Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1880-10-02

MISUNDERSTANDING, and the patriotic
democracy of the whole north will
sosn re-echo that noble response. ls
it solid against the constitution !
Reckless as are II political oppo-
nents, there will scarcely be fouud
one SO reckless as to dare to make
such a charge. Is it solid against the
Union? Every act of every south
ern state since the war repeis such
ALI unjust iInputation. Is it solid in
any proper sense Of the word? The
large republican vote cast Ill the
southern state proves that ii is not.
What justice, then, is there IN this
cry, the sole object of which Is to
array IL portion of our common
country against another ; to arouse
passions evoked by unhappy civil
strife and to reawaken aurmosities
which every patriot desires TO see
buried forever? What would be said
if the south should raise her voice III
angry protest because the New Eng
land states have been so solidly re-
publican until Maine has broken the
ranks? With rs much justice might
We of the south complain OF the form
er solidity of the Pacific slope, or That
of the great Northwest, as that we
should be denounced because we
cling to the faith of fathers aud
support the democratic nominees.
But admitting for the sake of argu-
ment that the south is solid, and that
this is All abnormal and unfortunate
condition of affairs, why did not our
republican friends, who affect to see
now such danger i'll this soliditY,
point out and protest against the
danger when the south was absolute
ly solid for the republican party! Ii
the danger TO the country, and the
only danger that threatens it, lies in
the solidity of that particular por-
ton of it, we surely must have been
in great peril when under the recon
struction acts, administered by carpet
bag adventures, the south presented
a solid pbalanx OF radical bummers
and thieves rs her contribution to
the wisdom, the craftsmanship and
the patriotism of the country. No
are nov telling the people that the
solidity of the south means war,
pestilence and famine, the overthrow
of our institutions, the a~brogaticn
of the constitution, and worse thai
all other evils, the defeat of Garfield,
then warned his unsuspecting oun
trymen of the imminent danger
threatening them ; no stalwart organ
called then upon the loyal north 10
avert this peril by becoming solidly
Democratic, because the south was
solidlv republican. Then everything
was in the republican camp,
and all went merry as a marriage
bell. Every ofice-holder was q re-
publican, and the country was neccs-
sarily not only safe, but prosperous.
Gigantic monopolies appropriated
the public domain ; lobbyists drove
an unblushing and prosperous trade
Oh the very floors OF congress; whisky
rings defrauded the government OF
millions, while the chiefs of these
rings hob-nobbed with high officials,
and Black Fridays, De Golyer pave
ments and Credit Mobiliers brought
out in strong light the incorruptible
honesty Of our rulers and our would
be rulers. Thank Goo, in these dis
graceful scandals, which should make
every honest citizen blush for shame,
the democratic south had no share.
But this digression. induced by my
admiration of the consistency of thai
great party which claims all the i'll
telllgence. all the virtue and all the
patriotism Of the country, has led me
from my theme. Is it unnatural that
those in the south who have always
been citizens. except when disfran-
chised by the republican party should
now be democrats? The answer is
10 be found by reverting 10 the his-
tory of parties in this country. In
the convention which framed our
present constitution the lines which
still separate the two great parties
were sharply drawn. On the one
side were The advocates Of a strong
government-the rallying cry of the
republicans of to-day-while on the
other were those who urged the cs-
Enlistment of a government of the
people, for the people, and by the
people. Party James have changed
since those days, but the great an
tagonistic principles which struggled
for supremacy then still live IN the
republican aud democratic parties.
The former party still 'gravitateS'-
to use a phrase of its presidential
nominee-toward q strong govern
ment-toward Capitalization, while
the latter advocates the ancient dem
ocratic doctrine. a strict construction
Of the constitution, %conceding to the
general government all it's legitimate
powers, while securing to the several
states all powers not delegated by
them to the general and common
government. In the long contest be-
tween these antagonlstic and con-
tending principles the south has been
steadily and almost invariably found
OH the side of the democracy. Her
vote in presidential contests has
more than once been;ca against her
own hOnered sous because they were
not democrats, and she has cordially
supported northern men because they
were. All the political trsining OF
her people, all their traditions, all
their instincts and all their interests
led them to he democrats. They
were such by inheritance. In the old
division of parties into whig and
democrat a minority Nofzthe southern
people, strong by virtue of their in
telligence, their zeal and their patriot
ism, was found i'll the ranks of the
former. But when the WING party
of the north became merged int the
free-soil party, when sectionalism
unhappily took the place of politics,
the wings of the south were forced
by the instinct of self-preservation
to enroll themselves IN the demo-
cratic party, or at least to act with
that party. The south was thus again
made solid for democracy by that fell
spirit of sectionalism which has
brought such u~nutterable sorrow up
on our country, and which, if not eff
fectually rebuked, will bring still
further misery and ruin. When the
war came all party lines were forgot
Ten i'll the south as in the north.