Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-03-12
The Outrage Of Being = Carpet
BaSger.
Mrs. Jane Grey Swisshem. the celebrated Ameri-
writer in the Chicago Tribune.

Mrs Jane Grey Swisshem, the celebrated Ameri-
can writer in the Chicago Tribune.
Illinois might have learned a les
son from Southern thrift; but YOU see
what she has done. There was Abra-
ham Lincoln, who carpet-bagged from
Kentucky, and carried off the highest
honors Of the Sucker State. Stephen
a. Douglas, too, walked in upon her
soil with an empty satchel, and filled
it with commissions and hard cash.
Last summer | met more than Il dozen
men who had carpct-bagged into
Illinois, and grown rich there, held
lands, and Office, and stocks, and
went about in broad daylight, just as
if they had right to be there. Why
did not the people of Illinois drive
them out with fire and sword, or
severely letting alone? No wonder
a portion of her Democracy are
moved with sympathy for the South,
now likely to suffer, by the ingress of
outsiders determined to contend with
the natives for every chance of max
ing money or winning fame.
Pennsylvania, too, has been afflict-
ed with carpet-baggers; for Thaddeus
Stevens walked in among her native
born sons, and carried off the honor
of establishing common schools on
her soil; also of proposing and urg-
ing the only statesmanshiplike or
sensible plan of reconstructing the
Rebel States; while 4 Pennsylvania,
Alexander Ramsey, had the impu-
dence to intrudc upon the sacred soil
of Minnesota, rs the first carpet-bag
Governor of thaeterritory, and has
kept on contcnding for and winning
honors there, just AS if he was on his
own native heath.
In fact, the whole country is over
run with carpct-baggers. They come
in ship le ads, thousands and hundreds
of thousands of them, and no sooner
do they land .han they begin to work
and plan to get money, and land, and
offices, and honors. Why does not
this intrusion fire the American heart
and set our Il lks to driving out the
intruders, or compelling them to say
our shihbOleth, on pain Of being so
severely let alone that death would
be welcome refuge.
Suppose we build a Chinese wall
around this country, and keep ont
carpetbaggcrs from other lands;-
then run 4 fence around the bounda-
ries of every State, to exclude the in
truders from any or all OF the other
States? If a man from New Eng
land, the Middle or Western States,
may not lmmigrate South and get
himself elected to office, what right
have Southern men to come North
and compete for prizes? What right
have men Of Europe, or Africa, or
Asia, to come and dwell among us,
grow rich, get Office, and make the
most of themselves? Is not this
whole cry about carpet-baggers an
outrage-one which reveals the ami
mus OF Southern men in this contest,
and prove them incompetent to en-
Joy the rights of American citizen
slip, on account Of their incapacity
to understand them, and their unwil-
lingness to perform the correspond
ing duties? No man is fit to be an
American citizen who denies to others
their right to immigrate into any
State in the Union, to dwell there,
and get amy Office he can reach by
legitimate means. This whole car
pet-bag war is anti-American, and
those who prosecute It are unworthy
the name Of American.