Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-09-30
Why SHOULD MiLlIKER ABUSE TIE COL
, 0RED VOTERS?

EDITOR CHRoNICLE:-Mr. MILL |
ken in hisspeech at Rossviewstated |
that there were about 5000 white |
voters in this county, that there |
were perhaps of these, 500 who APP
proved of the present settlement of |
the State debt and about 2 800 who |
were opposed to it. That the 500
were endeavorlng to get all the Re-
publican votes they could to elect
Rhodes and Abernathy and thereby
sustain the. settlement and force
something they disliked on the
$500; that these Republicans were
our enemies, that he (Milliken) had
felt their iron heels upon his neck
He begged and implored these 500
men by all that is held sacred in
earth and heaven not to do this ter
ribly cruel crime.
Now l believe this is n fair state
ment OF his position and about all
there was of his speech. Who are
these Republicans whom he calls
enemies and who, we "perhaps"
500 white Rhodes. and Abernathy
men want to get "to vote with US
and thereby commit the great crime
of forcing and iron heeling" Mr..
Milliken and our neighbors and
friends? He can mean no other
than the cOlored voters of this conn-
ty; they are about all the Republic
cans that are in the county. Are
these people our enemies and have
they beel in the habit OF iron-heel-
ing US, as Mr.. Milliken says he has
been served? AS far as | know the
colored people OF this county are
among our best friends. They help
us make almost every dollar that
comes into the county. They are
patient and strong Iaborers. / have
never seen colored tramp yet.
They are not beggars. believe
that hundreds of them pinch and
starve rather than beg. They were
raised here among us, felt all the
hardships of slavery AMI still dur
ing the long civil war, when the
northern soldiery were among our
helpless old men, women and chill
dren, hourly offering inducements
to the cQIored people TO revolt and
revenge, have yet to hear OF sim
gle instance where these people
paid off even an old grudge during
the war. They have their peculiar
faults, which | deplOre, but iron
heeling" is not one of them. 1t is
about time for our public men TO
stop talking such demagogy, stuff
and nonsense. 1t is merely intend-
ed to arouse the lowest passions of
our people. We have condemned
the Northern politicians for "wav-
ing the bloody shirt" why is it
necessary for Southern men to
stoop to such acts? Men must be
hard pushed to resort TO such argu-
ments. When did it come TO be
such great crime for freemen to
support their principles and the
men who represent them, even
though as Dragging Bate men as
sert they should be in the minority ?
When a crowd of towards turn and
fly before the farce of the enemy in
battle, should men of courage lead
them in their flight, TO be with the
majority? How often have a few
brave men turned and won victo-
ry? Now watch the sanity Milli-
ken and his friends on November
- 49, -'-J-.iS -t>a-t,nrn mt as busy
these colored ''enemies" as they
can to "help force" Milliken and
Jones on people when they don't
want them. understand they are
already at it.
Mr.. M also gravely informs us
that they chad kicked all the poll
ticians out of their party" What,
in heavens name, does he call such
hoary old manipuiators as Harris,
Savage, Yancey, and all that ilk.
1t looks rather like they had E. full
corps of the "wire- workers" still ON
hand, taakicked. f...
But to digress. That young man
(which his name it is Jones" stated
that "the CHRONICLE two years
ago said that he (Jones) had re-
ceived the Unanimous" vote of the
Democratic Executive Committee
to be their candidate tor the Legis-
lature." Now does not Mr.. Jones
know this was an error and that he
,sece'' received the nomination of the
Committee, unanimously or Other.
totse +. b. r.