The Red Cloud chief., 1883-12-28
More than ~ Race Question.

More than " Race Question.
While from II superficial glance tho
rccen, massacrcs in Virginia may be at
tributablc to race ~antagonism. it is pos
siblc. II not probable, that they mean
much more than that Looked into deep
or. these outbreaks appear to be the All
,agonisins of two distinct civilizations.
On the surfYcc IL appears to be hostility
To- the negro race that provokcs ~
many barbaritics against these helpless
people, hut that may not be the real
cause. The purpose to retain and per-
pctuatc slavery entered largely, but
only secondarilv. into the causes Of the
late war. The real cause was the indi-
cation. by the last previous election.
that the sccptcr Of power had passed
forever. or was about to pass, from the
ruling ar'stocrats of the South to the
"mud-sills" of Northern society, ~
these aris'ocrais called the laboring
masses of the Northern States. The
pcrpetuation of slavery was merely in
cidcntal 10 this chief aim, and il vas
the cowardicc and submission of tho
North for the preceding half century
which led these aristocrats to believe
that ut II bold assault these men whom
they had so long ruled would at once
capitulate, beg pardon, he forgiven and
resume their normal ccndition-that III
vassals. They were mistaken. rs the
sequel shows.
II is true that in these eighteen years
Of Ku-klux methods in the South the
negroes have been the chief sufferers. II
numbers are counted; but there have
been thousands Of the best Of white men
slain or driven away In the dcathlcss
l,.a,tl;t,, ~ Ala. Sn,Stn,,, t,,s "A t,;y:l;,n
ton To the Northern. The graphic pic
lures in "Thc Fools Errand" could tc
reduplicatcd q thousand times. and more
or less in every one Of the late slave
States. while the recent outbreak in
Virginia Is only an evidence that that
type Of civilization still intends to rule
or ruin. The whole tone Of The South
|. ern press speaks rs cOntcmptuously Of
, the white men who were lately antagon-
izing the Democratic party ~ of the ne
! grocs themselves, and for the same rea-
/, son: They are more or less in sympathy
, with the party that confronted y solid
/. South on the tented field and their SYM
pathi2crs ut home.
1t is not difficult 70 forsce the ulti-
, mate result of this policy. A South
made solid by terrorism, whether by
|, shotguns or social and business and
!, political Ostracism, must be met by n
solid North. In other words, il that
: type of civilization which was bred Of
slavery and fostcrcd by %aristocracy still
refuses to comminglc with the type that
was born of freedom and which has
: been nurtured by the sweat of toll, thon
n the better civilization must, ut least, re-
: fused to be dictated to by it.
I But there IL even more than this at
: stake. Ii the theory Of local sclf-gov-
eminent is susceptible Of such n con-
struction rs will relegate the safety of
!. any citizen of the United State to the
q mobs which constitute what are called
courts within the territory Of this other
civilization. then 1t becomes a serious
I question whether the Nation must not
shall be broader than any yet attempted
IA law that shall protect all men, ev-
erywhere. IL Is mt to the honor Of the
Government that it will send navics and
armies. il need be, to Germany or to
China to protect n citizen; that it will
h make the trial for murder by an adopted
4 citizen. committed thousands Of miles
n away, the subject of diplomatic corre-
%spondencc. yet ut our very doors, in .
part Of our own National domain, men
@ may DO murdered with impunity. for no
a crime but lack of sympathy with the
Is ruling classes of that locality. These
things will not always be,
There is still another phase Of this
questions. Does it strike n thoughtful
man as best that u section Of the Nation
al territory shall be under such mere
a brutal control rs will insure n solid vote
for any party. by the cocrcive measures
- known to exist in the South? 1t, does
= not matter whether this controlling ele-
u. ment be the idcnt' cal element that only
n few wears tried its coercion upon
al the Nation itself. orany other. Ii this
N policy is to be continued, may he, a. il
b. came near being only y few years ago.
Of that n very small minority of those who
q. are free to vote their sentiments may
IA make ommon cause with the hull
H. dozers. intimidators aud alien spirits.
H. and take charge Of the Nations affairs.
h. We repeat that the Southern question is
not u simple question OF races, il is a
question Of National life or death. A
bo South made solid BY bullets must and
viii make a North solid by ballots, and
a that will remain as long as the o,he,
cy remains. 1t is not of our seeking that
nj sectional questions must enter largely
by into all elect ons while the South rule,
=, by terrorism - Indianapolis journal. NJ
as ~
ic- --lllinOi, sends the tallest and thS