National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-04-07
SOUTHERN REPUBLICANISM.
Some Worry Earnest Views Very Earnest
stated

To The Editor of he National Repubfcdn:
| SIR find the following in an interview
with Hon. Charles Foster, published In the
New York Graphic:
| "1s the South entirely lost TO the Republican
party
policy of force aud milcd. When the present Ad-
mlnistraon came in there only two States LEFT
| TO the party, and they alone nung by the slender
| thread OF counted in by returning boards Force
could only have held them n short time, and that
| would have been useless. President Hayes deter
| mined to try conCillatiOn The policy of concila-
| tion fnlcd. Force and cancellation having both
faicd, do not see that anything is LEFT, aud the
South seems TO me to be irrecovcrdbly lost TO the
| party"
| viii you permit me, rs native Republican
! from the South, to differ with Mr.. Foster, and
to give my reasons for SO differing. The South
lis only lost to tho Republican party tempOra-
| rily. 1t has been lost by the action of North.
| crn Republicans, aud can he regained by their
| action whenever Northern Republicans fully
appreciate and understand why and how the
South has been lost.
Permit me to tell Northern Republicans why
the South Is lost. 1t is an iudisputable fact
that many men who came TO tho front when
the Republican party was organized in tho
South were bad men. But that was true when
| the Christian religion was organized, and it is
| true that in every organization in the world
some bad men can DO found. Savings banks,
| young mems Christian associations churches,
|
of men have some that are bad Even the Re
publicans OF the North can find some Of their
| prominent men who have not only deserved
| to be, but have been sent to the pententiary,
while the immaculate Democracy had its
| Tweed. So that the Republicans of the South
arc not alone in having bad men in Office
OF course, the opposition to the Republicans
held the whole party responsible for the acts
of the few. Because some were dishonest they
denounced all as thieves because some were
ignored and vicious they denounced all as be-
ing so. And strange to say, for the first time
in the history of political parties the denun-
ciatory and deliberate lies of our opponents
were accepted as true by our friends. por-
ton of them even repeated, echoed, and am
pliGed upon the already gigantic lies told by
the Democracy until they were accepted as
truths by the country, and the name of South
| ern Republican became by-word and re-
| proach. 1t would be as fair because several
| Democratic county treasurcrs in Ohio have
stolen the public funds entrusted to their care,
to say that every Democrat in Ohio, including
Senator Thurman was thief, OF because
Democratic member Of the Ohio Legislature
was deserter and bounty jumper, that every
Democrat in Ohio, including General Rice, was
deserter and a bounty jumper. Yet that
was the measure ofjustce dealt out to South
orn Republicans by their political friends, un-
til it required more courage for man in the
South TO avow himself a Republican than it
did to face legion.
, Mr.. Foster says President Grant tried the
policy of force and il failed. 1t did not fail
until the Republicans of the North made it a
failure. l am not and never was an advocate
of the policy of force and so told President
, Grant in 1876 What we wanted in the South
was tho enforcement of the laws and proper
S recognition, and since the latter was denied us
after 1872 the party there commenced its de-
, cadence.
l As to President Hayes policy of conciliation,
J. | Ii, g.t. 60
e be a failure, no sensible man could expect it TO
f be anything else. He " conciliated the wrong
men. Passing for the present what should
have been dono for the Republicans of the
= South, how has President Hayes acted toward
d the Democrats of that section? In every
State of the South there was a
greater or less number of Dem
e ocrats, who were dissatisfied with their
@ political friends in power. In other words they
o wanted the power themselves. Had these
Z men been "conciliatcd they would have be-
t come Republicans or Mt least would have sup
e ported tho Administration and have secured
fair elections in the South and that is all that
Is necessary TO make seven Of the eleven re-
constructed States Republican. But, strangely
n enough, these were passed by as the priest and
4 Levte passed the wounded traveller, and
President Hayes concliated such leading
Democrats MS Lamar, Hampton, Hill, Gordon,
: and Stephens, men who were at the head of
l. | their party and itsacknowledged leaders They
) controlled the party machinery aud could
V command all the honors it could confer, the
: Republican party could do nothing for them,
d | And yet such as these were the ones the Pres.
i ident attempted to "conciiate." How he
succeeded the action of the last and present
II COngressshows. The writer in June, 1877, gave
Ii tho President the names of eight or ten Dem
n ocrats in his State, who, If the same system OF
Cancellation" had been used with them that has
II been tried on Lamar, Hampton, Stephens, Cor.
1np a nd al )nmnprlti lenders wOulI -uu
l. have that State Republican, and the same class
y. could have been found in every State. Con
u cila,iOn" has failed, and the reasons are eyi.
/ dent, They were as plain to me in 1877 as
o they are patent to every one now. To refer to
- my own State again on this subject there were
r 14,0OO white men II was not one of the mum.
10 ber) who were in the Union army. and some oil
c them were as good soldiers as any in it, yet not
one of these men. and some of them are as well
qualified as any one has any official position oi
y prominence. Those men were not "concili'
o ated," and to-day most OF them, tired of being
= | called sCallawags" at home aud being look ed
~ upon elsewhere with contempt, are either vot
G. ing the Democratic ticket or staying away
le from the polls The rank and file in the
If South follow their leaders, and when such
leaders as | have named control Republican
II patronage, of course the rank and flo canuo
le b0 taken frop them, but if the Administration
i had created leaders who controlled the patron
= age, the rank and file would have followed
them.
le Allow me to dIgress here and say word a.
f. to those Democrats whom the President ha
especially 'concilated." i mean Lamar, Cor
don, Stephens Hampton, and Others of tina
L ilk, who have "gushed" for the benefit o
e Northern Republicans, aud whose "gush'
"a seems to have impressed President Hayes.
y, tree is known by its fruit, and while Senate
81 Lamar was dealing ont honied words to TIN
k North, his constituents were numbering Repub
al lioans, driving them from the polls, and cap
- turing u State that has 10000 Republican ma
81 jority, Hampton's rifle clubs were engaged II
r the same unholy business while he was max
ID ing pledges of fair play. These men are TIN
"A fruit of the tree of murder, and they are jus
!" such fruit as such tree should bear-iai
lr without but foul within.
ii Now sir as 10 the manner in which the Re
no publicans Of the South have been treated b!
~ the Republicans of the North, and especial!
H. by the Administration in its policy of "cOnoili
alton" which Mr. Foster acknowledges to b.
u failure, have TO restrain my indignation
or Should say things on that point that woulC