Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-06-05
KEY SPEAKS OUT.
A LETTER TO SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS.
His Opinion Of the Potter Rs,oiufion-Hayes
10 be Ousied anf Tiiden Inaugarated-
The South 10 Face the Most no
msHfous Crisis Since 1861,
and IL, Duty.
WASHINGTON, May %.

w '-aoHA-'oAO3N,
In lieu of personal answer to many
letters received from friends in the
South, disclaiming sympathy witt
any effort to unseat President Hayes
Postmaster General Key has written
the following open letter to the peo
pie OF the South
WASHINGTON, May 2S.-The circum
stances atter ding the passage of the
Potter resolution to investigate the
alleged frauds In the Presidential
election of 1876 in the States of Lou
isiana and Florida, together with the
subsequent declarations ot many in
fuential Democratic politicians and
journalists, evidence that if both
houses of the Forty-sixth Congress
are Democratic the majority intend
to oust President Hayes and inaugu.
rate Mr.. Tilden.
The title of President Hayes was
settled irrevocably by the Forty
fourth Congress in the act creating
the Electoral Commission, under
which he was legally declared elected
and legally inaugurated. The Forty
fifth Congress has no more right to
dispute his election than he has to
question TIE title of any victorious
contestant to his seat in that body.
The Forty-sixth Congress will have no
more right to ignore him and to recog-
nize his defeated contestant, Mr.. Til
den, than Mr.. Hayes would have to
send file of soldiers to the House
of Representatives to unseat Dem
ocrat whom he might consider to
have been wrongfully seated or fraud
ulently elected The leaders in this
desperate attempt to Mexicanize our
institutions rely confidently upon the
|" solid South to furnish the bulk of
the Democratic majority in the next
House of Representatives, the Senate
being already secured. Remember
ing the encouragement which the
Northern Democrats in 1860 and 1861
extended to the Southern States to
secede, and the manner In which their
promises of aid and comfort were
fulfilled, can the Southern people af-
ford to join this revolutionary move
ment with the certainty that when
the inevitable hour of peril comes
they will again be left unassisted and
alone to meet the storm from the
North, once more united by this at
tempt to revive an issue whose set
tlement was forced by public opinion
upon an unwilling Congress In the
dark days of February, 1877, when
civil war over the disputed election
was imminent and patriots trembled
for the safety of the republican in
stitutions, the Southern members of
Congress averted the danger by COM
pelling the completion of the cleo
toral count under the law which par
ties in Congress had enacted. But
now the representatives from the
Southern States, with a very few ex-
ceptions, have joined a movement to
subvert the results of their former
patriotic action and to remand the
country to that anarchy from which
less than two years ago it was saved
by their efforts. Grant that in per-
mitting the autonomy of all the
States, and in appointing citizens to
Office IN the South instead of strang-
ers, President Hayes but discharged
his constitutional duty, does that ex-
cuse the Southern Representatives
for attempting to ;nvalidate his title,
which they established, or will it JUS
tify them in bringing the country
again IN danger of civil war in the
effort to unseat him and inaugurate
Mr.. Tilden
FACING A CIVIL WAR
The South must now face the most
crisis in its history since
1861 To endorse the recent con
duct of their representatives is to
admit the truth of the charge that
the people Of the South care nothing
for the welfare of the Union, desire
the downfall of the republic, and
would rejoice to see it again involved
in civil war. If their representa-
tives have not reflected their senti-
ments, as / believe to be the case,
then the people of the Southern
States should take care that in the
Forty-sixth Congress they are repre-
sented by men who will defeat the
listurbers of thepublic peace and pre-
vent the Mexicanization of our insti
tutions. To do this they may be COM
,elled to act independent of the Dem
,cratic party. Recent events have
demonstrated the inability of Demo
,ratic members of Congress to resist
he mandates of the caucus and the
errors of the party lash, the one
welded and the other inspired by
nen who seem willing to endanger |
he welfare of the country and the
of republican institutions
or the sake of revenge on political
and in the hope of divid-
ng the spoils of victory. If the
Democratic Representatives of the
south could not resist the caucus
ommand to pass the Potter resolu-
ion, unamended and without debate,
low will they be able in the Forty
ixth Congress to resist a similar
ommand to ignore Mr.. Hayes as
resident and to recognize Mr. Til
Rup?