they should
make mistakes? Suppose at that ,juncturc
OF your history YOU had inaugu.ated an inter-
necinc strife, killed, or driven oil much of
your labor, and swpre eternal vengeance
against every new Conner; do you think you
would have found your population in 1920,
only four years after, increased from 10000
to HI, LIS, with a sense of security, peace,
and plenty: Do you suppose Indiana would
have had this lovely capital with its solid
buildings, beautiful churches with their tall
spires pointing heavcnward, inviting us to
look up to higher and better things its splcn-
did public school-hOIses in which your chill
dren are being educated and fitted to assume
the duties Of life, better prepared than we
who shall soon cast them oil this great rail-
road centre, the grandest perhaps in the
world, with its hundreds oftrans arriving and
departing daily, magnificent roads branching
out in every direction, putting you in direct
and rapid communication with all parts of
your State and country, and population of
l,GSO,G37, as shown by the census of 1870,
with peace, prosperity and happiness on every
hand, have reached the grandeur and mag
nificence of which she can so proudly and
justly boast to-day, had her people in 1899,
when she was bowed down with public debt,
and unable to pay the interest on the same,
or her creditors and contractors on her inter-
nal improvements, which amounted to ! $50
miles in course of construction figures
embrace railroads, turnpikes, roads and
canals, of which only 2Sl miles were finished,
and it was estimated that to complete the
balance it would cost $40, Oh ,244, "let loose
the dogs of war, and cried havoc" murdered
and driven Off the most unollcnding, law
abiding, and valuable portion of her laborng
people? think not. Instead of the pros.
perity, splendor and happiness that greets
been a bowling wilderness, and the "son of
man had not where to lay his head
The South to-day is in trouble her finan-
cial condition is deplorable, taxation is high,
and therefore oncr Gus, but it is not the fault
of reconstruction it is the fault of the fire.
eating, murdcrous desperadoes and hot
headed, intolerant, short sighted leaders that
war upon the blacks, and terrOriZc over the
sOber-minded and honest conservative whites,
who dare not, for fear of social and business
prescription, counsel and advise with the
colored voter, and thus the latter is pertOrce
compelled to select almost exclusively from
among the newcomers their white leaders.
who, i'll some instances, prove recreant to
their trust, rob the State, and dishonor their
constituents and their party.
The frghtful record of outrage and murder
of innocent and defenseless cOlOred men,
and sometimes women, such us Julia Hayden,
in Tennessee, and white men, friends Of the
colOred people, such rs those murdered IN
Coushatta, has justly created the impression
all over the world that Louisiana Is no place
for emiyrants or the investment OF capital,
and neither ever think of coming there.
And what is true of Louisiana is true OF
nearly every Southern State, and ! DO not
hesitate to affirm as my earnest conviction
that We will grow from bad to worse, unless
the North increase Its Republican majorities
at each election until these people are con-
WINGED that there Is no hope OF the democracy
again getting control of the General "overh-
ment; for IA long as they think there Is IA
"phost of a chance" for Democratic SUI
premacy, just so long will they hug the de-
iusive hope of depriving the colored man OF
his rights, and possibly of being paid Tor Their
former slayes; for ! haye seen IN TWO or
three Southern papers notices to the people
to keep a correct account OF Their slaves, WIN
bill Of sale, &c.
1T is frequently asked at the North why
the two races do not harmOnize. The answer
is to be found in some of the instances nave