Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-10-27
THE CASE STATED.

our readers will be surprised TO see
there. 1t is the manifesto of those
among the Ohio Republicans who
refuse to endorse the policy of the
President. Our motive in publish
ing it is to give our readers as early
as possible such indications as may
rom time to time emerge from the
present embroglio of the probable
course which the events of the pres
ent session may take. One of these
indications is the paper now before
us; it states the cause of the malcon-
tent Republicans, and, that sec
ton of the Republican party is evil
IDENTIFY ruling the Senate OF the
United States, and constituting the
organized and efficient opposition
in the House of Representatives has
now become too evident to be ques-
toned. Mr.. Conkling is the recOg-
nized leader in the Senate, and Mr..
Stanley Matthews hitherto looked
on as the mOuth-piece of the Presi-
dent, has either passively followed
in his wake or been silent. The
men whom Mr.. Hayes has thrown
off as the creatures of the Packard
government which he has con-
demned are tenderly protected by
the Republican Senators, and even
when Mr.. Sherman entreats caucus
for the purpose Of gettingsOmemodi-
fed are partial endorsement of his
policy, only twenty-five Senators at
tend and they agree upon nothing.
The malcOntent Republicans,
then, are virtually the Republican
party so far as the United State SEN
ate is concerned, and of course. it
becomes important to ascertain what
they mean to do. The document
we have printed is the only system
attic manifesto in which the counts
of indictment against Mr.. Hayes
have been categOrically stated by
the malcontents. How, then, runs
the indictment? Jtall turns on one
hinge, that he has allowed the South
ern States to vote Democratic when,
by a judiciOus use of the army and
the Federal patronage and Federal
money, he might possibly have re-
tanned some portion of it for the Re
publican party. The negro votes
the Democratic ticket, therefore he
is oppressed and intimidated and
and ought to be bOlstered up by
Federal troops. Or, to put it all
in a nutshell, the cOlOred vote
has hitherto been controlled by
Northern Radicals, now by South
ern Democrats. There is the trouble;
it is not that the negro is controlled
by white men, but that the wrong
white men have got hold of him.
Those who gave the negro the fran
chise knew that for many years the
cOlOred man would be incapable of
exercising his privileges except I'M
der the direction of white men, but
they hoped that they would be able
to keep that direction in their own
hands, and their grievance is that it
has been gradually slipping from
their hands into those of Southern
men-hiRc iUCe EdcJylaP.
We are led to infer that what
these men purpose, if they can again
get the control of political affairs, is
to reinstate in the South the regime
which has passed away; to force a
Republican vote, to disperse the
present Legislatures by the sword
of another De TObriand, and set up
according to their own phraseOlOgy
not the men who were elected, but
the men who ought to have been
elected in their place.
These are the men, actuated by
such a purpose, whom the Demo-
cratic party will have to fight in
Congress during the present session;
the old questions have to be fought
out, the old parties have to fight
them. As for Mr.. Hayes and his
policy, theyar absolutely no where.
The Republican party refuses to en-
dorse them, the Democratic party
has something else to do, it has to
fight a still powerful faction which
is limo way influenced by either Mr.
Hayes or his policy, and has not leis-
ure to discuss the Presidents SINGER
ity as a RefOrmer and a patron of
the South. 1t is for him to decide,
will he take sides finally with the
Democratic party in the struggle in
which they are engaged, or will he
become an absolutely insignificant
unit i'm policy? Had he a party OF
any sort Visibly backing him it
might be worth while TO raise a
question about him, but Mr.. Hayes
has found il much easier TO break
down an old party then to organize
anew one.
Now, can our many cOntempOra-
ries from whom we stood alOOf a
few weeks ago understand why we
refused to gush when our elusive
President was making his progress
through the South trying to organ
ize his new party? We considered
it a matter of entire indifference
then what the President thought,
what were his intentions, what were
his motives for cherishing them.
We are thousand fold confirmed
in that opinion now? 1t is not what
the President proposes, but what the
party which has thrown him off pur-
poses that concerns us to know; and,
at present, the manifesto of the Ohio
malcOntents seems to us the best
guide we can find in seeking to
know their purposes and intentions.
FOre-Warned is fOre-armed.