The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1882-09-16

This game Of party politics is q Curl
GUS one. Republican journals and Re-
publican orators are thrown into
paroxysms of indignation at what they
characterize rs shameless gerrymander-
ing in South Carolina. The object of
this gerrymandering is TO give the DEM
ocrats an advantage in electing men,
bers of Congress. 1t is declared to be
subversive Of the popular will and dam
gerous to public order to put districts
together with reference. to party adj
vantage. That tn 8 is the tendency of
such action by State Legislatures. may
be admitted without hesitation. If those
who make the complaint against South
Carolina were consistent in making it
and rejected inflexibly every phase of
such wrong everywhere their indict-
ment of others and indignation would be
entitled to the greatest consideration
and to have powerful influence But
when virtuous journals in Chicago shut
their eyes to the most fragrant abuses of
this nature in their own State and at
their very doors and cross the continent
to find fault and inveigh against others,
they put themselves in an attitude of
hypocrisy too conspicuous and fragrant
to escape the scorn and contempt of
the fair-minded men to whom. they APP
peal. The evil and the danger of q
partisan constitution of Congressional
districts lie in making palpably un-
natural lines for the purpose of securing
the desired supremacy of q party with
in certain boundaries. Consent to any
step in this sort OF work which is plain
to the understanding and common-sense
of anybody is committal to the wrong,
and is a moral estoppel upon the con-
senting beneficiaries from Directing to
like action IN the part of others. Now
we would like to ask any censorious
Illinois Radical what, for example, he
thinks of the formation of the Nine
teenth Congressional District /: OF that
state, composed of Hardin. Gallatin,
White, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin,
Jefferson, Marion and Clinton Counties!
1t commences on the Ohio River, fifty
miles above Cairo, and extends 1876
miles northwest to within twenty-five
miles of St. Louis. 1t is more than four
times as long as it is wide. There are no
rivers, mountains, deserts or natural rea-
sons for thus forming that district. The
makers of it do not even pretend that
there are. Why was it thus made?
lican pretends to disguise the purpose.
That dittrict as now constituted has &c.
129 Democratic majority. The purpose
was to put as nearly ali the Democratic
majorities of Southern Illinois in it as
possible. A most unseemly and unnat-
ural peninsula into the Eighteenth Dis
trict is made to take in Clinton County,
which has 634 Democratic majority,
passing right by Washington, which has
1858 Republican majority. The object
of this was to leave Morrison in dis
trict with Republican majority. which
it was hoped he would not be able to
overcome. and no Republican with q
particle of self-respect would deny the
fact. Examples of the same sort of
work are afforded all over the State of
Illinois. They are obvious to any in
quirer who will glance at the map of the
districts. In the face of this it is an
astonishing exhibition of moral obliqui-
ty in Republican journals of Illinois
to point out similar practices in
South Carolina and invoke the virtu-
GUS indignation of the country against
their authors. So far as one wrong
is calculated to invite and create anoth-
er, this cold-blooded gerrymandcr in Il
linois may be alleged as part of the
cause of similar proceedings afterward
in other States whose wickedness is now
held up as being so fagitious. Illinois
is by no means singular among Repub-
lican States in this sort of work. Ohio
has recently given the country a taste of
its quality in this character of party
management. New York Republicans
have offended more deeply in this re-
spect than either of the other States.
The wickedness in these Republican
communities is merely veniai but the
sin of South Carolina is deadly and be-
yond all forgiveness. It was urged as a
reason why its author should be turned
out of Congress and his seat given to .
negro upon no better or stronger ground
than that there are more negroes in his
district than white men. Beware of the
leaven Of the Pharisee, which is hypoc-
risy st. Louis Republican.
Reckless Daring.