Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-09-11
ADVICE

BIZ ADNlNEs
The st. Louis Republican gives the
South this piece Of advice; 1.-THE South
ern people must understand that so
long as they afford the carpet-baggers
a pretext for inflaming the Northern
mind by stories of bloodshed and vio-
lence, just so long will the efforts of
their friends in the North to help them
regain their privilege of local self-gov-
eminent be IN a great measure neutral
lied. The Conservative press of the
North and West had hammered at the
Republican party, exposed its crimes
and annihilated its pretenses, until a
healthy reaction against it had begun.
To produce this reaction had been the
work of several years. But it was in
the power of a hundred or so of blood
thirsty ruffians in Tennessee and Lou
isiana to undo all this work In an in
slant. 1t is, to say the least, discour-
aging. We, in common with all FAIR
minded people in the North and West,
sympathize with the South and have
done all we could to aid and comfort
her. But the load can't be hauled up
hill when half the passengers are
blocking the wheels and pulling with
all their might at the tail board"
This is hardly the kind of advice we
should have expected from so coHserv-
ative and fair-minded a journal as the
st. Louis Republican. 1t Is more in
keeping with the course of the ultra
Republican journals, who act asthOugh
they regarded it as impossible for any
thing good to come out of the South.
There are aw-breakers In every State;
there are in Missouri, and it would be
as Just to hold the law-abiding citizens
of that State responsible for the muir
ders and other lawless acts of the
Younger and James brothers, as to
hold the people of Tennessee response
bic for the acts Of a lawless band who
made a raid upon tie jail at Trenton
and took therefrom sixteen negroes
with murderous intent. The good citi-
zens of Missouri were as powerless to
prevent the incursions and crimes of
the Younger and James brothers, as
were the people of Tennessee to
prevent the crimes committed in
Gibson and other counties. There is
this difference, however. In Missouri,
the perpetrators of the crimes were
known. and still the efforts to arrest
them were futile; while in Tennessee,
the men engaged in such lawless de
m~onstrations as at Trenton, are wholly
unknown, but the authorities are max
ing every effort to discover and arrest
them. The crimes committed in Mis-
souri, were pefpetrated IN the pursuit
of gain, but in Tennessee, the thing il
wholly different. There is every rea,
son to believe that such crimes as that
in Gibson county, which disgrace Oul
civilization, have been committed IL
the interest of a political party, anG
that party is certainly not the Demo
cratic. 1t is worse than folly
it is unjust, to hold the PEG
pie Unfortunately responsible fol
crimes of this character. They
know nothing of the presence of these
lawless bands until they have swoopeC
down upon a community, made sure o
their bloody work and escaped. Thes,
things have occurred in all communi
ties and in all times. The people o.
Tennessee have no sympathy for VIC
Iaters of the law, for men who commit
murder and rapine, and will be a.
prompt in aiding in the arrest of sucl
characters as the people of any Stat
in the North. These crimes constitute
an incident of the times which thu
good citizens Of Tennessee as sincere
Iy deplore as would those of any othe
State in the Union; and u author
ties have exhibited commendabl
prompitude in their efforts to ferre
out these law-breakers, and if discover
ed, will be prompt in bringing them t
trial and punishment. What we hav
said in behalf of the people of Tennes
see, Will apply with equal forceto thos'
of other Southern States. We sub
NIT, therefore, that the carping of tn
st. Louis Republican is eminently un
Just and unworthy the character of s
heightened a journal.