Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-21

Southern Independents.
In short editorial article under the
above caption, New York Herald of Sat
urday, expresses the opinion that the
political situation in the South this year is
full of hope. Strangely enough, however,
it attributes this hopeful condition of af
fairs to the appearance of a large num-
Der of independent movements in this
section, and this, it thinks, indicates
that the Southern people are dividing on
live present issues, and that the solid
South-solid because of living "in
the dead and dresry past"-is melting
away. 1t reasons that the prospects are
that the next Congress will contain more
Independent Representatives from the
South than at any period of its history,
and that these same Independents may
hold the balance of power in the Federal
Legislature, and keep in check "the
Robesons and Keifers who are bringing
so much disgrace upon the country.
Our New York contemporary is wholly
and entirely wrong in its reasonings and
deductions. In the first place, as far as
observation in this section of the solid
South goes, the Independents are in
more than unusual disfavor. In this
State they have made feeble efforts
on two or three several occasions to
effect an organization so as to secure to
themselves something like the dignity of
a political party, but all their efforts have
fallen still born, aud proven signal fail
ures. What little life there ever was in
the Independent movement in Georgia
was most effectually crushed out
when Mr.. Stephens refused to
be the nominee of that mongrel
faction, and declared himself
straIght-out Democrat and nothing else.
In the next place Mahoneism has given
Independenttsm a black eye in the
South generally because he has exposed
it in its true colors, and shown it to be
nothing more nor less than Radicalism
in disguise. As he did in Virginia, so
the Independents are doing throughout
this section. They all invariably form
coalitions with the Republicans, rely
mainly for success upon Radical votes
and substantial aid from the Federal
Government, and, of course, under such
circumstances, they are under obliga
tons to become good enough Radicals
for all practical purposes. In short the
Southern people recognize the ''frozen
fact that Mahoneism in Virginia, Eel
tonisn in Georgia, Chalmersism in Mis-
sissippi, and Independentism every
where, are all one and the same thing,
and. as a rule, they do not take kindly
to any such doctrines
In the third place, how the indie.
pendents can be relied on to hold
the Robesons and Keifers of
the country in check in Congress is hard
to understand. We have not so far seen
Malone in the Senate nor any of his
henchmen in the House display any
very extraordinary zeal in opposition to
the schemes and jobs of those worthless,
but to the contrary, all of that stripe
have heretofore appeared as the most
active adherents of the Robson. Keifer
combination. Most certainly there is no
assurance, nor even hint, that the future
Mahoneite in the Federal Legislature
proposes to display any more virtue than
he has in the past, but it is quite certain
that the principles of the Independ
ent faction, whether its representatives
come from Virginia, Georgia or Missis-
sippi, will be identically the same, viz:
The spoils and that the universal motto
of that faction will be: eve are for
Arthur because Arthur is for US"
Our New York contemporary therefore
is radically wrong in its conclusion that
Independentism is on the boom in the
South The Southern people are not
only too wide awake to be willing to de-
vote their entire time to the study of
1.-THE Kentucky resolutions or the multi
fication doctrines of Mr.. Calhoun" but
they are also not to be caught mapping
by so t1imsy a Radical disguise as indie
nendentism.