The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-29
A Little Common Sense.


the Republican Convention of Pennsylva
MIA, which assembled at Harrisburg last
Wednesday, made a brief speech, which
took the convention by surprise, and has
been the subject of great deal of com
ment not only among Republicans of Penn
sylvania, but, also, of other States
The substance of Mr.. Miller's speech was
this: He questioned the wisdom of the
policy pursued by the Republican party
toward the South. He said that although
the war had been over for a quarter Of a
century, that party was still discussing the
issues out of which it grew, and was con-
tinually assailing the South with as much
bitterness as it did Immediately after the
war closed and the work of reconstruction
began He took the ground that the Repub-
lican party ought to have control of several
of the Southern States, but would never
get it if it continued to pursue its present
course. All that it now did respecting
matters that pertained to the South tended
to keep the South solidly Democratic. In
the course of his remarks he said
Have we, as Republicans, done all that
we can do to assure and convince the people
of the South that we are anxious to create
and maintain terms of amity and friendship
and peace with those Of our fellow citizens
who a few years back were at war with the
nationi Is it not worth while to have not
only truce, but peace. Is it an object
worthy OF our best efforts to build up Re
publican party in the Southern States in
which the Confederates can join heartily
and which will make the States OF the
South as debatablo on the eve Of a PresI-
Dental election rs are the States of the
North, East, or WestI ] take it that every
Republican deems this wise, prudent and
desirable. Can we accomplish this
end by keeping alive the ami
mosities Of the ware BY a
causeless and useless discussion about the
captured battle flagsi By keeping chrono-
logical record of that class Of citizens
denominated Southern brigadiers,n be
cause they are honored by the people of the
South with positions of honor trust and
profile BY denying the fitness of candi-
date for position in the nation solely because
he aided and abetted disunion in 1902
Gentlemen of the convention is it not time
that all this should close aud that distin-
guished representatives of our party,
whether in or out of the State, should know
that the path to preferment in every State
leads by and through more fruitful political
fioldsl Have we not learned by experience
that we can never firmly plant the standard
of our party in a single Southern State by
such methods!
This speech of Mr. Miller's is the first
sign that has yet appeared that the Repub-
lican party is coming to its senses. 1t ought
to have seen long before that its method of
dealing with the South would not strengthen
it in single Southern State The recent
election in Louisiana showed that it had
lost the little foothold it had in that State
Before it can hope to command support in
the South it must convince the Southern
people that it is worthy of their support,
and that their interests require its success.
That cannot be done by the bloody shirt"
method. 1t can be done, if at all, only by
a fair presentation of living issues from a
Republican standpoint
The Republican party in the South will
never get into power in any State as long
as it remains almost wholly composed of
colored men, because the colored voters
cannot be organized and voted by colored
leaders, and because the white people will
act solidly together, whatever may be their
political convictions, before they will per-
NIT their State, county and city affairs to
pass into the control of ignorant colored
politicians. They will not soon forget the
corrupt rule of the colored politicians and
their white carpet-bag allies during the
carpet-bag period, and they will continue
to stand solidly together to prevent repe-
tition of such rule.
Before the Republican party can hope to
control a Southern State, it must win a
following among the white people of the
South, and it is much more likely to do that
by following Mr.. Miller's suggestion, than
by adhering TO its present methods.