The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-07-30

, ton of every right and priYileg
belonging to our Govern
ment or its citizens, as well as al
equally firm assertion Of the right
and privileges belonging to the gen
, eral family Of American Republic
, situated upon this continent, whel
opposed, if ever they should be, b.
the different systems of Goyernmen
upon another continent.
An appeal to the right by sucl
Government as ours could not b
disregarded by any civilized nation
In the treaty of Washington we lee
the world to the means of escap'
from the horrors of war, and it is t,
be hoped that the era when all inter
national differences shall be decided
by peaceful arbitration is not fal
off.
EQUAL RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP.
The central idea of a Republican
fern of Government is the rule o
the whole people as opposed to the
other forms which rest upon a priv
ileged class.
Our forefathers, in an attempt tc
erect new government which might
represent the advanced thought o.
the world at that period upon the
subject of governmental reform,
adopted the idea of the peoples SOW
ereignty, and thus laid the basis OF
our present Republic. While tech
nically a government of the people,
it was in strictness only a govern
ment of portion of the people, ex-
cluding from all participation GER
tain other portion, held in condi-
ton of absolute, despotic, and hope
less servitude, the parallel to which,
fortunately, does net now exist In
any modern christian nation.
With the elimination, however, of
another cycle of advanced thought,
the American Republic suddenly as
sumed the full character of gov
ernment of the whole people, and
100000 human creatures emerged
from the condition of bondsmen to
the full status of freemen, tLeoretic-
ally invested with the same civil
and political rights possessed by
their former masters. The subse-
quent legislation which guaranteed
by every legal title the citizenship
and full equality before the law in
all respects Of this previously dis
franchised people, amply covers the
requirements and secures to them,
so far as legislation can, the privil-
eges of American citizenship. But
the disagreeable TACT of the case is,
that while, theoretically. We are in
the enjoyment of government of
the whole people, practically We are
almost as far from it as we were in
the ante-bellum days of the Repub-
lie. There are bit few leading and
indisputable facts which cover the
whole statement of the case. In
many of the Southern States the
colored population is in large excess
of the white. The colored people are
Republicans, as are also consider
able portion of the white people.
The remaining portion Of the latter
are Democrats. In face Of this in
truth these States invari-
ably return Democratic majorities.
In other States of the South the coll
ored people, although not a majority,
form a very considerable body OF the |
and with the white Re
publicans are numerically in excess
Of the Democrats, yet precisely the
same political result obtains-the
Democratic party invariably carry
ing the elections. 1t is not even
thought advisable to allow an occa-
,ianal or unimportant election to be /
carried by the Republicans as a
blind or as a stroke of finesse.
Careful and impartial investiga-
ion has shown these results to fol-
ow the systematic exercise of phys
cal intimidation and violence, con-
oined with the most shameful de-
Tices ever practiced in the name of
rec elections. So confirmed has
his result become that we are
brought face to face with the extra
ordinary political fact that the Dem
,crat;c party Of the South relies al
most entirely upon the methods
tated for its success in National
iections.
This unlawful perversion of the
popular franchise, which | desire to
tate dispassionately, and in man
Ter comporting with the proper dig
lity OF the occasion, is one of deep
,ravity to the American people-in
! double sense.
First--It is in violation, open, di-
ect, and flagrant, of the primary
upon which our Govern
nent is supposed to rest, viz: that
he control of the Government is
in by all legally quali-
led citizens, in accordance with the
,lan of popular government. that
naiorities must rule in the decisions
If all questions.
Second-It is in violation of the
lights and interests of the States
are particularly centered
he great wealth and industries Of the
Nation, and which pay an over
portion of the National
axes. The immense aggregation of
interests embraced within, and the
enormously greater population of
hese other States of the Union, are
ubjected every four years to the
hangers of a wholly fraudulent show
,f numerical strength.
Under this system minorities act
ially attempt to direct the course of
National affairs, and though UP to
his time success has not attended
heir efforts to elect President, yet
success has been SO perilously i'm
nlnent as to encourage repetition
,f the effort at each quadrennial
election, and to subject the interests
If an overwhelming majority of our
people, North and South, to the haz-
srds of illegal subversion.
The stereotyped argument in ref
Itatlon of these plain truths is, that
{ the Republican element was really
n the majority they could not be
deprived of their rights and privil-