Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-08-19
GENERALCHALMERS
A WOuld.Be Sarcastic Letter from the
Mississippi Malone in Defense
of His Course,
And in Answer to the Charges Of the
. Appeal Weak Effort to
Justify His Position.
sARDIs, Miss, August II, 1882.


A short time since you called me a rene
gade from the Democratic party. Again
| when you published Colonel Tison's letter
you said my cheek would burn with sham
when l read 1t, and to-day you publish
mild attack on Malone and Chalmers. Fo
your defense of me to-day from the For
Pillow charges you have my thanks. The,
| were made by Bepublicans, but they are nov
being repeated in Mississippi by Democrats
political hyenas who, to drive a few coloret
votes from me, are willing to hlacken thu
| reputation of Forrest and his men.
L was little astonished at your attack OF
Malone after your article of the 18th in
stant. in which you applaud the Low-ta1
Republicans of Memphis for occupying tbs
| very position which has made Malone the
| leader OF the Republican party and the
| dispenser of Federal patronage in Virginia.
l am more astonished that you should assail
| the great readjuster of Virginia when you
are leading the readjusters of Tennessee
Malone had good excuse for his readiust.
| ment, but you have none. West Virginia,
comprising one-third of the richest mineral
region of the Old Dominion, had been wrest
from her by force. Malone said let the
debt be divided with the land. Let West
Virginia pay one-third and old Virginia will
pay the other neutrality-suspicious., interest
and all You said the debt had been ad-
Justed in Virginia, and any attempt to
readjust it would end in reputation.
The debt of Tennessee has been as much
adjusted as the debt of Virginia then was,
and yet you propose TO resdjust it, when, ac-
cordlng to your own argument, any such ef-
fort must end in reputation. You are there
tore self-confessed repudiator. You claim
only ten per cent. reduction now, but YOU
know, and you have said, that means ulti-
mate repudiati You charge me with
playing the part of Malone in Mississippi,
when, In truth, you and General Bate are
playing that part in Tennessee, and you
complain that Republicans sacrifice old
friends Tor new converts. Do not be Jealous
have no desire to rob you Of that honor
You have charged me with deserving prin-
ciples, and yet you have pointed out no
principle have deserted. But il / should
desert my principles and change sides en-
every great political question of the day,
should have an illustrious exemplar in the
editor of the APPEAL. In 1866, when L ad.
vised the South to accept the reconstruction
terms of the conQueror, and attempt to win
the negro vote, you denounced me as Re.
publican, in the Avalanche and now the AP-
PEAL is groaning daily under articles in
tended to win the colored vote.
Passing over your many changes ON the
State-debt question, let US look to national
politics. You have time and again ap.
plauded Colon ell Lamar for attempting to
conciliate the North, and now you denounce
me for accepting and offering to reward
President Artiaur's conciliatory efforts toward
the South on the Ievee question. 1t ia a
matter of taste, but l believe prefer receiv-
ing to making offers of concilistion under
the circumstances. Some foolish people
might think it pusillanimous in the con-
quered TO attempt TO conciliate The conqueror.
The APPEAL was once the strong advocate
Of the silver dollar which it now denounces
as dishonest money. The APPEAL once
stood with General Jackson against United
States banks and for the payment of the pub
lie debt, and yet very recently it advocated
not paying part of the public debt; that it
might be basis for national bank notes. A
public debt has become public blessing
to national bankers it unquestionably is
You preach one day tariff for revenue only,
and on the next you applaud the speech OF
Senator George. who demands protection for
the South through a discriminating tariff
that will place on the free list M achinery for
manufactures, and agricultural implements.
In a leader yesterday you showed there is
no unity in either the Republican or Demo-
cratic party on any of the practical poiti-
cal issues of the day. You say: ga mans
position on either or all of them fails to
identify him as belonging TO either one DO
litical party or the other" If this be true,
and it is, or any other man might belong
to either party without any sacrifice of
principle. In the same article you denounce
the Republican party for making its align
ment on the passions and prejudices of the
war, and yet you urge Southern men TO be
Democrats for this reason alone. You say
the Republican party "has for its shibboleth
political outlawry and ostracism of the
South" Now is this true? And if it is not
true, are you not guilty of the crime
you charge against others? President
Arthur going fishing with Wade Hamp-
ton and George Vest does not look
much like ostracism. Senator George eaid,
in speech in the Senate, "My intercourse
with Northern and Western Republican sem
ators since / have been a member of this
body has tended to convince me that they de-
sire the advancement and prosperity of the
South" and my intercourse with Republican
members of the House has led me to the
same conclusion. Senator Frye, in his
speech on the Mississippi levee, said the
North does not hate the South" He said
they hated Northern Democrats, and init
mated that their objection to us was on ac-
count of our alliance with Northern De-
1t is true there are Republicans in the
North who try to preserve the Republican
party by preaching up the hatred Of the
South, just as you are now trying 10 preserve
the Democratic party of the South by
preaching up the hatred of the North. In
your leader of the 18th instant you say:
a Whenever the Northern power shall cease
to insist that the South shall wear the badge
of political inferiority, and shall present the
opportunity for political alignments upon
these political questions, the people of the
South will divide upon them, and the solid
South will no longer exist as the spectral
phantom of American politics" You pretend
TO desire that day to come, and yet when
Malone and others attempt to exercise that
spectral phantom" you become as indignant
as the spiritualist Snowman when his ma
tricks are about to be exposed.
Yeu clatter like a maggie over the spirit of
&c which induces men, white or
black, to leave the Republican party; but
you cry renegade and traitor at any Demo-
crat who becomes Independent, whether he
with the Democratic party of Mississippi on
principle. Their last Legislature reelected
Senator Lamar, and thus Endorsed his vote
to take away the legal-tender feature from
his vote against the silver bill,
his refusal to obey instru ;tions, his pension
for Grant, and his vote 10 keep Kel-
logg in the Senate. They further voted
down the old Democratic platform
on the supervision Of railroads by the
interest of individuals, and refused to allow
The people TO elect their judges. On all
these questions / differ with them. Why
hen should l not separate from them? You
say my success will break down the Demo- |
cratic party in Mississippi. III it does not
represent true Democratic principles it ought |
10 be broken down. You say 1 am seeking |
Republican aid. Yes, and sought Repub- |
icsn aid in 1876, when you applauded it |
You say l am seeking colored votes. Yes, |
and SO are you. in every late issue OF your |
naner