Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-11-26
A Phase of Southern Democracy.

From the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin.
Allusion has been several times made
in these columns to the corruption and
malfeasance in office of several of the
Democratic state oficials of Georgia, and
to the fact that Controller Goldsmith,
was impeached and dismissed from Office
for specializing with the state money,
and taking illegal and extortienate fees
and perquisites. Treasurer Renfroe was.
also arraigned for impeachment, and the
most glaring corruption proved against
him, but he escaped dismissal from Office
through the abandonment of the case by
the legislature On account of the great,
excitement prevailing.
Capt. helms, chief keeper of the penl-
Tertiary was investigated, and shown to-
have been guilty of gross malfeasance in
office, but he escaped punishment from
the same cause that saved Renfroe. One
Murphy, a state official, was shown to-
have been bribed to secure the signing
and issue of certain state bonds to acor-
poration contrary to the law in the case.
The investigation showed an amount
of corruption which has had few if any
parallels in official quarters outside of
the city of New York; yet all these men
are Democrats, and were elected because
Of their professions of virtue, and to
remedy the evils alleged to have been
suffered by the state through negro and
carpet bag rulel The worst carpet-bag
and negro administration, however, that.
ever had an existence never exceeded,
if it ever equaled, the corruptions OF
these professed reformers and home
rulers"
Senator Ben Hill is credited with SET
ting the investigation on foot that result
ed 80 disastrously to these reformers,"
not 80 much because of his love of Of
fetal honesty as because of his hatred of
Gov. Colquitt and his friends, who were
mixed up more or less in the scandalous
affair. The result Of the exposure
is a division of the Democratic
party into two bitterly hostile
factions-the friends Of Hill and the
friends of the state oficers,-who VOW
vengeance upon each other. The Re-
publicans meanwhile stand back and
enjoy the exposures and the quarrel.
The result of all this may be the success
in the rext election of an independent
organization, embracing the Republicans
and certain of the Democrats.
Thus much space is given to this mat
ter to show how utterly hollow was the
greater part of the clamor of the Democ-
racy against the carpet-bag governments,
and how far short the Democratic party
south has fallen of its professions. The
Democratic home-rule administration of
Louisiana has proved woeful failure,
as even Democrats admit; while those
of Mississippi and South Caro-
lima have proved little more than
the protectors of the political
assassins and scoundrels who have prac-
tically destroyed everything like political
equality and liberation, and rendered
the lives and property OF all who oppose
! them wholly insecure. Time is great
unmasker, and it is steadily showing the
people of the United States the true
character of the Democratic party as an
organization. 1t is not too much to
hope, therefore, that the time will come
when the political aspect of the south
shall be radically changed and improved.