The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-03-14
THE RELATION OF THE DEMOCRANN
CONSERVATIVE PARTY 10 h
THE NEGROES.

The vicious energies or the hcpuDll-
can party in tho North and OF the
Radical party in the South have been
Gor many years devoted to arraying the
negroes OF this section against the
, whites. No falsehood has been too vile
for our enemies to use for this purpose,
and no measures calculated to ad-
| vance It, however desperate, have been
overlooked. The negroes have been told
that the Democratic party is committed
to their reinstatement; they have been
in every locality told of the mnltreat-
mont or slaughter OF their race by the
whites In nearly all other localities
they have been promised land and mules
to vote with the carpet-baggers and
scalawags; they have boon promised
tho sack Of farms and villages, and the
possession OF fair women, with q view
of embroiIing them in riots with the
whites; heavy taxes have been levied
Under tho protcxt Of educating
their children, and in every campaign
they are aroused to barbaric hntred Of the
Southern white people by stories OF
bull whips, the whipping and muir
der OF their race. AS matter OF course,
this shameful and desperate policy has
succeeded. The negroes for years have
stood MS unit against the Southern
whites hating, fearing, doubling them =
and the people, throughout the North,
have come to believe that the negroes
1.-Two In constant danger OF being exter-
minated by the bloodthirsty Southern
ers, and that they are only saved from
universal butchery or slavery by the
protecting arm Of the carpet-bag thieves
who infcst the land, and by Gen. Grant s
bayonets. 5-.. ~ .t.,, .d.ft
| Under these circumstances 1t has been
| impossible for the Southern whites to
pursue any policy calculated to anchor
ate the condition Of the negroes or to give
them any general evidence Of their de-
sire to assist them i'm the Improvement
and elevation OF their race. The carpet.
baggers have persistently kept tho ne
groes In n hostile attitude toward the
whites for tho purpose Of preserving
their own evil influence over them, and
Of using them to advance the worst and
most r,iinous schemes. We believe that
the negroes OF Louisiana are to-day,
after eight years Of Radical rule
absolute Radical 4 rule-more de-
based and ignorant than they
were the day they wore ,emanci-
pated. 1t Is true that hundreds Of thou
sands of dollars have been taken from
the taxpayers Of the State, under the
pretext Of establishing a large and lib
eral free school system, mainly for the
benefit Of the negro children. But the
school system under Radical admins
tration has been villainous fraud.
Most Of the money has been paid out to
d numerous swarm Of useless and In
competent officials. Most of the teach
ers Of the few schools established in the
country have been ignorant, vulgar,
and often vicious men, whose duty was
to keep the negroes organized for polit-
ical purposes rather than to teach the
negro children and we do not hesitate
to say that the only thing the Radicals
have taught the negro Is political ras-
cality.4 . a..... t....f .i...efI izlt -
As the whole country has been for
years charging the whites Of Louisiana
with being hostile to the negroes, eager
for their Reinstatement. and opposed
TO any free school system for the benefit
OF 'colored children, we deem 1t u proper
time to define tho position OF our peo-
pie toward the negro race. We are en-,
tirely satisfied that, IL the negroes and
the white people are let alone by the
President and his partisans, and by
the carpet baggers in the State. in a
very short time the best OF relations
will exist between the two races. There
are many men In the South who believe
that mentally and morally the negro is
an inferior order Of human nature, and
there are many who think differently
This, however, Is a question which be.
longs to the domain OF science, and
none OF US have the right to pronounce
dOgmatically upon 1t, and exclude the
negroes from the rights of humanity
because we may believe that they have
not the same mental and moral capabili-
ties as the Caucasians. This Is a ques-
ton which has no right to affect our
politics, and we think 1t does not to any
material extent. i'.1 's't
The fact is recognized by us that, by
the dispensation4of Providence the ne
groes, poor, ignorant, superstitious, are
upon our hands; that they are human
beings and that they must be dealt with
as such. The Southern people, we be-
lieve, fully realize their responsibility
in this matter and that It is their duty
as an enlightened and Christian people,
to give the negroes q fair and equal
chance under our laws and institutions
to work out their capabilities in the race
OF life. None Of us desire to
re-enslave them; none n Of US
desire to maltreat them; none of us
wish to keep them in degradation, and
ignorance. Our own interest would
be adversely affected by so
unwise and cruel policy, and we have
sense enough to know that the prosperi-
ty OF the country will DO largely adj I