New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-08-20
The War of Races.

iseoS III AAhansaS VI MlSSlSSlppl. 1ne Crutn
comes at last that the war of races was no
war at all. That the strategetic movements
were never made that no fixed ammunition
hasbeen needed; that the Rankings and ont
Rankings are myth in short, that the
war" resulted in one colorcd man being
murdered, and not white man being even
wounded. The murder had no political sig.
nificance. No political question entered
into the quarrel that led to the murder.
There is an element in the South that is
eager for " war Of races" That element
is encouraged to create disturbances that
may lead to race conflict. The aim is to so
conduct quarrel leading to a disturbance
as to give it the appearance of having origin
ated with the negroes. The truth is that the
cOiored people Of the South do not seek
conflicts. The masses of the late slaves de.
sire to live peaceably and to follow such pur-
suits as conduce to the happiness as we'll as
to the prosperity Of the community in which
they live. They desire to exercise their
rights, and-to-bave them respected before
the law, precisely as do any other citizens.
They are not constantly seeking excuses for
outraging the white people when their num-
bers are greater than that of the whites.
The disposition of the negro is peaceful
one. He does not supply himself with arms
and ammunition for the purpose of making
war upon the whites nor do the colored peo-
pie, in those States where they outnumber
the whites, hang, burn, or shoot white men
for crimes which, if perpetrated by colored
men, would be treated according to law. No,
there is no organized vindictiveness on the
part Of the negro. Such organizations are
filed by white men. The peace, harmony,
and good order in the South are disturbed by
the act of the white. men in their efforts to
resist the inevitable, to restore oppression
and combat liberty.
The following editorial taken from the
Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle and Sentinel
evinces the disposition controlling that ele-
ment in the South of which Ku-Klu Klans,
White Leagues and the Democracy are com
posed;
"The accounts of the disturbances at
Austin, Miss, and Somerville, Tenn, APP
pear doubtless to many good people at this
distance to have been horrible affairs.
Some people are prone to magnify distur-
Dances of this character, when removed
from the scene of action, just precisely as
some of the excited participants, or couriers.
riding in hot haste, are prone to exaggerate
the numbers engaged as well as the casual
ties on either side.
The people of Georgia know what these
political and race conflicts are. They have
experienced them at their own doors. The
election riots in our own city, in Savannah,
Camilla, Macon and Columbus were far
more serious, especially the one at Camilla,
than either of the disturbances at Austin Or
Somerville. They were unfortunate to be
sure, and people of Georgia would have
avoided them, but there was no other escape
for them than to accept the issue forced
upon them, or cowardly abandon their
rights, and thereby submit themselves and
their families to the indefinite domination of
the Radical party, composed as it was of the
| most ignorant, corrupt and debased of our
population. There is scarcely a town in
Georgia of any size that has not witnessed
disturbances and riots arising from the con-
test for political supremacy. Had our peo-
pie failed to repel force by forehead they
failed to meet the carpet-baggers, the scala
wags and the deluded negroes upon ground
of their own selection, with weapons in their
hands to defend their brthrght and their
manhood, their wives and their children, the
condition Of Georgia would be to-day no
more tOerable than that of South Carolina
or Louisiana. The State government would
still be in the hands of adventures and
! thieves.
| The class Of men who have obtained pow
er in the Southern States will not surrender
it without struggle. That is our experience
here in Georgia. 1t is not pleasant to con-
template that the people of all the Southern
States, now held in subsection by the mon
grel party, will have to pass through this Or
deal before they can obtain possession Of
their respective State governments. But we
see no other way out. The dominant party
will never quietly surrender the power ac-
quired by force, fraud and corruption. They
will fight to retain it, Just as they did in
Georgia, until they are forced to succumb.
The people here, when the issue was forced
upon them, and when they had to defend
their rights at the ballot box, found a little
blood-letting both healthy and effective. 1t
most assuredly had disastrous effect on the
mOnSrel party, who had been sucking the
life-blood Of the State. The blood-letting
forced the mongrel political vampire to aban-
don his deadly hold upon the poor, dying pa
tient. Rescued from the jaws of political
death, Georgia stands forth again under the
fostering care of her own sons, in all her
pristine glory, the pride of her children and
the admiration and hope Of her sister States
of the South
From our own experience, therefore, we
look tor disturbances where the power of the
dominant party is on the wane. The mon
grels will force this issue to prop up their
sinking fortunes with the hope that the peo-
pie will be frightened into submission or in
any event, that the Government will sustain
them. President Grant has wisely aban-
doned the mischlevous and tyrannical policy
OF his Administration in supporting the
theving and infamous governments in many
of the Southern States. The mongrel party
must rely upon itself or abandon Its power.
This it will not do peaceably, and as the
people are determined to recover their rights
and liberty, it will not surprise us to hear oc-
casionally of little blood-letting in the
South. Radical papers will exaggerate the
difficulties, but we know how it is ourselves.
There is no help for it. 1t has come in all
the Southern States, just as it did in Georgia.
These difficulties are the fOrerunners of
the triumphs of the people. There were
riots in Virginia, in North Carolina, in Geor-
gia, in Tennessee, in Arkansas and Texas,
before these States were redeemed. Our
readers need not, therefore, be surprised if
there are riots in Alabama, Mississippi, and
Louisiana. Georgia and North Carolina will
take care Of South Carolina.
The people of the States in which good
governments have been re-established must
see to it that their colored citizens are treat
ed with kindness and with equal and exact
justice in all things. By kindness, encour-
agement and fair dealing we can win back
the confidence of the colored people. Let