The Caucasian. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1874-1875, 1875-02-27
The Crime Against Peace.
lFrO,n the N. Y. Tribuue

!
The proof accumulate that all thu
energies Of the party in power arc t.
10 bent in one direction for the Presi
dental campaign Of 1876. which, ac
cordiDg to Senator Conkling, was opc,
cd with tho Louisiana debate in the
Senate. Everything points to con
ccntration Of force upon the programme
indicated 10y 1he Tribune few days
since. The passions of the war are t,
be rekindlcd, sectional anmosity re-
vivcd, aud Presidential campai.,
made upon appeals to prejudice and
arguments addressed, not to reason,
but t" passion. Indeed. what else re-
malnsY Tho campaign approaches,
and the party must enter upon it with
weapons of some sort, Will, some Kind
Of political issue. There is no o.hr,
resource. That they cannot carry the
country again upon the brilliant rccort!
Of the party from 1860 to 1865 Is mani
fest to the most careless observer. Too
much has happened since then fn,
which the party is responsible 80 which
it cann"t "point with "rridc." 10
go to the country upon the record il
has made in tho management of the
finances of the country would he fatal
A PROSTATE commerce and crippled
business, continued financial drpres
sion and distress, an unsettled curlcn-
cy and the hopeless divisions in the
party upon questions pertaining there
to, all forbid any demonstration In that
direction.
Equally weak woul.l hc any appeal
to the people I" sustain tho party npon
The merits of it's reconstruction policy.
Tho fact that only in the reconstructed
States which have thrown off the yoke
ut the Administration is there anything
like prosperity or pence--the others
being plnndrrea like South Carolina o,
kept in disorder like Louisiana would
bo conclusive against them. The re-
suits ut tw" years Of investigation for
bid their making any claim upon th.
score Of honesty the condition of the
Treasury answers abruptly their pro-
frssions of rctremhment, and the con
aition of the public service. the charac-
ter Of a large proportion of the men in
office, the record OF tho President him
self, and the hagran. dishonesty OF
their repeated pr"testations in favor oi
Civil Service Reform all stand con-
spicuously in the way Of any farther
attempt to use that mncl, abused pre-
tense in another campaign. For the
rest, it remains only to rcitcrnte the
claim that it is II party of moral ideas
that it contains the most of tho intel
ligencc, honesty and patriotism in the
country, and that the country can bet
ter afford to trust it, with all its crimes
and f"llies. than to risk the ascendrncy
"f the Democracy. There is some truth
this, but what procession of facts
and circumstances, Of broken promises,
short-siShtcd policies, and rrpudiated
leaders would rise up against the as
scrt'"n of the claim. Butler leading
the House, Carpenter presiding over
the Senate, and both rcpudiatcd BY thc
people after tho party had indorsci
them; the fading line of statesmen.
even now almost forgotten, who retired
under the shadow of Credit Moi,i!irr. |
Back Pay and Bribery Investigations,
the entire history Of The party, in short,
during the Grant Administrations
against such an array who could have
the assurance to ask the pcrpetuatiun
in power Of Il party Of such moral
ideas 7
No. There is nothing left the lead
ers of the Administration party but
this last desperate resource. Failing
to find anything in their recent record
npon which they could 60 to the cnuo-
try as successful administrators or
wise legislators, they have jumped the
whole, and set tNthcmsclvcs the tax
of convincing tI,cpcoplc that the same
condition exists now whicl, at the close
Of the war made their political ASCEND.
ency essential to the final success of the
principles for which the war waS
fought, and t" the prosperity and peace
Of the country. The people are to be
made to believe that the spirit of re-
siStancc to the Federal Government is
rs rife rs ever in tho Southern States,
and no less dangerous /; that the dispo-
siti"n Of the white citizens is brutal
and murlcrons; that no Northern man
IS safe in the expression OF his opinions
~ the exercises Of the freedom of
speech; that the helpless blacks who
have been set free and clothed Will,
he privileges of citizenship arc in inn
minent peril of reinstatement that
he Southern people are as Il class not
only arrogant and ,yrannicaI, but
,cheming and dishonest, and that moth
ng but the continued aSccn,lcncy of
he party now in power can prevent a
general overthrow Of all the results oft
he war, Tie reputation Of or own
md the assumption of the Rebel debt,
lHd the mpovcrishment of the North
% pay Rebel claims for cotton seized,
:rops destroyed, fields and plantations
'avaged, and slaves emancipatcl du-
ing tho war.
We say the course of tho Almiuis-
ration and its leaders points to this, F;
md only this, rs the policy Of the
of 1876. Aud we say tn,;h
~. that q moro revolving conspiracy
'gaiust the peace and welfare of the