The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-06-07
MOTIONS DOUBLE ENDER.


They call Senator MortOn's letter in
which he slashes Blaine and the Presi-
dent and finally falls between the two,
. "double ender." The letter consti =
tutes first class growl at everything
and everybody. The Indiana Senator's
term expires at an early day and he
must have the Presidents countenance
or fail of reelection. Morton there
fore flights sly" blaming the Federal
government for refusing armed support
to Packard and Chamberlain; but con-
Tossing that, if Mr.. Hayes had so sup
ported them, he would have proceeded
to inevitable defeat. 1t was clearly
the right Of the President, says the In
diana Senator, to recognize the Pack
ard government, and uphold it by
military power, but the undertaking
would have been futile and the failure
disastrous. With a divided public
opinion in his own party, and both
houses of Congress against him, Presi-
dent Hayes would have failed In the
ED. Threfore, in Senator Mnrtn-'-
view, II wOuId have been ruinous to do
what ought to have been done; and
the Republican party would not have
sustained Mr.. Hayes in what Senator
Morton declares to be requisite to the
well-being and safety of the party.
Senator Morton Is on one side, and the
bulk of the Republican party is on the
other side. The obstinate eleven jury
men will not be convinced by the argu-
ments of the sagacious twelfth juror.
Senator Morton sees this, and having
| indicated the errors of those who diff
fered from him, and having made ex-
cuses for them by demonstrating that
they could not safely have done other
than they did do, he makes profes,
sion of faith in the patriotism and
benefcent purposes of Mr.. Hayes, and
opens his batteries on the South.
The favorIte cry last fall was that
the election of Mr.. Tilden would en-
tail upon the country the payment of
Southern war claims, amounting to hun
dreds of millions of dollars. Mr.. Nor
ton argues that the Southern Demo
Gratis require that compensation shall
be given for 'rebel property taken or
destroyed by our armies;'' and in proof
of this he declares that when Mr.. Til
den, just before the election, wrote
his letter against those claims, he lost
his hold Oh tAe South. The Indiana
Senator is apparently intellectually, as
we'll as morally, blind. Mr.. Tilden's
letter was published everywhere In
the South. Not a word was written
or said against it; and when Gle ction
day came, every Southern State, ex-
cept South Carolina, elected the Dem
ocratic candidates. The Democracy,
by their votes, ratified the letter of
Mr.. Tilden. Not a State was lost.
On the contrary, with that letter con-
fronting the people, the Democrats
were more successful in the South
than they had expected to be. This
is sufficient answer to Mr.. MortOn's
charge that the main plank in the
Southern platform Is payment of South
ern claims for property destroyed dur
ing the war.
The considerations doubtless had
great weight with Mr.. Morton when
he was casting about for text for his
letter. One is that his term of office
expires on March 4, 1879, and there is
a scant Republican majority in the In
diana Legislature on joint ballot; the
other is, that the electoral vote of the
South cast, and counted, for the Demo
cratic candidates ensures the defeat oi
the Republican candidates in 1880, un
less the whole of the North, including
New York, be carried by the Republi-
cans. The letter is an attempt to Dol
ster up the chop-fallen Republican par
ty in Indiana, and to unity the Repub-
lican party in the North and West. /
is rather late in the day to begin thi
work with no better materials than th'
bugbear of Southern war claims. MIR
Tilden was elected upon an anti-claim
platform, and the truth outweighs Mr.
Morton's assertions and predictions
Moreover, the next Democratic candi-
date for president will, in all probabil
ity, be taken from the West, and th'
. candidate for vice president from tn
South; and the Southern Democrat
and Western Democrats have 80 man,
!, interests in common that they vii
work harmoniously together, even if j
, be necessary, in doing so, to give Ne7
, England a back seat, and eradicat
!, New England bigotry and intolerance
Mr.. Morton will not find any profit il
= standing as he does on New Englan
platform. 1t would be better for him
and worse for US, if he adopted tn
, broader and larger political ideas tina
we look for, and shall find, in tn
= West.
Mr.. Morton need not take the trou
BILE to advise the Republicans agains
a forming q new political organlzatio
''into which old Confederates may er
ter without woundipg their suscept
!. bilities." 1t would be the old part
:, with q new name; and it is not tn
name, but tie character, compositio
. and aims of the Republican part
which make 1t hateful in the South
When such persons as Morton, Blaine
= B. F. Butler, Logan and Chandler ar
: scourged out of the Republican party
and that party has no other purpos
\, than the maintenance Of the republica
institutions, and has no higher ls'
q. than the Constitution, j. will then b
:, time enough to invite the Souther
! people to abandon their present part
san affiliations and allow themselves {
be absorbed by Q new party. Unit
!. then it is idle to talk Of new partie
into which Southern whites can entel
Home rule, by and through the Hayc
,d ioesl conservatism satisfies III