The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1877-03-21
THE COLOR LINE In VIRGINIA.

Hayes, the perjury president, proposes to
buy the south with a few petty offices. He
seems to have come to the conclusion that
southerners are all of the Mosby type, or
what is meaner, il possible, of the Henry
Watterson school, which compares the pres
idential swindler to knocking the hoops off
of "brsss hoped piggin" and the ''spilling
of little good democratic milk" nothing
more.
A writer in the Richmond Dispatch, over
the signature of j. j., Jr., takes different
view of the subject He says:
The Virginians have a fair allowance of DO.
litical wisdom. Will they, because a thousand
or so men in the state want Office, stultify
their good record in history?
The announced policy of Mr.. Hayes's admin
istration is 10 break down the color line at the
south, to accomplish which he designs bring
ing over to his support, and, as natural con-
sequence, into the radical party, the thous-
ands of southerners whom it is supposed he
will appoint to office. 1t is argued thus: II
these people take office they viii be bound In
honor not to assail the administration. They
will insensibly fall into repelIing attacks made
on it, and from thence they get to praising it..
Then they are gone-body and baggage, with
their little circle of relatives and frends-over
10 the radical camp. Memo repe'ate yuH t,vpis-
sinus.
Several interesting questions, however,
arise; the NEST important of them, VIII Mr..
Hayes give Office to men who have acted
against him, and turn out and pass by those
who have borne the heat and burden Of the
day, and have suffered ignomiuy and martyr
dom in his behalf? We rather think not.
But If he does, are the Virginians, for the
sake OF office, to give up principle? Is ii true
that the lOaves and fishes, after all, are the OBJ
jects they have been fighting for? Does poll
tics, after ALL with us consist simply of strife
between the ''tns" and the "outs?"
I hQVa fhOuUhf that cinQa Onr lost
we had been struggling and cODtending to be
placed on an equal footing with the northern
people and the northern states-to be treated
I ban-to be in such position that the federal
government would no more dare to send a
battalion of soldiers to disperSe the legislatures
| of South Carolina, Louisiana, and Virginia
| than they would to disperse those of Massa-
| chusetts, New York and Ohio. When that is
done, when that is admitted, then we have
gained the point and settled the principle for
which We and our northern allies (the demOc-
racy) have insisted since the war. II Mr..
| Hayes admits and comedies that, he will have
| left his own party and come over to us; we
will not have gone over TO him.
With four northern democratic states and
/ IL d. mocratic southern states president was
elected who recognized that we should be
| treated as equals and with respect. Through
a trick and a trap he was defrauded out of his
seat. But we can, if we preserve our party Or
ganiZatiOn intact, do IL again. and the next
| time avoid the cunntngly devised pitfall.
| Will the Virginians, will the southern people
| for few wretched offices give up these great
advantages they have after such strenuous,
unremitting, indomitable labor and effort,
gained in a 10 years struggle, in spite of mill
| tary occupation, carpet-bag governments,
negro supremacy, and adverse federal legisla-
| ton and Interference? We leave the question
| as food for reflection.
There is something of more Importance TO
the south than a few offices, and those, il
they are offered and accepted, will not hush
the storm of indignation of the masses that
will continue TO beat against the presidential
| fraud. The crimes that made Hayes presi-
| dent must be made odious Hayes as
president is a standing lie, a rose
cancer, a running tumor, deep,
damning disgrace to the American name.
He can not give away enough of his stolen
swag to hush denunciation. There is moth
| ing to save him from the wrath of man or
the vengeance of God. Hayes can not 'come
over to the democrats. He would have to
wash himself thousand times in Jordan
before the leprosy of crimes
would be cured. The devil could
as we'll enter heaven. The color line
won't save Hayes. He may drag out mis-
cradle existence in the white house, but
dead or alive he is a president by fraud
| Perjury gives him sthe right to command
the army and the navy of the United States
and to do all other acts of the chief .execu
tive of the nation. But with all this power
he will not be able to obtain an Endorsement
of the crimes by virtue of which he occu
pies the white house.
/