National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1878-02-26
a Horrible Ghost.

The Montgomery ALA advertiser no Id
up its hands, yet stained with the blood of
rebellion, in holy horror because THE Ma
TIoNAL REPUBLICAN suggested TO the
President that if the members of the return
ing board now being prosecuted in LOuisi-
ana are innocent men, II is his duty at all haz-
ards to place the Federal power between them
and harm. In view of this just and humane
suggestion, the advertiser rolls up its hypo-
critical eyes in terrible agony, and cx-
claims:
Could anything be more absolutely mon
strous and shocking in q free government
than the utterly lawless proceeding thus seri-
ously urged by this diaboical sheet? The
question of right, of justice, of law, must not
once be thought of.
Now this is a sorry parOxysm Of conscicn-
cious lawfulness, and still more pitiable
spectacle ofhypocrisy. For journal that
almost swan in blood, inspired by the
patriotic purpose of breaking down the
Union and the Constitution upon which
this Republic rests, and during that strug-
gle was crying out for the death of the
Yankees and urging their slaughter by the
insurgents who were fighting in rebellion
against the Government, right and law, to
become teacher now of the duties of loyal
citizenship, and to pirate in such a sanity
spirit of right, justice and law is more lu-
dicrous than serious. If it is a terrible
thing to call upon the President to rescue in
nocent men, and we have referred to none
lni taI Inn,
prisoned to crafty party hate and not the
demands of Justice and violated law-hOw
much more terrible and reprehensible must
that spirit be which attempted to take the
/ life of the nation and which has since been
kept alive by rifle clubs, KuKlux organiza-
ton, White Leaguers and all the paraphcr-
MALTA of assassination and torture for opinion
sake, and which have been egged on and
applauded by our meek contemporary of to.
day.
The Adrrrtiscr closes its ferocious attack
by an appeal to the dust of WASHINGTON
and ends its parOXysm of rage in this wise
o temporal, q HOres The wonder is that
the broad Potomac, beside which sleeps the
/ dust of the dead WAsIIINGTRN, docs not from
I It's deep channel rise to receive the iniamou,
thing and bury it forever from the sight o
, men
This is pitiful; and the "broad Potomac
still keeps its turgid waters within il,
banks, and THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN, i.
not buried forever from the sight Of men !!
And the dust of the dead WASHINGTON still
sleeps in the shades of Mount Vernon, unless
it has been disturbed by the rebel vel
of our Alabama contemporary, whC
seems to have at one time for
gotten that the truthful GEORGE was tn,
father of the Republic which it attempted
to pull down and lay in ruins. 1t is littl,
amusing to witness the stern patriotism an,
deep devotion to the principles of law ant
Justice and honor, and the Union and TIN
old flag cvinccd by these men, who have no
fully buried their grcyback emblcms of re
belliOn aud the bars and stars out of sight
and have not fully washed the blood of loya
men from their hands. If they are to b
credited the South is innocent and has don
no harm. 1t is the North and Northwest
whose hosts saved the Nation from over
throw, that are the rebels now, while tn
sweet scented representatives of II blood
rebellion are the patriotic saints who's
names are to be calcndured on the record q
fame.
But, in view of the terrible bull hurle,
against The REPUBLICAN, by our late rebC
contemporary, we must again repeat if thes
men in Louisiana who are being punishc
are innocent, and the State of Louisun
fails to do them justice, it is the duty q
the Federal power to interpose and protcc
them in their rights. If they were suffer
ing like prosecutions in London, Madrid, u
in any other foreign city rs citizens of tn
United States, the whole country would no
only demand their release, but redress 70
the wrong.
IN fact under section $50 and 55l5 of tn
Revised Statutes OF the United States, til
offcnsc If any has been committed by tn
returning board, is clearly against the lawsc
the United States, and should have bee
tried in the Federal instead of the Stat
court, and upon an indictment instead {
information. But the Democrats of tn