The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-11-27
"THE SOLID SOUTH"

dy shirt papers IN the North nave re
newed the cry of ''the solid South
as a bugbear with which to frighte
our frieSds there into acquiescenc
to the repetition of the old line o
policy under which we suffered s.
much in the past. Efforts wer
made, which were at first reported t.
be successful, to induce Presiden
Hayes TO forsake what is known a
his Southern policy" and to reviv'
the practices of Grantism' with re
ference to the South. 1t is now sait
that the "staIwarts" claimed TOT
much of success for their endeayors
but it is certain that attention ba!
been generally drawn in the Nortl
to the State governments Of The
South, and particularly to Louisiana
and South Carolina. The force Of
this object is destroyed somewhat by
the election of one, and possibly two
Republican Congressman from North
Carolina, and one or two Greenback
ers in other States, very much to the
chagrin of the "bloody shirt" organs
and orators.
But all that is neither here nor
there. The South is not solid in
any opposition to the North as a
section, nor is the cry of "solid
North" ever heard anywhere in the
South. The Republican party in the
South has been very different thing
from the Republican party in the
North. With US it has been made
up of a mass of. ignorant voters led
and marshaled by horde of hungry
and corrupt. et-baggers. It
sought power for the means and op
portunities 1t gave them to Cypress
the whites and steal all they could
of their hard earned substance. 1t
was held together by the cohesive
force of plumber as far as the leaders
were concerned, and grounded in the
hate and suspicion of the negroes for
their former masters. For a while
it ruled the South with the iron hand
Of despot and held high carnival
Of crime in the places we had conse-
Grated to our best and purest men in
The past. Try what plan we would,
turn which way we pleased and we
we're confronted with an array of
oayonets whose mission it was to
aphold these corrupt and mongrel
State governments. Thus it was for
ong and weary years.
Finally the negro lost his faith in
he carpet Dagger, and as Beelzebub
lad done in higher sphere, he as
bred to the supreme control for him.
'elf. 1t dawned at last upon their
mind that if they could
'lect the carpet Dagger to high and
lucrative offices, he could elect him
'elf to the same places. By this
lime some of the Southern States
lad managed to free themselves from
he yoke and were allowed to quietly
pursue their way. Virginia, Ten
,esee and North Carolina were free.
The rest of the Southern States were
hen confronted with danger which
threatened not only the control of
heir governments and the confsca-
ion of their property under the
,uise of taxation, but involved also
he perpetuation of their civilization
nd the safety of their firesides. Il
from the unreasoning ambition of
he negro grew the race issue in the
'olitics of the South. Upon that is
ue the carpet baggers, who had al |
eady been thrown overheard, main
sided with the white people. The
lliance in Louisiana with Warmoth |
nd in South Carolina with Cham
erlain, illustrates this. In or about
S72, Alabama and Georgia followed
Tirginia, Tennessee and North Car
lima, and they too were free. Twol
ears afterwards Mississippi, Ar
ansas, Texas and Florida also
chieved their freedom of local rule,
OF without trouble it is true. When
re in Louisiana tried to follow the
sad of Texas and Arkansas and |
Serturned the Kellogg government
u the l4th of September, 1874, we
'ere promptly squelcbed by the
trong arm of the United States gov
1t is not necessary to de.
ail the means by which in 1875 Lou
'iaua and South Carolina finally
ere also freed from the yoke they
ad worn so much longer than their
ster States.
This brief recital of the facts
roves the truth Of the assertion
it'll which we started this article,