National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1880-02-04
THE HOPE OF THE SOUTH.
The Views OF a Veteran Southern
Politician.
Southern Democrats Growing Tired OF Party
Dictation - scotionaiism Keeping Im-
migrants n.t of t,:a South and
Driving Their Own People
hway-Grnnt Will Civo
Peace and Quiet.
The Man for Tho South and tho North.

The Man for the south and tho North.
Understanding that Judge Lochrane, the gcn.
eral counsel OF the Pullman scoping.car bust.
ness WAS in the city, q representative ofTHE
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN had n talk with him
about tho Turner bill introduced to regulate
slocping.car fares. After tho judge had dis.
posed of the hill by an argument insisting
that sceping'cars we're u luxury of travel
and could not be regulated by law, that Con-
gress could not infringe upon private property
not dedicated to public use, and that the
sleeping-Oar business was not within tho law
of common carriers or inn-keepers, and being
tho result of patent rights vested, could not be
disturbed in their use during the life of the
patents, he gided into tho field of politics,
and made strong and enthusiastic Grant
speech. lie said that the supporters of Grant
throughout tho South among business men
were far more numerous than was supposed.
The people had q settled conviction that
Grant would beat any Democrat who could be
selected. and realized that it would have been
far wiser to have taken Grant than to havo
thrown away their fortunes on Greeley.
Thousands of Democrats were getting sick of
leadership and werO becoming independent
of party dctation. Those who few years
ago bowed to the party lash, now kicked
against aud il had become as powGrless as the
straws in tho trembling hands Of Loar. This
change had been slow in growth. but
its roots were deep and its fruits would
be lasting With nearly sixty million
bales of cotton made since the war
the South was becoming materially pros
perous and the thinking masses begin 10
inquire why 1t ia that capital and immi grafton
do not flow in upon our lands and make us
the richest as we are the most favored section
and the answer to the inquiry stimulates the
march of liberal and national sentiments into
gigantic strides To turn the tide toward our
H., al - la aaI Ill
preached that men can vote, write aud speak
as they please from the Potomac to the Rio
Grande, and from tho waters of the Missouri
TO the sea. Intolerance of opinion aud
vituperative utterancos for differences of
opinion must bo trampled out until politics
are AS free AS religion everywhere.
The judge repellcd the idoa that the South
was lawlcss on the contrary, he said during
all the heat aud tumult of war, law was rc.
spected, crime punished, and the courts
worked smoothly, even amid the jostle of
armed men. There were here and there local
disturbances ard violent sentiments by few
but the masses of the people were law.abiting.
No people on earth could show cleaner rec.
orl whore a whole system of labor was upset
in day. on fields red with blood, and intoler-
ance of opinion fosterGd by the peculiar condi-
tion of slavery was fast dying out everywhere.
Tho feeling of nationality was constantly
growing stronger, and thero was not county
IN Georgia whero u Republican could not tlls
out with impunity his sentiments as freely rs
Democrat. Even Mr.. Sherwood, of Wis
consin, could find an audience and have more
pity than anger whcn he said the Southern
soldier laid down his gun TO take up the dag
ger of the assassin. Sentiments like those,
said ho, are tho seeds of sectionalsm aud dis
cord, and whom said to those who marched
wearily home from the armies of Lecand John
stOn to go into the avenues of trade and busi-
ness, to the forge aud plow-handes, tloy aro
like Goals OF fire. Crimes had soied society
North rs we'll as South but to charge peo
pie on individual acts with National crimi-
nality was an indecent outrage upon truth
Tho tone of the metropolitan press ut the
South was getting more in accord with Ma
tiomal feeling. Tho few violent journals
whose words were paraded as Southern scnti-
mcnt, were no more the voice Of the South
than tho blowing of tin horns represents the
trumpet of Gabriel. The Southern people had
suffered by war The wealthy had been
stricken down--the homes of thousands had
been scattered; death and desOlation, ruin and
wrong had swept over and over them. Our
leaders had held out neither light nor example
to guido them, entertaining during the war
not single opinion that bocamc true
deceived themselves and were utterly
blind. When Mr. JOhnsons policy WAS
promul gated IL was supposed to cover all
that the North exacted and when reconstruc.
tion followed, tho sentiment was incensed by
what was taught to bo the worst treatment
auy people ever suffered. In this humor tho
state of public opinion became tho most Do-
tcntal influence in political leadership, and
threw TO the surface class of men whose in
nucnce had almost died out, II statesman
ship had como to tho iroA'; if unpleasant
truths had been told instead of pleasant un.
truths; IT tho masses had been taught the
worst at the first, things would have boen
better. As ID was, we got sweet things from
President Johnson, and had to take worse
than Smike's dose at DothebOy's Hall from
Congress. In tho change aud fight on the
President we were made to suffer the inhic-
tion, but reconstruction was not, except in
execution, unreasonable. We had fought
with courage to destroy the Government.
We had to expect from tho Government HO
fattoh calf Nations do not treat armies in
rebellion US prodigal sous. That slavery
should die was inevitable; that the slave with
his freedom should receive tho ballot to pro.
tect it was to have been expected, and for the
South to whine over the result was false
teaching aud bad statcsmauship. But such
was the bundcr, aud grievOusly we have been
made to answer for it,. The South has among
her people plenty of men who see the
mistake, and are learning to accept tho
fate before them. They understand how ab-
sOlutely essential IT s for our future prosperity
that universal suffrage shall be more than a
name Tho negro must vote and ho should
be educated ho must be treated with respect
in all the privileges of his citizenship, or
sooner or later ho will emigrate. With no
immigration into the South and leakage Of
population out, when we reduce labor wo
invite poverty. Lands without men would be |
like pen without ink--an army without |
guns. Fertility would give way to weed, en- |
terpuse to staguation, Ourrailroad system is |
improving; lines Of road link us to tho East |
and West. The country begins 10 feel that |
the South Is essential rs q market for manu-.
hctures aud WhiO politicians would carry |
lnliana with the labor of Georgia, business |
men know that the labor Of the South should |
be increased to meet sales from other States. |
The cotton crops since tho war havo been |
worth some thirty billions, tobacco iiltoOn, |
aud all this money had gone back to the cen
tres on taxes, some five hundred millions, of |
which Georgia had paid somo thirty, 1t had |
been paid in interest on loans of money bor- |
rowed, in premiums on insurance policies, on |
corn aud meat, and mules, and wagons |
and the thousand articles Of luxury aud |
utility brought 10 us for sale; and when. mon |
stimulate Oh negro exodus they not only hurt |
the South, but whom the white SHOWS of the |
cotton field are replaced by wilderness of |
weeds the manufacturers of tho North aud |
Of the West will be rich, too What |
O. 3 sl,,Is ,H,.,, q,