The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-03-12
SOUTHERN AFFAIRS.
Views OF Senator Gordon of Gc0rgia-Tha Object of
the Visit to New England-The Feelings Of the
Two Race, at the S0uth-Uniust Adm nstration
Of the Goyarnmc Mt the Whole Cause Of Strife
From the Boston Advertiser. March 6. I


j. tatiye Lamar, of Mississippi, arrived in th
ct city last evening on their way to New Hamr
shire, where the former will speak in Concor
l. on Monday evening, and the latter in Mar
If chester. These gentlemen said in conversz
b ton with an 4idraftser reporter last evening
# that they came with feelings very differer
G from the ordinary feelings Of politicians
e Their people Were too serious to think G
/" mere triumph o. parties. They were Just il
. that condition when they We're willing to en-
o brace anything that promised relief and GOO
/ government. The sum Ct al they wanted
1 was honesty in their public officers.
c Speaking OF the condition of property in
f New Orleans, Mr.. Gordon, quoting from s
! letter of lady friend residing there said il
g cost more to pay the taxes than could be OBJ
, tanned from rents. The lady continued in the
letter: eve are called q company of murder
crs and assassins. | tell You that where one
white man can be found who has committed
a murder, for any cause at all, | will name
to you two who have committed suicide from
, sheer desperation" This was simply a pri-
yate letter written to friend, with no expec-
tation that it would be made public She
subsequently gives a long list of names of
prominent citizens of New Orleans who had
gone mad and taken their lives. 1T is a hor-
rid state of society and government, added
SIr. Gordon, chat drives people to that
sort of resort They had come, he said,
with the hope that by an honest, plain repre-
sentation, braced by facts and by the test
mony which they propose to present mostly
| from Republican sources, they can show the
people of the North the true condition Of the
Southern States They felt sure that when
ever we did understand, as brave and gen
erous people, with common history and a
common destiny with theirs we would not
tolerate the abuses to which they were subject
| ed the interference Of the Federal Admins
tration. OF course, if they could not redeem
themselves through the ballot-box they must
go on suffering, but they wanted the same
rights at the ballot-box that we had. They
did not wan. men forced upon them BY fraudu-
lent elections as was done in Arkansas, as was
done every year ia Mississippi. and as was
done last year in Louisiana They had come
here not to make political speeches, but
merely to spread out before the people their
condition.
Speaking Of the condition of affairs in |
Georgia, he said there hal not been a life |
taken in that State, unless it was in an infre-
quent drunken street row The negroes
lived happily and peaceaby He suggested |
that it was not very good argument for those
who tried to make it appear that the whites
were hostile to the negroes, when in this
State, where the former race outnumberei
the latter four to one quiet reigned. He
mentioned, as one significant fact, that the
Legislature appropriated the same amount of
money for the negro college as for the col
lege which was the pride of every Georgian
In all the States the older citizl rs saw that
the negro, so FIR from being responsible, was
simply made the tool i'll the hands of men
who used him for their own purposes
A bad government was the continuous
source Of irritation. II was perfectly impos- t
CIhl la ~ 20 Of " IN, p,
telligent men, who, knowing that their own
everything they had III the world, +
depended on keeping the peace between the /
races, sh Juld turn out and kill the negroes
Wholesale. For example: His home was four i,
miles in the country from Atlanta. Every .
thing he had on earth in the way of house !
keeping, his farm, mules, corn, fodder, hay, {
houses, everything was in the hands of ne I
groes while he was in Washington, and not :
A white man upon the place. He knew {
the sentiment of the Southerners upon the =
questions Of race and color, and he could 5
affirm that there was no hostility to- 3
ward the negro as man. Mrs. Gordon a
md himself had gone away from home and /
eft their entire family, their little children. q
n the hands Of negro servants, with not a i
white man anywhere about. His children y
dept with their colored nurse at night, and u
le had no objection to the association, except =
IS it might influence their morality The
LANCER Of this was much greater than before q
he war. Then the negro was in the control e.
# his master. He was told not to swear, not Fl
Q drink, not to use obscene language among Il
he children. There was no such control 9,
yer him now, and not having any power to n
ontrol him in any way to prevent any arts :
hat would mislead him. he was filled With .,
pprehenslon. 1t was not a repuynance to- n
ard him, but a distrust Of him +
The negroes on his place worked his farm, "
nd he divided its products equally with them g
very man voted against him every time 4,
hey had been with him ever since the war. el
nd had never voted with him, and they did II
OF dare to. lie cited an instance which oc- re-
lrred when he was running for Governor. K,
is carr age driver, boy to whom he was cc
cry much attached and who was devoted to ~,
i'm, came to him very much affected and IN
nd to him General, | would vote for you, IL
ut must be sndid with you and til YOU "
lc truth. | am afraid to do it. My own he
dor will charge Inc with deserving them, and hi
ese white men who have been looking after . .
tell me that ] will not be safe if |
asert my color. And | want to ask or
IN whether it is true that if you are elected On
g will all be put back into slavery again" W
| laughed at him, Mr.. Gordon said, land Al
piled, don't you know that it would be ut "a
rly impos ible; if the whole Southern PEG .
G We're united as one man, and should at M,
mpt that, they could accomplish nothing by sic
II the whole power Of the Government r.
IS gwen US, he continued, . its armies, its nl,
vies, its courts, its Congress, one man in
g thousand could not be found who would
it the negro back into slavery again. We
Mt want slavery any more" The negro
te was dividing more and more every
ar, and he was sure the time was
{ far distant when parties would be
med not upon the color line at ALL
would have come long ago if it were not for
ose men whose interest it was to keep up
party line To show the kind OF in inc
ence these carpet-biggers had over the is
groes, he sal that after he had addressed be]
IN in favor of reform legislation, some one lie,
these would rise and sly, Don't you re- thi
mber that he was ia the rebel army don't prc
/ remember be fought to keep you in Re
very? Don't you give him the power again, be.
he will put you back into slavery" The cht
ect Of this appeal to passions was an "a.