Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-10-30

If allowed to vote and have their votes
counted. Nobody doubts it who knows
anything about Mississippi. neither
could any person of intelligence expect
a talr election there The spirit which
mas made Copiah infamous still prevails
IN that county and throughout the State.
only a few days ago Senator Lamar,
man with many good traits. made a
speech which, translated into plain En-
glish, was an Endorsement of any and
every outrage for the perpetuatlon of
the Democratic party Evidently the
pubic sentiment of the State is such
that repetition of the Copiah outrage,
however large the scale would be justi-
he'd, and the perpetrators shielded from
punishment. Mr., Lynch accepted the
fact and cancelled his speaking engage
ments. His prudence was excusable, if
not specially commendable.
The actual outbreak occurred Satur-
day night at Crystal Springs, Copiah
County. Only one man was fatally in
Jured, but the Republican meeting was
broken up, and effective notice served
upon the Republican party to make no
further attempt to elect any of their
candidates for Congress in Mississippi
Perhaps a few local offices may be
thrown as sop to the majority, but
when it comes to representation in Con-
gress the State must be solid, however
much blood 1t may require to cement
the pieces. "The more intelligent DEM
6crats, says Mr.. Williams, "have given
up all hope of the election of Cleveland
and Hendricks, and are directing all
their energies to send up a solid Demo
cratic Congressional delegation in order
to control the next House of Represent
atives." Instead of circulating cam
paign documents, as would be done at
the North firearms are supplied. This
statement does not rest upon vague as
sertions. j. j. Williams makes it over
his own signature explicitly. His words
are: "In Wilkinson County, strongly
Republican lin Lynch's district Win
chester rifles, furnished by the Demo
cratic State government, have been
distributed to every Democrat who
would receive them, and a reign of ter
ror has been inaugurated." No sane
man would make such an accusation
against the government of his State UNI
less he knew it TO be true. 1t is impos-
sible for Northern man to realize such
only in Mississippi, but in the South gem
orally. There may be white Republic
cans enough in North Carolina, Tennes-
see, or Virginia, to hold the bulldozers
i'll effective check, but the Winchester
policy is likely to prevail even in those
States 1t certainly will in the very
States which, upon fair election, would
give the largest Republican majorities.
So far as this campaign goes there is
no remedy or relief, and it would be
waste of energies to divert efforts from
the real battle grounds TO those hope
lessly bull-dozed States. Vein Chicago
complain, and justly, Of the devices re-
sorted to by the gang to hinder voting
in strong Republican precincts and
facilitate repeating by the Democratic
thugs, but they are nothing to those
adopted at the South to impede, confuse
and prevent balloting at Republican
polling places and promote fraud every
where. Sometimes the balloting is in a
cellar, sometimes in garnet, and in all
conceivable ways the exercise of the
right of franchise by Republicans is
hedged about with difficulties, and the
Democratic workers stand ready at any
time upon the slightest provocation to
use the rifle +" for the good of the party"
all on the pretext that otherwise the
supremacy of the white race would be
endangered.
The attempt has been made repeated
eddy to check this sort of infamy by
prosecuting the perpetrators i'll the Fed
eral courts, but no good results have
been obtained. 1t might as well be con
coded that during the last eight years
no progress has been made toward sup
pressing this unspeakable wrong The
flow of blood has been somewhat stayed
but that by submission to the evil rather
than by its suppression. The present
campaign does not turn at all upon the
southern outrages. AT least Mr.. Blaine
and the republicans generally make the
tariff issue so supreme as to be almost
single. tits none the less true, however,
that justice at the south is at stake
really. IF the republican party gains
control of both houses of congress and
keeps the executive branch of the gov
eminent, being thus master of the situa-
tion it is morally certain that the ma
chinery of national elections will be
taken out of the hands of the state gov
ernments. The present law in regard to
supervisors of elections is good asf far as
it goes, but it does not reach far enough
to be effective at the south. With Blaine
in the presidential chair, we may expect
a thorough application of the principle
on which the statute rests, and then the
republicans of the south will be encour-
aged and protected.