Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1885-11-13
The Battle over.

The Battle over.
Now that the smoke of battle has en-
tirely cleared away, the completeness of the
victory of the local Democracy and the
friends of economy and reform in county
affairs over the bad elements which have
heretofore ruled US, are made more clearly
apparent. After so many years of subjec-
ton to the local misrule, whereby every
principle of popular government was sub
vorted and all the rules of public economy
and official accountability disregarded, it
is difficult to realize that our public affairs
are once more entrusted to men who, re-
cognizing their full accountability to the
tax payers and the people, will strive to
conduct the public business on that econ
omical basis which the depressed state of
agriculture and the impoverished condi
ton of the people demand.
To those of our people who 60 back in
memory a decade and half and recall
confident manner in which many of our
citizens scoffer the idea that any man
could be found in The county bold or bad
enough to become parties to such scheme,
and trace the development and progress
Of the plan through its many years of bit
ter humiliation to its final downfall, the
whole will appear like some troubled and
obscure dream. Now that it has been
swept away, it is difficult to realize that
so bad state of affairs ever existed axd
the people can only be thankful that the
many and great possibilities of evil in
volved in the scheme were not more bit
terly realized then they were.
But the i'll effects of the bad local dom
ination are seen on all sides and these are
quite sufficient to convince US that it was
terrible reality and not dream. The
depressed condition of agricultural indus
try and generally unthrifty condition of
the people; the disorganized, unreliable
and shiftless state of the laboring classes;
the marked retros ression and steadily
backward tendency of the fertility. pro-
ductiveness and general condition eflands,
since the commencement of the period re-
ferred to, are al clearly traceable to the
local misrule. The natural and inevitable
effect and tendency of the domination of
those bad elements was to repel immigra-
ton, to dcmoralize labor, to pralyse and
drive away capital and to bring about
condition of general deprayity and shift
lessness in the morals and manners of the
community. Such was the experience of
all communities in which lik e state of
affairs existed, and here where it endured
longer than almost anywhere else these
effects are more clearly discernible than
elsewhere.
Now. however, that the people have
arisen in their might and oyerthrown this
bad state of affairs, new era dawns upon
fore, on account Of the causes referred to.
been laggards in the march of progress
and general improvement which has char
scterized the entire South, will now catch
step in the onward movement. New hopes
will animate the minds of the people and
better feeling will prevail among the
employing and the employed classes. The
colored laborer will realize that, like all
other laboring classes elsewhere, to be
prosperous and happy, they must be in
duetrious and honest. That their labor
to be made available, must be regularly
and punctualy rendered, and that their
contracts must be observed and respected.
The employing classes, here or elsewhere,
will more fully realize the advantages and
the necessity of exact justice in all their
dealings with their employees. The i'm
mediate result of this will be increased in
dustry and diminished idleness better til
lage, increased productions, increasing
prosperity and generally improved con-
dtion of the community. Immigration
will gradually flow in upon US, and our
waste acres will be populated and i'm
proved, diminishing taxes will lead to
diminished rents and decreased wages.
Our public servants will make public
economy the rule of their official lives,
and every individual will have an incen-
tive to observe and practice private econ
omy in the management of his personal
concerns.
Let US, then, turn our lacks on the dark,
dismal and dead past, and let it bury its
dead. Let new life, new hope. and
stronger and more resolute purpose ami
mate the minds and hearts of all. The
warm impulses of honest patriotism which
actuated and united the people in the re-
cent struggle for the redemption of their
county should not be allowed to die out.
There is much yet left for public spirit
and organized exertion TO do. Our system
of agriculture should be improved and
the general economy Of the community
advanced through the instrumentality of
agricultural and other societies as organ
lied and operated in other agricultural
communities. Everyone should contrl-
butte his part to the common veal, and in
this good work the TIMES will ever be
ready to lend its cooperation.
The announcement by Senator Sherman
of the purpose of the republican party to
insist upon the dsfranchisement of the
colored voters of the South, unless their
votes are all credited to the republican
party, is having an effect most probably
not at all toreseen by Mr.. Sherman. This
new republican policy, as outlined by Mr..
Sherman, has attracted the earnest atten