National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-08-23


comparison of the popularity of those in
flut noes In different sections. Underlying
these inclinations. however, it Is not diff
CIT to discover q sentiment among the
u hiking people Of all parties in favor ofa
cEpromise position which shall secure
SPEEDY resumption without contraction Of
values. The same may be said Of the
tarlh question, of cheap transportation, of
estate communication. of internal i'm
provements, and of every issue regarding
which it is possible to provoke any division
of opinion. And it is worthy of note that
the same truly conservative under current
of thoughtful opinion is apparent as
the sheet anchor of all these questions
to prevent the masses from going wildly
astray and sacrificing national consistency.
1t is clearly to be seen, however, that
this sheet anchor occasionally drags along
the bed of the sea of politics. and that Its
flukss, so to speak, do not at times catch
firm hold upon q solid bottom. This is
evidenced by the erratic results of election
contests here and there, and by the fleeing
| popularity of illogical and impractical theo-
1
Gen. Butler, or mistaken ones as Judge
Kelley, when they exploit their peculiar
theories on finance, prove this beyond q
doubt. But the most forcible reason for
this shifting of opinion is the utter Absorb
ton of the people by purely local issues, or
issues in which as states and communities
they have an immediate personal interest
ha af Id
form movements in Iowa and Wisconsin,
will serve to illustrate our meaning.
They are both staunch Republican
States, when the issues presented to their
voters are based upon the principles of the
national platform of that party; but under
peculiar circumstances, well known to
everyone who knows anything about the
politics of the country, they have bsen
| made to appear as among its enemies.
4 Just now the Opposition is attempting to
secure a similar result in Ohio. Although
the campaign in that State is being con-
Quoted fairly and squarely on the currency
question, and each party has made def
mite declaration regarding it in their re-
spective platforms, there are other and
more serious questions of division of opin-
ion between them which have been tempo.
rarily lost sight Of For example, if the
Democrats succeed, which they certainly
will not, thor success will be due to the
popularity of their declarations in
favor of rag money. They are
fighting their battles on that issue alone.
They DO not discuss any other question,
although there is another question, which
is the bedrock on which the very founda-
ton of their political belief rests. 1t is the
question of the superiority of authority of
the State and the General Governments.
Thurman, Allen, Pendleton. and the whole
gang, maintain that allegiance to the Gene
raj Government is secondary to allegiance
to the State government. If they carry
the election next October, they will claim
that the people not only are in favor of rag
money, but repudiate the Republican
principle of the superior authority Of |
the General Government. In this way
the etanchor is dragging just now but |
as we have intimated, it will no doubt |
finally take firm hold upon an honestly |
conservative foundation.
Nevertheless, the absorbing excitement |
of the Ohio campaign, and the interest it |
provokes in other States regarding the
money question, aided as it is by the de- |
ceptive declarations of the Gushers and |
their Northern dough-face friends, has |
blinded the Northern people to some ex- |
tent to the actual condition of affairs in the |
South. They do not know, for example, |
how far the revolutionists of that section |
have progressed with their design to re- |
store the ante-bellum condition of affairs. |
somewhat unexpected Republican vic |
tory in North Carolina but they do |
not appreciate the full extent of its import. |
ance. They do not understand that while |
that State was snatched from the control |
of class of men who would have boldly |
placed 10 her constitution declarations of the |
paramount authority of the reasonable
principles for which they fought during |
the war, Alabama has been captured by
them and that before long, the last vestige
of any acknowledgements of the cherished
results of the war will be obliterated from
her organic act These are facts, and facts
that should startle the North with their
fearful significance. They speak palmer
than words the designs of the Gushers, and
show the almost criminal imbecility of the
Northern Doughfaces who aid in the &C.
complishment of those designs by deceiv-
ing the public with assertions that the
Southern leaders have truly accepted the
changed situation of affairs. As an illus
tration of their full significance, it is only
necessary to explain that the Democratic
party relied for its support in the campaign
just closed, upon appeals to the people to
vote for the convention, because their dele
gates to it were pledged to repeal the regis
tration oath clause of the present Consti-
tuition. That clause requires every voter,
on registering, to swear solemnly that he
will support the enfranchislng or emanci-
patton and anti-States rights amendments
to the National Constitution, and preserve
the equality of citizenship. 1t is simple,
though comprehensive embodiment of all
the pledges of loyalty to the new order of
things resulting from the war. For no
other reason than that it was so simply
\
object to it. 1t was the enactment of loyal
men, approved by loyal Congress, and {
enforced by loyal Government 1t was,
consequently, the special antipathy of dis :
loyal men who disliked to swear away
their allegiance to the government of their
State every time they registered them ;
selves as voters. And as it is in Alabama,
30 it is In all the Southern States. {,
Those narrow-minded Journalists OF the {
North who are unable to see beyond their {
noses, and who consequently fail to ap- 6
preciate the developments Of affairs outside I
Of their immediate section, may be excused !
for not paying attention to these apparent !
advances of the States Rights party in the
South. Others who are engaged in ab-
Iorbing local political excitements and
campaigns which we have described may
also be omitted from the denunciation
which the average journalist of that sec {