National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-05-08

character and those arising from the condition
OF the south aiter reconstruction had been
completed" he exhibits strange reluctance
TO enter fully upon the Interesting task OF show
ing the proceedings in Congress upon the south
ern question l say tots is strange, because
the Republican party came into being on the
southern question, controlled the governm snt
during the civil war growing out OF u, and
must rest its claim for an honorable place In
history upon its management and settlement
of that supreme business. In like manner the
Republican statesman VINO wo S i DC tn1nGat
views must be able to point 70 his share In tho
great work and to show thathe never faltered
In his advocacy of the cause Of equal rights,
and their enforcement by oil the means pro-
vided therefor. Woe TO the would.be leader
who shall be found in forbidden paths, wbls
pcring with the enemy, aud setting snnres for
The feet Of those with whom he PROCESSES 10 DO
acting.
THE SOUTH UNDER GRANT.
Only seven of the states of the southern con.
fcderaoy had been restored to their relations
in the Union when Gen. Grant became Presi-
dent. Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, and Geor-
gia were stu IN the WILDERNESS. TINS was 6e-
lions OF the reconstruction measures. Groryia,
tho last to be restored, came in on the 10th Of
July, 1870, after Grant had been President q
year and a third. The fifteenth amendment
had been proclaimed q part of the constitution
on the 30th OF March, On tho 3lst OF May Con
gress passed an act for Its enforcement, aud on
The 2sth of February, 1871, an additional act
for the same purpose was passed. The late
confederate states being all again IN relation
with the Union under an amended oonstitu.
tion, the presumption was,' as Mr.. Blaine
puts II, ''lhat these states would be obedient to
the constitution and laws"
BLA1NE's INDICTMENT OF THE RU-KLUX.
shall hero quote from him to show that
they pursued the contrary course. He says;
"But for this presumption, legislation would
be but idle play, aud government OF laws
%9S Tes degenerate e. and GnGo he o
obedience with respect TO statute law BIO gem
eral, much stronger should u be with respect
of RE- Toyernm SptIi is founded. But Il
was soon disclosed that on the part OF the mass
of those who had participated In the rebellion,
MajoiG Of Me whiie men Of ne SOUTH there was
really no intention TO acquiesce I'm tho legisla-
ton e Congress- no PuTp;Sse 70 abide b. The
BY means lawful or lawful; they do
termined TO uproot and oyerthr9w tue state
governments that had been established In a
spirit ofloyalty TO the Union, They were re-.
solved that the negro should not be political
power in their local governments; that he
should not so far rs their interpositlon could
preyentit, exert any influence, either state or
national"
Unjust here quote Mr.. Blaine at considerable
1871 which i know the sSoHS T THANK So
he then understood the situation, preparatory
20 showing from his congressional record how
he dealt with II, which, in kindness TO him
self he has omitted TO do. He says vol II, p.
1851
Between the effort therefore, OF President
Grants administration to protect free suffrage
In the south, and the protest of the Democratic
party against protecting 1t by the military arm
Of the government, physical contest ensued
n the SSthe ,Sn 9tSs and political
understood and openly proclaimed In the north
and perfectly understood, though not openly
proclaimed in the south, that the withdrawal
of the protection of the national government
from tho states lately in rebellion meant the
end of suffrage to the colored man, or, ut least,
such impairment OF Its force and influence as
practically implied its total destruction. So
bitter was the hostility to impartial suffrage,
go determined were the men who had lately
been In rebellion to concentrate oil the politi-
cal power of the southern states In their own
hands, that vicious organizations, OF ,whichthe
9st notable were inc s6t or tb sn were
purpose of depriving the, negro OF the political
rights conferred upon him by law. To effect
RACES calculated TO inspire the negroes with
terror II they attempted TO resist the Will OF
white men,"
Ard now comes Mr. Blaine's statement of
the tragical occurrences, the narration of
which many of his partisans have, without
rebuke from him. so often ridieuled as, "the
grinding of the outrage mill'' and "the Haunt
ing OF the bloody shirt" He says:
"In prosecuting their purposes these clans
and organizations hesitated at no cruelty, were
deferred BY no considerations Of law or Of hn
the victims of their wrath. White men who
were cooperating with the colored population
were visited with punlSnnleltS OF EXCESSIVE
cruelty. 1t was difficult TO arrest the authors
OF those fragrant wrongs. Aside from their
disguises they were protected against inculpat-
ing testimony by the fear Inspired in the minds
OF those who might be witnesses, aud they
were protected even by that portion of the
white race who were not willing TO join in
their excuses II was igeU said of the leading
members of the clan that 'nmder ufth hen l1ds
an occupation ant perjury tods a paSinH. The
white man who should give testimony against
burned, OF being himself beaten with many
stripes, and Il the offender had been at all eff
hcient in his hostility he was, after torture, in
many instances doomed to DEATH"
The annals of Congress will be searched In
vain for more fiery indictment of the desper.
ate lawbreakers at tho south who disgraced
that period. Nor has more scorohing sum
mary of their deeds ever been given on the
huStings or in the press.
WHAT MR.. BLAINE DID ABOUT IT.
The reader of It would naturally conclude
that the author OF such lurid rhetoric must
have been foremost among the Republicans 10
He was speaker Of the House of Representa-.
tiyes at the time Of which he thus writes, and
was a power In the land. He knew that on the
10th OF December. 1870, the Senate had called
on the President for information concerning
evidence in the War Department Of the out,
January the President had. In response. trans
mitted abstracts ofreports onIhle In that depart
ment relative to outrages in North CAROLINA
Senate, those relative to the outrages
in the other southern states" aud that he
had on the 10th Of January sent further report
on the same subject He knew that these re
ports had been referred to select committee
of the Senate with Instructions to investigate
the subject, and he knew that on the 10th o.
evidence, detailing the bloody acts, of which.
in his STORY, he makes so terrible recital
He tells us In that history thai "Congres:
did It's utmost to strengthen the hands OF the
President in q contest. with these desperate
elements BY the act of April 20, 1871, to en-
ment 10 the constitution of the United States
commonly known as the ku,klux act, or the
enforcement acD,, the President was en-
powered to go to the extreme of suspendinl
The writ of habeas corpus where peace and or
der could not otherwise be restored Before
acting under the provisions of that vigorous
statute Gen. Grant gave warning to the south
ern people by proclamation OF May 3, lSl tina
vent the necessity OF us enforcement
MR.. BLAINE ON THE KU-KLUx SIDE.
Would the reader believe that while Con
Ercss was thus doing "its utmost to strengthen
the hands OF tho President Mr.. James q
Blaine was doing his utmost to prevent IL
Does he tell the tale In a tono TO indicate tina
he was then lending aid and comfort TO thu
perpetrators Of the crimes he now so forclbll
descrlbes2 And yet aver, upon the authority
and here produce that such was the case, anC
such was his attitude.
THE ENEMIES OF GRANT.
Before proceeding to this II Is proper 10 no
Dlnu tIe feuuVT lnht MI. WIS llOl I
bold leader in revolt against what he deemed
improper legislation. Nor was he an open fot
10 the administration Of Gen. Grant He wa
rather like one Of those enterprislng person
described by Victor Hugo who knew how L
utilize at night. field wherein battle ha
Ioged during the day. Sumner was thunder
and big looks, and falsely accusing him, as ",
have seen, OF base and corrupt conduct In the
San Domingo affair. the Greeley Feuton fac
ton in New York had surrendered that state Il
the Democracy. Schurz fresh from the destruu
tion OF the Republican party IN Missouri wa
clamorinR for amnesty to all who had offended
against The majesty of the law. aud for thI