National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-08-11

Luo COlOIeO HAL HuCIS ID AS W 0'eaANA
Gin the reorganization of parties3 VIII
"he find enemies or friends in the new
"coalitionf"
The Courier Journal is one Of the prin
cipal supporters of the third-term policy,
and has been so for months. We have
given our own inquiries 10 1t In full, in
order that the reader may understand fully
and fairly the answer it makes as follows:
bearing In mind the distinct, clear-cut PROPOSE
ton that the election Of General Grant for
third term IS the virtual abandonment Of republi-
can government IN America, and that It cannot
possibly come about except as the price which the
Conservatism Of the country, disgusted BY lts
experience Of an irresponsible, purchRsable, uni
versal suffrage, may be willing to pay for hard
money, free trade and home rule wisely though
despoticsIly administered, we are ready TO an
sWsr TIE REPUBLICANS question plainly and
| all at once .... -. .......- AIDA o. -...
oNo one 10 this part Of the country will accuse
Us Of what is called prejudice sgslnst the negro
When he had not friend in the South, except
the oarpet-bagger who wanted TO take advantage
Of him, and the scalaWag who was merely 3 sec
ond-hand scrub edition Of himself, we stood reso-
lutely between him and harm. We excited the
hostility Of ell our political associates because
We fought for negro testimony in the courts. We
dd 80 because It was essential to justice, as need
/ full 20 the white man as to the black man, indIs-
pensable to the well-beIng Of both. Again We
ostracIsed ourselves for season because Weurged
the acceptance in good faith Of the Constitutional
amendments, 1t was our opinion that they we're
logical results Of the war. We had not travelled
at the point Of Buell's, Rosecrnns' and Sherman's
bayonets for nothing. We took our political
alma mater land q blood-stained, poWder-sooted
piece Of parchment It was, too y during the collie
giate course Of ls8l-'65 We perfectly understood,
and the representative Confederate element Of
the South understood, not only the terms
of the surrender, but the meaning Of the
| terms-emsncipation, citizenship, suffrage. We
were not such fools as to suppose that gigantic
revolution like that Of which we were the victims
was going to evaporste like bottle Of ginger
pop. We very well knew that It would go the
full length Of fanaticism which had been the soul
of the successful war waged against Us. Many Of
US disbelieved in slavery. Indeed, the intslli-
gence of the South was always as sound in its op-
position TO the principle Of slavery as that Of the
North. The trouble with Us was that We had no
way Of getting rid Of It, and modification Of its
terms was never presented to US. In the North
where people had sold their slaves when they
found slave labor uuproatable-neVer forgetting
to pocket the proceeds-in the North the question
was subllmated and sentimental. In the South
1t was connected with multitude Of practical
difficulties, not the least Of which was that mig
ger was worth thousand dollars. But the war,
which abolished slavery, convinced thoughtful
people In this part Of the world that It would not
end there; and consequently that class Of OBJ
servers and SPECTATORS were not unprepared for
the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. Long
before they were declared BY authority to be parts
Of the organic law, we had anticipated them, and,
when they began to operate in civil affairs, We
advised the people to accept thsm to aid in their
peaceful execution, and, by every possible means,
to give them and the negro covered BY them
fair show. In word, we recognized the fact that
the negro, as an experiment, had entered into
American politics, and We had made up our mind
that it was best to give the experiment forced
upon rs an honest trial We are still Of this mind;
RndNWe, like the rest Of the Confederate element
IN the South are assisted In the position 70 which
We have committed ourselves By . familiar, local
seDtimentAlism for the blacks, which Is exceed
Ingly unotuous and eficaoIous wherever It lie put
in the field. and sEeetensd with little liquor
and currency.
''The Northern people must not allow them
selves to be deuded by the notion that the rebels
and the niggers are 81 outs. As far as the blacks
are concerned, the longest pole knocks down the
perslmmons. no matter what tree Is may have
been cut from. Nothing Is 10 be gained for the
North by concessions TO the blacks on the sssump-
ton that they to be purchased By legislation;
for q weeks management, backed By little
money, can undo years Of intrigue, hair-splitting
and cute ststesmsnship ct Washington. That
which the intelligence Of the North should look
to is the tendency Of its policy Thus far the ten
dency Of that policy has one by one turned the
Soutern States over TO anarchy, O. in South Caro-
lima and Louisiana, or to 8 few picked men as in
Virginia and Mississippi, or to the people a. In
Tennessee and Texas. The honest extremists Of
the North have In single condition ct the South
been grstihed, nor will they be. The hecuSpoeus
Of the politicians over the negro Is only calculated
to drag down, BY diSorediting, Republican instI-
buttons through sgragriGn devices; and this is
why, having Rssented to the settlement Of the
negro question upon an experimental constitu-
tionsI basis, We object to the new proposal
Of the Radicals to inject him, through
the civil rights bill, into our tea and
coffee WhIch-With submlsslon-He urge Is push
ing an untrled and still novel experiment to
point whereby society is impsriled. We can az
ford to have the politics Of the country subjected
to g good deal OF quAck-doctoring, but the civil
rights BILL which Is logically dsbstable, Is an in.
VasIon Of those laws Of God and nature which
override the logic OF men. We would leave the
negro where he Is. We would try and educate
him into higher usefulness We would avoid
an impending war Of races BY moderation, BY the
dissemination Of reciprocal interests and kindly
mutual concessions and compromises. Thus far
all the concessions and compromises have been
Erung from the whites. There iS Q limit to the
spirit which has gone so far; and we would pause
and rest on the confines Of that hitherto broad
and tllable domain The civil rights bill iS rsYo-
luton; 1t is the proclamation Of gradual war Of
races, or else an equally destructive covert war
suppression ruinous to the blacks. We seek, for
the good Of both races to avoid It. Resisting the
~ -, "A -H,o kkn 49,
faced proposal Of q coup d'etst and an Emperor,
we should prefer It, and all that It implies and
portends, to any further progress on the line
marked out BY the Republican managers"
This answer Is long enough, heaven
knows, and 1t is to be regretted that its
frankness and csndor do not bear greater
ratio to its length. After reciting its posi- |
ton upon the negroquestion in other years,
it declares: '1n word, we recognized the
fact that the negro, as an experiment had
entered into American politics, and made
''up our minds that it was best to give the |
experiment forced upon US an honest trial |
1--WE are still of this mind" What mind 7
To give the experiment an honest trial.
evidently. In other words, the whole suf- |
lLd5C 4uCSI4O4lJ anu as q COuseQuGuC6T Tue |
amendments to the Constitution, are still an
experiment, forced upon the South, to |
which the Conservatives are still graciously |
pleased to give an honest trial. If any
other construction can be placed upon our
language, we should like to |
hear it. If our Interpretation of it is, as we
believe, correct 1t will be new revelation to
who have been ali these years
accepting the Democratic professions as laid
down in their national platform in entire |
good faith. But now we are told that
after all it is only an experiment upon trial,
with the question of acceptance or rejection
still open and undecided. The tone of the
Democratic press to-day, the tone of the
article from which we have quoted, leaves US
in no doubt as to the real views entertained
by the opposition upon the question. And,
these views, is it unreasonable
to suppose that If they were intrusted with
the control of the Government tomorrow,
and had the power, they would be slow to
declare the experiment TO which they had
given an honest trial an entire and utter