The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1881-03-10


war and dissolution. It has added
immensely to the moral and industrial
force Of our people. 1t has liberated
the master as well as the slave from
the relation which wronged and en-
feebled both. It has surrendered t.
their own guardianship the manhood Of.
more than 5 ,0o0, 900 people, and has
opened to each one Of them q career Of
freedom and usefulness. It has given
a new inspiration to the power Of self
help in both races by making labor
more honorable to one and more nee
cssary to the Other? The influence OF
this force VIII grow greater and bear
richer fruit with the coming years. and
no donbt gthe greater. change has
caused a serious disturbance to our.
Southern community. THIS is to be
.leplored, though it was unavoidable,
but these who resisted the cEiunge
should remember that in our institu-
tons there was no, middle ground for
the negro race between slavery and
equal citizenship. There can be no
permanent disfranchis9d peasantry in
the United States. Freedom can
never yield its fullness Of blessings as
long as the law or its administration
places the smallest obstacle in the
pathway OF any virtuous citizenship.
The emancipated race have already
made remarkable progress with IN
questionable devotion to the union
with a patience and gentieness not
born Of fear They have followed the
( light as God gave them to sec the
/ light, They are rapidly laying the
material foundations Of self support,
widening thescircle Of intelligence, and
beginning to enjoy the blessings that
I gather around the homes Of the indus
trious poor. they deserve the gen
erous encouragement Of ali men. Sc
far as my authority can lawfully ex-
tend they shall enjoy full and equal
protection Of the constitution and laws.
PUBLIC EDUCATION.
But the danger which arises froni
the ignorance in the voter cannot be
denied. 1t covers a field far wider
than that of negro suffrage and the
/ present condition of that race. It is {
danger that turks and hides in tht
sources and fountain Of power in every
state. We have no standard by
which to measure the disaster thai
may be brought upon US by Ignorance
and vice in citizens when joined
to the corruption and fraud in suf
frage. The voters Of the union, VIII
make and unmake constitutions, anC
upon whose votes will hang the des
tiny Of our government can transmit
their supreme authority TO no success
scr, save the coming generation Of thc
voters who are the sole heirs of a SOW
ereign power. If that generation
comes to It's Inheritance, blinded by
/ ignorance and corrupted by vice, the
fall of the republic viii be certain and
remedies. The census has already
sounded the alarm in appalling figures
which mark how dangerously high The
tide of illiteracy has arisen among oui
voters and their children. To the
South the question is Of supreme i'm
portance; but TIE responsibility for The
existence of slavery does not rest upon
the South alone. The nation itself is
responsible for the extension of sut
frage, and is under special obligation
to aid in removing the illiteracy which
it has added to the voting population
Of both the North and South alike
There is but one remedy. All the
constitutional power Of the nation and
Of the States, and all the volunteer
forces Of the people should be sum
moned to meet this danger by the
saving influence Of universal educa
lion.
CURRENCY