Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1874-08-13

Ing clear through the Red sea and stood dry
on the other shore-stood, TOO, in that
marvellous blaze which irradiates the
nineteenth century as it sinks into the
twentieth-they were plainly asked care
you willing the bond should be free ?'' and
mo- When is that generation coming, and
whence is it coming, that shall excuse or
forgive that impious refusal
And when, in spite Of Democratic resis-
tance, the bond had been made free and
secured against return to slavery by an
amendment to the Federal Constitution,
this same opposition was asked once more,
I" May the freedmen become citizens and be
admitted to civil rights" And again the
answer was "no."
And when, in spite of that resistance, the
freedmen had been made citizens, the
Democracy was asked, " May these citizens,
though they be black, have the protection
of the ballot which the law benignly grants
to all citizens, however humble, of every
color ?" And again the answer was" no."
And when the Kuklux, armed with brand
and bludgeon, hunted the new-msde citizen
by night-hunted him through swamps
and pursued him to death-when the local
authorities stood powerless in the presence of
organized murder and arson, and this oppo-
sition was appealed to to lend the protec-
ton of the national tribunals to the victims
of such incsrnate hate, they still Knocked at
such calamties and refused all relief.
1t is often aippantly said that all these
crimes and horrors are past, and it is
absurd to attempt to maintain political
party on the memory of them. Perhaps so.
But would it not be insane to trust politi-
cal party that could so readily forget them ?
Itis'not magnanimous, it is indeed hardly
manly, to persecute men for sins of which
they have really repented. But that is not
repentance; it is Hypocrisy which processes
to repent of sins and does not forsake them.
but embraces worse ones. Such is the
anomalous repentance displayed By the
Democratic party. 1t never ceases to
denounce the Republican party for what it
has done or is trying to do. but it straight
way thunders with fercer denunciations of
what the party has not done and is deter
mened shall not be done. The moment
Democrats forget to decry Republican
policies they begin to belle Republican
motives. For twenty years they deemed it
sufficiently opprobrious to call Republicans
" Radicals" :" now they claim to be radicals
themselves and denondce Rupublicans as
rascals
DEMOCRATIC PROMISES
When in 1860 Democrats said. Con
tinUe as in power ana we will tleck the
Territories with slavery" Wen in 1894
they said "restore us to powor and we will
barter with rebels, giving freedom for
peace :" when in 1868 they said again,
'restore Us t. power and we will abrogate
three great amendments TO the COnsutu-
| ton, secure, government to white men, and
return slavery TO colored men, 1t could
| only be replied that such Investigations were
7 very unattractive Butwh in 1872 they
cried, "restOre US to office once more and
we will do everything that anybody wants
/ ! - a.,
And when they supplement this brszen
Indifference to principle by stolid indif-
ference to truth when, weary of opposing
the measures of the majority, they combine
to assail tn cir characters; when they abandon
false reasoning only to resort to false asser-
| ton they exhibit An opposition hard if not
impossible to parallel.
And yet that opposition, while 1t
never was so bad WAS never So dan
gerous as now. People can better
| Judge the merits of measure than the
merits of man. They can more readily
detect a fallacious argument than false
statement. When the opposition denounced
Republicans as misguided statemen, the
people could safely compare our measures
with theirs, and Judge which were best.
But when they denounced Republicans as
thieves it is not so easy to try the truth of
the assertion. Besides two circumstances
give slight color to that ALLEGATION. First.
Republicans have possession of the Govern
ment and have the best chance to peculate.
Second. It has been the especial labor OF
the present Administration to detect and
punish peculation. Some cases have been
! found.
He was great stateman, as well as 8
great poet who made Cassius say:
- In such a time as this it is no, meet
That every nice offense should bear his comment
However specious that theory may sound,
many great rulers have been compelled in
turbulent times to practice upon it. William
III was an honest magistrate. He had world
to fight and he was compelled to be very
! lenient toward the treasons of Godolphin
and Marlborough, He was slow to punish
the embezZlements Of TorrinGtOn, and he
never did punish the manifold rascalities of
| Oxford During the struggle and excite
! ment which attended the rebellion some
bad men found their way into public
employments. Mr.. LincOlns admlnlstra-
ton was too much occupied with graVer
matters to keep strict watch OF every Indl-
vidual offender. The administration which
succeeded was quite as unprepared for that
duty. Congress was then much absorbed in
the great work of reconstruction, and the
President was not happily fitted to criticise
official misconduct. But the present Ad-
ministration has no exemption from that
work. If it is not attended to now, the
Administration, and not the times, must be-
held responsible. But it is attended to. 1t
is prosecuted with that infexible energy
which has characterized every labor led by
President Grant. Some offences have been
exposed And every time a rogue has been
punished the opposition has shouted. "See
how corrupt Republicans are" 1t is as If,
whenever a surgeon removes tumor from
his patient the mob should shout, How
very rotten the doctor must be!' So, this
unfinching reform is prosecuted at the
risk of this twofold peril: First. Every
time we remove a rascal we lend plausibillty
to Democratic calumny. Second. Every
time we punish one we make a Democrat.
For a few years that party has been re-
cruited, not only by those knaves we have
dismissed from office, but by still larger
number who have been unable to get office.
1t is not impossible that by this process
thew may in time recover a majority. Good
men can not, without uneasiness, contem-
plate the possibility Of the country once