The Elk Mountain pilot., 1884-12-11
WHAT DOES II MEAN :?

tor further discussion IN the heat OF a
coming contest four years hence. Now
Is the time to get at the full meaning
of that contest. We need not wait till
Mr.. Cleveland proves himself one way
or the other. 1t is not necessary to
know what the democratic party will
do; 1t is sufficient to know what it has
done.
There is power greater than Mr..
Cleveland and the Northern wing of
the party he represents That power
may or may not dictate the appoint
ment of this man to Cabinet position,
or that man to post-mastership.
FsaIs are matters that sink into utter
lnslgnlficance III the light of a higher
issue. Mr.. Cleveland may be civil
service reformer of the most pronounc-
ed type. The Democratic House of
Representatives may initiate reforms
In the economical administration of
the Government III keeping with the
prof!sslon of promises made by the
party. The Republican party may be
proved to have been is cOrruDt as its
enemies have sought to make the peo-
pie believe, and yet the main issue
goes untouched.
The Solid South; what does it mean?
There 1t stands and has stood for the
last twenty years, and is likely to stand
for years to come. The "Solid South"
is the only part Of the Democratic
party thaj commands respect, for it is
the only part that stands for princi-
pie. We respect it because it Is some
thing; and we resist it because it is
something that is pernlclous. The
victory, SO far as Ii concerns the North
ern wing Of the party is the victory of
z mob; 1t represents nothing. declares
for nothing. Aimless discoatent, a
temporary alliance of incongruous ele-
nsots and opinions, gave to the "Solid
South 1.-The few votes it needed to Sc
fcnre -tor it, majority IN tle Electoral
college. The North rejects the Dem
ocratlc party by over 4oo, 900 majority.
It IS the "Sold South that is the
Democratic party; Of the zig demo-
cratic electoral votes, the Solid South
furnishes 153. In the House of Rep
resentatlYeS a "Solid South" las 121
members. Out Of &c Democratic Sen
ators, 80 come from the "Solid South"
and SIX from the North. What does
the "Sold South OF to-day mean?
The defeat of the Republican party
has brought about not so much new
issues, as it emphasized old ones to be
fought ou. on new lines. Most of us
had what we believed to be. a pretty
clear understanding as to what the
"Solid South meant these last twenty
years, fewssof us however, really com
pretended the full meaning and sig
nilicance of the term. TIE recent
conflict is opening our eyes. The
Solid South" has all along been
associated in mems minds with dis
loyalty to the nation; but the South
to-day Is loyal. 1t believes IN the
Union; says secession Is dead; spas
medically only, hoists the rebel flag,
and launches into sp-ead-eagleisn over
the great nation quite as readily as the
northern patriot, 1t has almost for
gotten It's bombastlc threat to water
Its horses in the Hudson, and to mar
ket Its whilom human chattles from
Bunker Hill monument; AND yet the
South is solid, and for what !? Is not
this the true answer, true at bottom in
all the last twenty and fifty years?
The white South is a ''Solid South,
in persistent and systematic work of
degrading labor.
Our age is eminently industrial, and
the United States stands pre-emlnent
among the nations of the earth as a
representative of the industrial condi-
tions; and under these conditions the
well-belng of labor is paramount.
Progress moves not by the tap of
drum, but by the ring of the hammer
at the forge; the battle is not to he
decided by the heaviest artillery, but
by the highest intelligence solving the
great industrial problems. Labor
must apply its own intelligence to the
solution OF these problems. 1t cannot