Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1886-03-04
ON TO THE sea-!
OVER THE WESTERN BORDERS
INTO THE SOLID SOUTH.
Wenderfui Progress of Republican Ideas
In Tsnnessee-The Approaching
Election tho Supreme Mo-
ment for a DaShing
Advance All
Along The
Line.

Inc lCtler or +. IL. NJ, special Wash
ington correspondent of the Cincinnati
Commercial Gazette, relative to Republi-
canism in Tennessee, (Which we publish
cd week before last,) has created quite
sensation in political circles. Tuesday
mornings Commercial contained the fol.
lowing interesting additional remarks on
the subject, in his Washington letter:
The figures that have been published
in the Commercial gazette about Tennes.
see politics have attracted much atten
tion among Republicans, and great sur.
prise has been shown at them. The ques-
tiOn has been asked where the figures
came from 1t is question easily an.
swered, They are the official figures,
and can be found in the Tribune Alma
nae or any other well regulated publica.
tion OF the sort containing official elec-
tion figures They were surprising be-
cause they had never been printed con
spicuously in Northern paper after be
ing collated and digested so as to show
their deep significance, These figures
show that Tennessee is on broad party
grounds, and aside from factonal or 10
cal questions, Republican already.
The more the election returns OF that
State are studied the more encouraging
they look to the Republicans. The point
has been raised that if 4 strong fight is
made for the State by the Republicans it
will bring out the full strength of the
Democracy with the usual result in
Southern State of Republican defeat.
But to meet this it may be repeated that
the figures as shown in the summing up
and comparisons by Mr.. w. p Brown
low tend to the conclusion that the stay
at-home vote is Republican. This vote
has rapidly and surely increased even be.
yond the knowledge or appreciation of
the party itself, so that the figures as
shown are about rs much of surprise to
Tennessee as to other Republicans. They
have had ne expectations of carrying the
State in National contest, and have
never mustered their full strength. At
present the election laws Of the State are
comparatively fair and non partisan,
though the Democrats in the General AS
sembly made desperate attempts to doctor
them last year. They can not now be
manipulated before the next session, and
the coming election is highly import
ant one. 1t involves Governor, an en-
tire State ticket, complete judiciary,
Congressman and I. S. Senator. 1t is
certainly the supreme moment for Re.
publican advance all along the line in
that State, and the Senators and Con
gressmen from there view the prospect
with alarm.
| Senator Jackson read the Tennessee
letter, and remarked that the figures were
certainly correct, the statements truthful
and conservative, and the whole fun of
grave significance.
The poetry of the situation is in the
course Republican ideas and principles
take in penetrating the Solid South. Dur
ing the war the hardest fighting was done
in Virginia in the endeavor to break into
the South through her. But the attempt
never succeeded, and the Army of the
Potomac never crossed her southern Dor,
der.
In the West, however, it was different.
The conquering Union armies fought
their way down through Tennessee, and
so on through the Solid South to the sea,
and, turning back, came up to the Bour-
bon Virginia stronghold from the South
There never was a harder fought or
more brilliant political campaign ever
waged than the last one in Virginia, but
it ended in a repulse such as the Army
of the Potomac kept receiving for four
years on the same soil. Meanwhile in
the West the Republican banners are
pushing through Tennessee, the ideas
and principles of that party winning their
way into the South over the track pur-
sued by the Republican Union armies
during the war, and they may go on into
the South and turn back into North
Carolina and again the old Bourbonism
of Virginia may find itself taken in the
rear, and there will be political Apo
mattox.
. In Tennessee the record of the Demo
cratic party in power is much like its re-
cords in other States There it has
squandered revenues, created debt, mud
died the finances, heavily lowered the re
. sources and the amount of taxable pro
perty. Its influence has been against
railroad building or developments, in
favor of reputation, wholly or in part,
of honest State obligations; has been in
favor of free trade and opposed to the
protection of Tennessee's growing in
dustries, and reactionary and non-pro-
gressive. 1t is that party that is respon.
sible for the convict contract system and
+ its hideous and monstrous abuses. Under
five years of Republican control the Ma
tional wealth of the State increased S72,-
O00 200. Since the Democrats came into
, power, in 1871, the value of taxable pro-
, perty has fallen over 1858, 900, 900. Dur
ing 1881 and 1882 the Republicans had
the Governorship, and in that time the
material wealth of the State increased
$18,521, ,435 ..- ,...... .. ....
East Tennessee has always been about
I the most intensely loyal and Republican
portion of the Union, and the sectional
t feeling is tame in any part of the State
compared with the rabid Bourbonism OF
\ VIRGINIA