Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-06-05
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WASHINGTON.
Sensible Views Expressed
by Postmaster General
Key
In An Open Letter to His
Friends Throughout the
Southern States.
He Most Heartily Condemns tn
Efforts of the Potter Gang.

Efforts of the Potter Gang.
i And Says Their Intent is Nothin
Short Of Unseating President
Hayes.
I Appeal to southernevs to use Ehfov
f TO Defeat ail Revolutionary
? Acts.
KEYS oPINIoE-AN OPEN LETTER FRO,
THE GENTLEMAN.
Il WASHINGTON, May 28.-In lieu of
personal answer to many letters re-
: ceived from friends in the South dis
! claiming sympathy with any effort Il
unseat President Hayes, Postmaster
, General Key has written the follow.
ing open letter to the people of thu
South:
. WAsHINGToN, May %.
The circumstances attending the
, passage OF the Potter resolution to
investigate the alleged frauds in the
Presidential election of 1876 in the
States of Louisiana and Florida, to.
gether with subsequent declarations
OF many influential Democratic politi.
clans and Journalists, evidence that il
both Houses of the Forty sixth Con.
gross are Democratic, the majority
intend to oust President Hayes and
inaugurate Mr.. Tilden. The title OF
Hayes was settled irrevocably by the
Forty-fOurth Congress in the act Gre
ating the Electoral Commission, by
which he was legality declared elect
ed and legally inaugurated. The
Forty-fifth Congress has no more
right to dispute his title than he has
to question the 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
recognize his defeated contestant, Mr..
Tilden, than Mr.. Hayes would have
to send file Of soldiers TO the House
of Representative to unseat Demo-
crat whom he might consider to have
been wrongfulIy seated or fraudu-
lently' elected. The leaders in this
desperate attempt to Mexicanize our
country rely confidently upon the
solid South" to furnish the bulk of
the Democratic majority in the
next House of Representatives,
the Senate being already secur,
ed. Remembering the encourage
ment which Northern Democrats
in 1850 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 afford to Join
this revolutionary movement. with
certainty that when the inevitable
hour of peril comes, they will again
be left unassisted, alone to meet the
storm from the North once more
united by this attempt to revive an
issue whose settlement was forced by
public opinion upon an unwilling
Congress. In the dark days of Feb.
ruary, 1877, when civil war over the
disputed election was imminent and
patriots trembled for the safety of Re-
publican institutions, Southern mem
bers OF Congress averted the danger
by compelling the completion of the
electoral count under the law, which
both parties in Congress had enacted,
Rive 6Rs Slssdn fEasm the 1a South
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 permitting autonomy
of all States and in appointing citi-
zens to office in the South instead of
strangers, President Hayes has but
discharged his constitutional duty
docs that excuse Southern Represen-
tatives for attempting to invalidate
his title, which they established. or
will it justify them in bringing the
country again in danger of civil war
in an effort to unseat him and inaug-
urate Mr.. Tilden? The South
must now face the most moment
Gus crisis in its history since 1860.
To endorse the conduct of
their representatives is to admit the
truth of the charges 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 civ
il war. II the representatives have
not reflected their sentiments, as
believe to be the case, then the peo-
pie of the Southern States should
take care that in the Forty-sixth Con-
gress they are represented by men
who will defeat disturbers of the
public peace and prevent Mexicani-
zation of our institutions. To do
this they may be compelled to act in
dependent of the democratic party.
Recent events have demonstrated the
inability Of democratic members of
Congress to resist the mandate of the
caucus and terrors Of the party lash,
the one welded and the other inspir-
ed by men who seem willing to en-
danger the welfare Of the country and
stability of Republican institutions
for the sake of revenge on political
opponents and in the hope of divid-
ing the epoils of victory. If demo-
cratic representatives of the South
could not resist the caucus command
to pass the Potter resolution una
mended and without debate, how will
they be able in the Forty-sixth Con-
gress to resist a similar command to
ignore Mr.. Hayes and to recognize
Mr.. Tilden? 1t ia therefore the duty
of the Southern people to afford
crowning evidence of their renewed
devotion to the Union in which they
now enjoy every right of citizenship
and are subjected to no restrio-
tions not laid upon every citi-
J zen, by sending representatives to
the Forty-sixth Congress pledged
to resist at all hazards the revolution
, ary scheme of mischief makers who
, seem to have gained control OF the
House OF Representatives of the 45th
! Congress. To this end, people in ev.
, cry district should meet publicly, or
ganize and resolve to support no per.
son for Congress who has given aid
to this movement, and who
, will not pledge himself to
, support the title of President Hayes
. during the term for which he wa,
elected, against all attempts at iii
: overthrow. Only in this way can thu
grave dangers to the Republic ht
0 averted and convincing proof be Civ.
Q en- that the confidence was not mis-
l placed which President Hayes mani
j. tested in the South when he with.
drew the troops from the State hous
es Of South Carolina and Louisiana
9 l have spoken plainly and earnest
Q ly, for feel that should be unwor
thy to represent the South in the ad
a ministrati0n were to remain silen
). now. Invited to the Cabinet 50
q Southern man, to sec that Justice wa
done the South, required neither :,
: apologize for my record. nor to dis
: own my polititsl principles, it is m.
. duty to warn the people Of the Soutl
- ALA 81 Al a.