Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1880-09-04
WHY HE DESERTS DEMOCRACY.
An Open Letter from John Carveih
Leading Democrat of Barry
County,.

An Open Letter from John Carve,h
a Leading Democrat of Barry
County.
From Letter to the Lowell Journal.
1t is maxim in business to be con.
tented with well dOing-and this is as
applicable to politics as business.
Upon the southern question, will say
that took trip south little over a
year ago, and will add that no man who
intends to live in the north and who is
anxious to be a Democrat ought to dc
such thing. He ought to remain al
least 100 miles north of Mason and
DixOn's line. s ,.> ,-s. ..t.r..-. ...,..s
To man who has lived in the midst
of splendid school houses, and been
brought up under the beneficient in
tiuences of Michigan's grand system of
free schools, and enjoyed the blessings
of free thought and free speech which is
here vOuchsafed to all; to a man who has
witnessed the general thrift, enterprise
and progress, in every department. of
business and in every calling found in
this land of social and political liberty,
and who has been the recipient of all the
advantages which these things invari-
ably bring, visit to the south is not
very exhilarating to his Democratic pro-
clivities. have never since boasted of
my Democracy, nor proclaimed that the
solid south was with u.s.
1t has not seemed pleasure to give
my support to party that relied for its
success upon solid south and the "Five
Points" of New York city, especially
when found this "sOlid south" SO very
different from what had been led by
Democratic newspapers to believe it
was. .,
Those who control the public affairs of
the south do not revere or even respect
the government of the United States.
They claim attachment for the federal
constitution as they interpret it; but
their Interpretation rObs me of my re-
spect for it. sr, .eE
If the people of the south were as loyal
to the government and as true to liberty
as are the people of Michigan, emigra-
tiOn to the south would equal that to the
west, and enterprise, ,lthrift and content
ment would take the place of inactivity,
decay and restlessness.
The great need of the south to-day is
loyal men-men loyal to the nation,
loyal to liberty, men tolerant of the
rights of others, men who love labor. 1t
is suffering for the want of stalwart
Republicanism.
l am anxious to see all sections of our
country reconciled, but l want them all
recOnciled to good government, to liberty
and to rigid enforcement of all the
laws of the nation. The laws enacted
by the states of the south discriminate
in favor of the whites. and are far from
being impartially executed. The
schemes for repudiating honest debts by
southern states and cities receive no
censure by Democrats in the north, and
the lawleSsneSS and violence 'practiced
there are never condemned by them, but
invariably denied.
The north is asked to vote for Hancock
because of the herOism displayed by him
on the battle fields of the war of the
Union. If this be good reason for
elevating man to high Office, think
you will agree with me that it is new
doctrine in the Democratic faith; and on
account of its extreme youth it should
be handled with great care; fOt if urged
too hard it may wither before it bios
SONS. 1t may be truly said that my
upon this southern question within the
past two years.
think you will agree with me that as
Democrats we have not always adhered
to the same political ideas. r.,.,
In 1861, as Democrats we oppose cOer-
ciOn, and denied any authority in the
constitution for it. We have not ad-
hered to this very strictly-we think the
constitution little more than a COM
pact, operative only during the pleasure
of the states. .fH# "H -
We opposed the issue of the greenback
and maintained that it was uncOnsti-
tutional to make it legal tender. We
have modified our views somewhat upon
this question. e4Gsa N absn $500
We opposed the arming of the blacks
and were never accused of being very
enthusiastic over the arming of the
whites. We found, however, that the
blacks did not impair the efficiency of
the Union army. .e-- ~,
In 1864, as Democrats, we declared the
war failure; in 1865 we concluded that
we might have been mistaken, though
we never thought it right to talk about
such slight mistakes.
WeOppOsed negro suffrage, and / do
not remember that we ever did give it a
very hearty suppOrt-still we accepted it
(when we could not avoid it) and do not
now say anything against it.
We opposed the constitutional amend
ments and after their adoption declared
them revolutionary and void. We ac-
accepted them, however, in 1876, and
Hancock says they are all right now.
We have both opposed and favored re-
,--
We have said it was unwise to elect
to Office, and still we select
our standard bearer in 1872. We have
bitterly opposed the election of military
men to civil offices. On this subject we
have changed, radically changed.
Ifexperience were oOditeacher Demo-
Gratis ought to be thoroughly posted upon
the political issues of the age, for they
have been on every side of all political
questions that agitated the country for
the past 20 years. au
If you wish to continue this shifting,
course you may do so; but as
for myself am wearied of it. There
has been no time in the last Is years
when we, as Democrats, could retire at
night with any assurance that our lead
ers would not have some new political
dose for us in the morning. Ithas been
march and c0unter-march. We have
begged Onr leaders to take advance steps
to lay hold of progressive ideas, in
stead of adopting them after the Repub-
licans had made them popular.
The leaders of the Democratic party
have been weak and vacillating always
irving some puerile scheme to win.
Instead of grasping those living prin-
ciples and progressive ideas that cleo
trify and win the hearts of the people,
they have kept US digging in political
for the remains of dead is
sues.
They have kept us in the rear shooting
,,o,,nr xuodc of Rnnuhlicana in tho Won