The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-11-27

this sentiment in almost every quarter
except among the great Democratic
leaders. Among the merchants, the
lawyers, the workingmen, and the
younger or less-noted politicians there
are to be found men outspoken in favor
OF Grant. This very morning, in an
Atlanta paper, I note an open letter
from Col. r. A. Crawford, a man of
prominence, an old Democrat, in which
he openly calls for the nomination of
9rant by tho Southern people, averring
that such course would wipe out Sec
6onal bitterness and restore the Union
in the best sense of the term; and an
Augusta paper contains an open letter
to the Hon. BENJAMIN II. Hill, from Mr..
Il. w. Habersham. q man of character
and distinction, advocating precisely
the same course. But before discussing
the manifestations Of this sentiment. Of
which enough will be found, I willsum-
marize the motive that inspires it, as
gathered from innumerable converse
tions with persons under its influence.
l. Many people of the South are not
satisfied with the course of the South
ern leaders for the past four years.
Their course in abetting and tolerating
the Electoral Commission has been
openly denounced. and will not be
readily forgiven by those who believe
that Mr.. Tilden was fairly elected, and
might have been seated had different
course been pursued. The policy of
starving the President into submission
to the House is condemned by uanv.
and, since the verdict passed upon iii by
Ohio and the November elections. has
few defenders. The injustice of con-
demnlng the leaders for their conserva-
tism in 1876 and for their uliraiem in
1873 is apparent, but this injustice does
not dull the keenness of the popular
dissatisfaction. The Electoral Com
mission seated Mr.. Hayes, therefore
many people condemn their leaders for
having gone into it. The issues made
by the extra session are generally SUD-
posed to have lost the October and
November States to the Democrats, and
the leaders are blamed for having made
these issues.
2. The mass Of the Southern peo-
pie are heartily sick of sectionalisn.
They are tired of hearing of the solid
South and the solid North. They real
ize fully that the one will always make
the other, and that as long as the Sec
tons are arrayed against each other, in
essential or superficial hostility, both
must suffer, but especially the weaker
section. The Soath is thrilling with a
new growth and ambitious for material
development. She needs peace, stabil-
ity, capital, immigrants. Her people
realize fully that as long aa a sectional
war is waged there must be strife, and
the suspicion of insecurity for invest
ment; that capital will be withheld
from her mines and forests; that i'm
migration will be directed westward
from Castle Garden, and that her pur-
poses and intentions will be misrepre-
sented by the evil and misunderstood
by the Indifferent. 1t was this very
spirit, though then infinitely less devel-
oped, that led her people to gi7e Horace
Greeley virtually unanimous vote
eight years ago. She wanted peace and
tranquility then; she is much more
anxious about it now.
8. The crushing defeats that the
Democrats sustained in tho late eleo-
tions have strengthened this DISPOSE
ton to ignore sectional md party lines
by apparently removing the chief argu.
ment with which the leaders have here
tofore kept them in ranks, VIZ: the
hope of success. As matter of course
the Southern Democrats would very
much prefer to allay sectional prejudice
and resentment by proving through
ma ational Democratic administration
that its purposes are not revolutionary,
but conservative. They would en-
counter any reasonable risk in the hope
of getting such a result. But many of
them feel now that it is practically use
less to continue the struggle any
further. They feel that they have been
misled, deceived, and betrayed. The
utter lack of patriotism displayed by
Kelly, Cox, and company in dividing
the party in New York has convinced
them that it is question Of spoils rath-
er than principle.
4. The character and surroundings
Of Gen. Grant himself have much to
do with the sentiment in his favor. It
is remembered that Gen. Grants in
stincts are right, as evidenced by his
noble conduct toward Gen. Lee at APP
pomattox and his report to President
Johnson after his tour through the
South. It is claimed that he was be-
trAyed and misled during his admins
tration by men that he was not then
strong enough to resist or wise enough
to understand. bnt that now he is strong
enough to rise above any faction or
party, and would thoroughly understand
the bearings OF eny demonstration, per-
sonal or partisan, that might be made.
1t is held, too, that he planned and in
augurated the Southern policy of Mr..
Hayes, and that his utterances since his
retirement have been uniformly patri-
otic. It would be absurd to talk of a
Southern Democratic movement toward
Sherman, Blaine, Conkling, or, for the
past two years. toward Hayes. It is
Grant, and only Grant, that could carry
any considerable portion of the white
SoNSuoAA 'OIo away aAoAA OSNAVGIdlAC
moorings next year.
Col. z. A. Crawford says. that the or
ganization of Democratic Grant clubs
will begin at once, and that he has nu-
merous letters asking when the work
will be commenced. He says that these
clubs will advocate the nomination of
Grant by the Democratic Convention
or his support by the people irrespect-
i've OF nominations. He claims that
these clubs will be much larger than
even the mos: sanguine expect. and
names most prominent Georgian who,
ho says, will certainly take the head Of
the organization.
Col. Luther J. Glenn, = lifelong
Democrat, and twice the nominee OF
the Atlanta district Democrats for Con-
gress, is very warmly in favor of the
adoption Of the Grant policy.
COL George T. Fry,a young man
with large following, and lately a men,
Der of the House, from Atlanta, says