Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-10-26

), 1876.
POLITICS.
The Great Danger.
Perhaps the most important issue of
the pending national election is one
which the Northern Democrats evade
and the Southern Confederates per-
sistently ignore. 1t is the payment or
non-l,ayment to former Rebels of loss.
es growing out of the War. The pur.
pose of reimbursing the South for its
War losses has been charged upon the
Tilden party, and the charge is sus.
tained by the attitude of the combined
South, the concession which its North
ern allies are ready to make to attain
control of the Offices, and the bills in
troduced at the last session of Congress
covering part of the ground. How
has this charge been met BY an om-
inous silence on the part of the South,
and suspicious evasion on the part of
the Northern Democrats.
There are tens of thousands of peo-
pie in the sixteen Southern States of
high and low degree who have claims
large and small for War losses, amount
ing in the aggregate to not less than
two thousand millions Of dollars, or
more than the present national debt
the Republican party has passed laws
prohibiting the payment of claims for
losses made by men who were dislOyal
t. the Union what more natural than
that the claimants, and their friends,
and all who hope to benefit from the
allowance, should continue to secure
the elevation to power of an opposi-
ton party from whom q different poll.
icy is awaited! This is what has been
done, and this is why the organs and
spokesmen of the Confederates at the
South dare not, even for Northern ef-
feet, disavow the purpose of admitting
these claims if the Tilden party shall
come into power. To do so sincerely
would be to tear away the bond that
holds the South together in this politi.
cal contest.
They tell us that the payment of
these claims is prohibited by the con-
stitutional amendments. They know
that this is not true. The only pro-
hibition made by the Fourteenth
Amendment is the payment of ''any
debt or obligation incurred in aid of
insurrection or rebellion against the
United States. or any other claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave" :"
This prohibition does not include the
assumption by the National Govern
ment of the State debts of the various
BANKRUPT Southern States,-a bill for
which, ingenious in its construction
and with ample margin for lobby ex-
penses, is in charge of ex.Gov. Walker,
of Virginia, now member of Con.
gress. 1t does not include the refund
ing of the cotton tax, amounting to
$68, 900, 900, besides the interest which
has accrued thereon since the tax was
collected. It does not include the
hundre DIS of millions of dollars OF
claims for the use and occupation OF
property by the United States army
a bill for the allowance of which was
introduced by Mr.. Riddle. 1t does not
include the other hundreds of millions
for the destruction of fences, the
burning of houses and towns, the
stripping of corn.felds, the foraging
on pigs, and chickens, and turkeys
and the loss of crops inevitably Incl
dent to the progress of large and sue
cessful armies in the enemy's country
bills for which were also introduced
at the last session of Congress-.
Thus hundreds of thousands of claims
amounting to thousands of millions OF
dollars, may be set up and allowed
without any violation of tho cOnstitu'
tional amendments. But, say the
Northern allies of the Southern Con
federates, the Republican have allowed
and paid War losses, and why sho,ldn't
we! The War losses paid by the Re
publicans have been claims recognized
by international law and approved by
universal principles of equity,-lOsses
sustained by Union men who suffered
for their loyalty, losses from Confed
elate raids, repayment to States OF
moneys advanced to assist in the pros
ecutiOn of the War, reimbursement te
loyal men for supplies freely rendered
to the Union armies on their march
But, in the allowance of these claims
the Republicans have been sustained by
a law of their own making, requiring
positive proof before 4 Court of Claim!
of the loyalty as we'll as the losses e1
the claimants this restraint the Dem
ocrats purpose to remove, and a bill
for that purpose was also introduced
at the last session of Congress admit
ting all claims without regard to th'
status of the claimant during the War
And what will the people of tn
North do about it, if they have volun
tarily resigned full power into til
hands of Confederates Human ma
ture and self.interest will prompt tn
latter to carry out the raid on the Put
!, lie Treasury to the utmost tenti0n, an
J there will be no lawful means for re
straining their rapacity. The tim
will surely come when the people Q
the North will be goaded on to repl
diation of revolution, or both. In r.
| pudiatien the people of the South wi
, readily join, after having had the bel
eft of the sale of the bonds, and tn
credit of the nation will be 'destrOye
forever and the whole country will b
borne down under a panic the like {
1 which was never known. If revolt
ton shall be the outcome, then W
. must again pass through the terror'
the cost, and decentralization Of anOtl
l er war, the scene Of which will not b
bounded by Mason & Dixen's lint
: This the perspective of a danger, clea!
ly outlined though to be some way OF
: that can only be surely averted by
: refusal of a united North to follow tn
;; course indicated by a solid South.
seetionalism there must be, let it I
on the side OF national integrity, SAT
: ty, honor, and prosperity, and not
> the side of the national bankruptc,
. disruption, and decay.
9; The October Elections.
The following is the address of tt
> Republican National Committee:
;. The Republican National COmmitt'
. :, congratulate the party which they re-
y resent and the country upon the resu
l.,1 1>r>v@