The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-15

Rebel Rejoicing in the South.

To the Editor Of the Indianapolis JournaI:
was invited to accompany some joyous Dem
ocrats on their way to Little Rock to join in
celebrating their great victory, but declined the
honor, assigning as a reason that the rebel yell'
was not an agreeable sound to my ear Their
Joy and gladness appear to be unlimited, for
every town in the State must have its ''iollifca-
ton" These gatherings are usually led by the
same men who shouted hosannas to JEFF Davis,
and uttered the same passionate cry, "God be
praised, when the Union armies were defeated,
and the struggling patriots overthrow. They
possession of 1.-THE old flag and an appropriations"
they choose bullets and failed, but now they
have achieved success by the ballot in four
Northern States The loyal people of the States
of New York, Indiana, Connecticut, and New
Jersey, who suffered the agonies and sacrif fees
of four years war, seem to have tired of we'll
doing and yielded to the Establishments of I'M
Tepentant rebels SO far as to give them posses
sion of that government which they tried to
destroy by war.
The poor African, above all others, is to be
pitied, because he thinks the return of the Dem
ocratic party to power once more means his re-
enslavement He remembers we'll that when it
was in power he was a slave and when the
party lost power and the Republicans came in
he a freed man. The Proclamation
of Emancipation could not be made effective I'M
til the surrender OF Lees army at Appomattox
nineteen years ago, and it was three years later
before the right of suffrage was conferred The
so-called abolition of slavery really never
amounted to much more than the liberty to
choose a master for whom he should work, be-
canse the freedman had no property and could
nmnlOVaF feat
with such limited information as he had causu-
ally picked up without systematic instruction.
When the right of suffrage was given him, he
knew very we'll the party through whose efforts
alone he obtained it, and he desired to show his
gratitude by voting for his friends. He has
only occasionally been allowed to give any ex-
preston Of thanks, because wherever his ballot
would have elected anybody it has been received
and not counted, or he has been driven from the
polling places by the shotgun and the bulidozer
Every Democrat, independent Republican,
Greenbacker, or Prohibitionist in the four States
/ have named, who either voted for Cleveland
directly or gave him half a vote by throwing
away his ballot on Butler or st. John, must have
known that there was no freedom Of the ballot
in such States as South Carolina, Mis-
sssippi or Louisiana, because if there
had been these States, having a
majority of Republican voters would surely
not have chosen Cleveland electors If it was
right to confer suffrage on these people it is
surely the duty of those States to allow the bal
lot to be cast and counted just as it is in the four
States named which voted for Cleveland. The
Republican party was doing all it reasonably
could to enforce the rights of all such citizens,
and believe it would have succeeded; but now,
when the party is placed in power which could
find no power in the Constitution to conquer
rebel, it is plain to be seen that there will be no
attempt to enforce this right, and it is no won
Ger the negro is alarmed The independent
Republican, who opposed Blaine more from pas
sion and prejudice than from principle, and who
surely does not desire to deprive the colored
voter OF a institutional right, could have pre-
vented This if he had desired. The cranky Pro.
hibitionist who could find no ground on which
to oppose Blaine, chose to vote for ST. John on
a side issue, which really had no place in pres
idential campaign, and has probably served
question from politics for a generation or more
The Greenbacker, whose love for pictured paper
. SO great that he has lost sight of everything
Use at time when there was no money issue