Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-03-13

! hetegntinuous source of irritation. It
was perfectly impossible for anybody to
I conceive OF q race o. intelligent men
who, knowing that their whole pros
| perity, everything they had in the
/ world, depended on Keeping the peace
| between the races, should turn out and
| kill the negroes wholesale. For ex-
ample: His home was four miles
in the country from Atlanta.
Everything he had on earth
in the,way of housekeeping-his farm,
mules, corn, fodder, hay, houses, every
thing was in the hands of negroes whiie.
he was in Washington, and not a white
man upon the place. He knew the SEN
timent of the sOutherners upon the
questions OF race and color, and he could
affirm t1at there was no hostility to-
ward the negro as man. Mrs. Gordon
and himself had gone away from home
aud lef5 their entire family, their little
children, in the hands of negro servants
with not white man anywhere sb5rad
Bis children slept with tho ohisction
nurse at night, and hept as it might in
to the association 4ality. The danger OF
Huence t2eE D greater than before the
lhls vas i1Hesie negro was in the control
"sr -. He was told not to swear,
.,,,I 80 GE4iIAc, not to use obscene Ian
guage sn0ag the children. There was
no such control over him now, and not
having any power to control him in any
way to prevent any arts that would mis-
lead him. he was filed with apprehen-
sion. 1t was not repuguance tOwsfd
him, but distrust OF him. The negroes
on his place worked his farm, and he di-
vided its products equally with them.
Every man voted against him every
time. They had been with hun ever
since the war, and had never voted with
him, and they did not dare to. be
cited an instance which occurred when
he was running for governor. His car
riage driver, q boy to whom he was very
much attached, and who was devoted 10
him, came TO him very much affected
and said TO him: General, would vote
for you, but must be candid with YOU
and tell you the truth; l am afraid to do
it. My own color will charge me with
desertfng them, ana these white men
who have been looking after US tell me
that will not be safe if l desert my color.
And l want to ask you whether it is true
that If you are elected we will all be
put back into slavery again?" 81
laughed at him." Mr.. Gordon said, ''and
replied, don't you know that it would he
utterly impossible? If the whole south
ern people were united as one man, and
should attempt that, they could accom-
plish nothing by it, If the whole power
of the government was given US" he
continued, Its armies, its navies, its
courts, its congress, one man in five
Thousand could not be found TO put the
negro back into slavery again. We don't
want slavery again." The negro vote was
dividing more and more every year, and
he was sure the time was not far distant
when parties would be formed not upon
the color line at all. 1t would have come
long ago if it were not for those men whose
interest it vas to keep up the party line.
10 show the Kind of influence these car
petbaggers had over the negroes, he said
that after ne had addressed them in fa-
vOr Of reform legislation, some one Of
these would rise and say: "Don't you
remember that he was in the rebel
army? don't you remember he fought to
keep you Ia slavery? Don't you give
nim the power again, or he will put you
hack into slavery" The effect of this
appeal 10 the passions was apparent. lie
thought the civil rights bill was not de-
sired by the cOlOred people. They pre-
ferTed, az 8 mass, to be by themselves in
the cars, steamboats, or hotels; and in
closing the conversation he remarked
that not single outrage or disturbance
had occurred which could not be traced
to the unjust administration of the gov
ernment rs its cause.