National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-04-06
SOUND ADVICE.
A Southern Paper Tells the Young Me1
OF the south the Truth.

The Vicksburg Herald forcibly and
pointedly says: "In 1850 a man who favored
the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas TO the
Presidency was bounded down as a traitor
to the South. The few who voted for him
in Mississippi were barely tolerated The
blundering politicians and tho short sighted
newspapers could find no epithets sufilclentiy
strong to express their political contempt for the
men who dared to support for President the i1ttle
Giant of the Democratic party The party lash
was used without mercy, the Charleston ConYen-
tion was split, war cnsued, and the present genera
ton will hardly recover from its effects. The boys
of twenty years ago are now very greatly the arbl-
ters of their own destiny, barring the hewing that
destiny received in youth. Thousands and thou-
sands of the youths of the war period lost all their
Inheritance. and received little or no edueauon,
except what they got from their parents IL VIII
take the South fully one hundred years to recover
from the war. That is the price 1t cost the whole
people of this section, whether they were IN favor
Of splitting the Democratic party to please extreme
Democrats or not. No matter how well Satisfied
the great majority would have been to have seen
Mr.. Douglas President, they were whipped IN,
and compelled to share the terrible sacrifice.
We allude to these facts only to point out certain
political smilarities between 1881 and 1S6O. We
have to-day the high priests of Democracy. who
lash without mercy and exeommunicate If pro-
vincialisn Is not placed above nati0nallSm, ana
extreme policies aud methods are not ,adVo-
Gated as wise and just. The men in 1850
who said it was wise and conservative to
follow the extreme Democrats and secuted
the idea of danger promising that not enough
blood would be split to stain pocket
handkerchief are closely initiated by the BOur-
bens of the present day. The extremists tell US
that is accessory to array the Solid South against
the Solid North and that it is sound, wise policy
to pretend that the Constitutional amendments are
freely accepted and lived uptoin every portion of
theSouth. But ii is forthe young todo their own
thinking and acting 1t is for them to say whether
they will take the advice of those who temporize
and pretend to do things, and who will not toler-
ate free speech free thought and fair ballot. 1t
is for the young men to say what the future OF
the South shall be. If they wish section arrayed
against section and eternal irritation to exist they
have only to follow the lead of the extremists and
cover like ours when some old Bourbon calls them
q Radical Or hints they traitors to the South.
If the young men wish TO make the best of what
the blunders of the BourbOns of 1860 left them,
they have only to do their full duty toward them
selves and all other citizens without regard TO the
past. They have only to adopta just, permanent
policy of toleraton full protection of all in their
rights. Instead of arraying race against race or
section against section, they should do just the op
poste. They way to begin to do this Is to inform
the extreme leaders that they will not follow them,
and that they may read out, excommunieate, or do
what they like"