The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1877-05-17
Great Hopes Going up the Last Ladder,

can Journalists to say that they accept
the Presidents Southern policy as an
experiment; and they threaten all
sorts of vengeance upon the South
II the experiment proves failure. TO
save their consistency many of them
announce beforehand that it cannot be
success. It thus becomes an inter-
esting point to know precisely what
will constitute a failure, and also to
learn who shall decide whether o fall
ure has occurred. The reconstruction
policy of the Republican party has
been in operation for more than ten
years, and has been pronounced an
emphatic failure by the people of the
reconstructed States, by a majority of
all tho citizens Of the United States
and by the Republican President and
hir constitutional advisers. It was in
theory contrary to all sound princi-
ples Of government, and 10 practice
was found to be thoroughly worthless.
The country Was in no hurry to cons
demn it and in no haste to set it aside;
and certainly it should not be put in
operation again until the opposite plan
shall have had as long and as fair
trial and shall have received rs em-
phatic a condemnation. Even in that
event it is not probable that tho
scheme for ruling through the Feder>
al interferance States supposed to be
self governing communities will be re-
vived; and it behooves those politicians
who are anticipating change in tho
Democratic policy now adopted by
MIR. Hayes to set about inventing
something to take its place as soon as
they have established the fact of it's
failure. In the meanwhile the public
will wait with patience and will hardly
accept the testimony of tho advocates
of the old method in regard to tho
progress of the new one. Authorities
like Mr.. Phillips and Mr.. Blaine will
be heard on tho subject with distrust,
and the Southern carpet baggor, after
being dismissed rs an untrustworthy
witness, can scarcely be recalled again
while tho President himself will not be
entitled to much confidence if he pro-
claims that he has made ono stupcn>
dous mistake as preliminary to ask.
ing the people to give him tho chance
of making another. The Southern
communities will have TO be accepted
as the proper judges of the success of
the policy of Homo Rule and North
err philanthropist will have great
trouble in gcttlng the social problems
of the reconstructed States into ma
tional politics again. Tho Republican
editor who is making haste to pro-
nounce the course adopted by Mr.
Hayes toward South Carolina and
Louisiana mere experiment, and who
fancies that nc can get the country TO
restore tho order of things by dssom-
mating q few wild stories of outmges
committed on the freedmen, is u man,
therefore, to bo piticd. The attitude
of the President and of his party in re-
gard to the policy of conciliation
which he is trying to carry out, and
which his friends are secretly wishing
to see fail, even though it's failure
must be disastrous to the best intor~
eSts of the country, puts us in mind of
an old story which has been often
told, yet which may bo worth repeat
ing. Two Irish hod carriers made a
wager of a pint Of whiskey, the one
betting that he could carry his CON-
panion up the ladders to the top of a
fivo story building and tho other bet
ting that he could not. Barney seat
cd himself in the hod and waited
calmly with his pipe in his mouth
while Jimmy shouldered him and toll
ed slowly up tho dangerous ascent
With many apainful stumble he made
his way mp the ladders, and set his
burden down in triumph on the top
most scaffold. "There," said he, "I've
won." eyes," answered his comrade
sadly, "but I had groat hopes when
you thrippod comm up the last lad
der" Thus the Republican party