The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-09-11
Political Magnanimity.


very ardent politicians there is preva-
lent an impression that the policy of the
party is to maintain in the
South an open sore, to prevent recon-
and lasting peace, so that
the party may be able to make for itself
capital out of the outrage business. 1t
is quite possible that purpose of this
kind may be entertained by few Re-
publican politicians of inferior import
ance, but only gross ignorance or DEM
ocratic malignity could accuse either
the foremost men in the party or the
great mass of its members of such q de-
sign. Every intelligent man in the.
country is well aware that the thorough
pacification of the South and the resto-
ration of the entire region to a condi-
ton of civilization and prosperity are
matters in which the North has the very
highest interest. There is nothing
needed now to give a final stimulus to
Northern industry and to develop our
domestic commerce to the most profita-
BILE extent but the restoration of the
Southern market. If the South were
filed with an Industrious population. if
the earth under advanced methods of
agriculture should yield the full meas
ure of her increase, and if the region
had abundant wealth instead of deep
poverty, the North would feel the eff
fects of such prosperity in every mill
and shop and factory within her boun-
diaries. Simply from a commercial
point of view, every man in this part of
the country has a powerful motive for
wishing that the troubles in and with
the South were forever ended, and that
we might live with the Southern people
in good fellowship, contributing to their
welfare while they contributed to that
of the entire country.
The political reasons why the North
ern people should desire peace and
amity are equally strong, and they have
special weight with the Republican
party. 1t is the Democratic party, not
the Republican that profits by the con-
tinued prevalence of bitter sectional
feeling. The one great peril to which
the Republican party is exposed to-day
comes from Southern hatred of the
North. The Solid South is to it q per-
petual menace, and the most fortunate
thing that could happen for it would be
the destruction of that solidity. If it
had been possible to conduct the coming
residential campaign purely and sole
ly upon financial issue, or upon some
other issue which should have left
questions of race and section and the
old heart-burnings of the war COM
pletely out of consideration, the lead
ers of the Republican party and its
rank and file would have welcomed
with joy the opportunity. They could
have carried their campaign into the
South, they could have divided the
people of the region and they could
have fought upon even terms the great
antagonist who now comes into the fray
with eleven States assured to it, and
guaranteeing that it shall have their
support by means of intimidation, vio-
lence and robbery of the constitutional
rights of the negro. That an ignorant
Southerner or an embittered and unre-
pentant rebel should believe that North
ern Republicans hate him as he hates
them, and are eager to traffic upon that
hate, is not unnatural. but there can be
no excuse for Northern man who has
the truth plainly exposed before him
and is well aware not only that no such
sentiment exists here, but that our high
est and best interests impel us in a
wholly different direction.
It would seem, indeed, as If there
had been supplied enough proof of this
fact to have convinced any reasonable
man, no matter what the violence of
his prejudices. History contains no
exhibition of magnanimity so remark
able as those which have been made by
the Republican party since the war. 1t
had the South at its feet when the great
conflict ended, and if it had chosen it
could have overthrown the State gov
ernments utterly. it could justly have
punished the Infamous authors of
the rebellion with death, and it
could have excluded the rebel
lious communities for years from
participating in the government
of the country. Instead, it restored the
State governments, it pardoned every
rebel, from the highest to the lowest,
and it was SO generous in removing
every obstacle to the return of Southern
Representatives to Congress that to-day
the world looks upon the remarkable
spectacle of Congress filled with and
controlled by the very men who only
fourteen years ago were in the field
fighting for the destruction of the Gov
ernment. Moreover, the very first thing
that was done by President Hayes when
he assumed Office as the representative
of the Republican party was to address
himself with energy, and with what
some persons regarded as little too
much enthusiasm, to the work of paci-
flying, pleasing and conciliating the
Southern people. But his efforts, as
well as the general policy of his party,
have had no effect in bringing about that
much-talked-of era of good feeling. for