Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-04-07
MISSISSIPPI
And the APpOrtiOnment Act-Ihe Friends
OF Chalmers and Money Mad rs
March HareS.
What They Are Said TO Propose TO Do
About It-ReVOlt and Division
Lamar Held Responsible.
Letter in the Cincinnati Commercial.


You must know that nobody knows any,
thing about the politics of Tennessee. l
have wandered about Memphis three weeks,
| talking with the acutest of the leaders and
most thoughtful of the honest people. All
are in the dark. Most Of the true inward
ness of Mississippi and Arkansas politics is
begotten in Memphis. One Barksdaie down
at acksoD, is the right bower of JEFF Davis.
They plot at Beauvoir by the sea, but La
mar, Walthall, George and Ex-Governor
Stone hold their conclaves and disburse
spoils and honors at Memphis, just across
the borders of Mississippi in Tennessee.
Wine and women and railways make Mem
phis accessible, and her campaigns in Mis-
sissippi are planned and offices and honors
| disbursed. Here the terrific gerrymsnder
was plotted that will promote the overthrow
of the Lamar secession Democracy in his
State as eff. ctively as the resurrection of
Alcorn, expelled from his broad acres and
aroused from his lethargy by the Noachian
deluge of the loHlands. Chalmers, too, is
outraged. His shoestring district was hor-
ribly distorted by artful dodgers in the
Legislature of Mississippi, who proposed to
exclude iDcumbents and seize seats in Con-
gress by creating districts for themselves. In
fact a beautiful c0terie OF Lamar's hang
ers-on have absolutely driven Chalmers,
Money, Singleton, and perhaps others of the
House almost into the opposition. 1t
is sand that the gerrymander is utterly
lawless and yiolative of the enabling act of
Congress that elections held under it will be
void, and that therefore Chalmers, Money
and others may declare themselves candi-
dates to represent the State at large, acting
on the assumption that valid rights to seats
in the House cannot be acquired under the
gerrymandering act of the State Legislature.
Adjoining districts are so carved out by
Lamar's friends in the Legislature that they
differ by $4,000 in population. Districts are
zigzagged in all directions, Sc widely differ
ing in numbers of voters in each that quite
one-fourth of the people, as congressional
elections are affected, are absolutely disfran-
chised. The people are exaggerated by
these gross wrongs 10 themselves and to their
representatives., and ready to resent an out
rage plotted in the interest of a few men who
conceived the lawless scheme executed mark
you, not in behalf of a party. but of aspi-
rants for congressional honors, sitting in the
State Senate and House at Jackson, the cap
ital OF Mississippi.
WHAT WILL BE DONE ABOUT 1T.
Colonel Singleton and Mr. Money are leg
islated out OF Congress. Singleton is rudely
thrust into General Rockers district, and
Moneys district is twisted and magnifed till
i xInd about from one sgd 81 lbs ss e ie
than another beside it. Singleton changed
his domicile by telegraph, and will fight the
| conspirators at Jackson to the bitter end.
Moneys friends here say that he will resist
and win. Chalmers's friendS declare that he
VIII organizs an open revolt against Lamar
and his desperate gang of monopolists of
Federal ard State Offices and never was par
tisan confusion worse confounced than here
in Mississippi.
THE PEOPLE RIPE FOR REVOLT.
These facts will be employed by local
| party leaders TO overthrow hereditary place
| holders ha inia xvtI L.
| give the old Wings and Douglas men a
chance, their old leaders will be dethroned
| and new men come to the surface. They
| will gladly assent to cooperation with Re
| pUblicans and finally, perhaps, like Malone,
| to unqualified adhesion TO that party. Very
certainly they will not object if the theories
| of Senators Jones and Edmunds as recently
promulgated in the Senate, be approved by
the President There is no purpose to rob
the negro of the privilege" of suffrage lit is
not right, but old Wings and Douglas men
must know that the government has aban-
doned the purpose to subordinate the white TO
the black race. In other words, President
Arthur need only give native whites fair
| field and an open fight, imposing silence and
back seats upon frantic haters of white peo-
] nle. Like Gaysrnnr Davis, of Texas, and Mis-
sissippi viii be redeemed,
A BLUNDER DEEMED n-'v.-.----------
Fran all that can gather from the peo-
| pie it is understood that those who effected
the "eerrymander" shall not, themselves, be
pro6ted by the outrage, deemed here
crime. No such unequal and uudefensible
"gerrymander" was ever made in behalf OF
party as was here effected in behalf of few
men, No such violation of congressional
law was ever enacted by State Legislature,
wheedled and forced to act by committees
constituted of candidates for Congress.