The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-05-07
WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT ITp
The Solid South and the Republican
Party.
A west Virginia Editor States the
Situation as IL Is.
Presidential Preferences and the
Temperance Question.

Temperance Question.
Mr.. Charles Burdett Hart, the editor Of
the Wheeling Intelligencer, the great Repub-
lican paper of West Virginia, is in Maine
examining the workings OF the prohibition
law preparatory for the campaign ON a con-
stitutonol prohibitory amendment which Is
coming on in his own State. Mr.. Hart Is
one Of the leaders of his party in his own
State, and has several times been sent to
Republican National Conventions. In 1884
he was one of the solid Blaine delegation
from that State. He is also Commissioner
of immigration for West Virginia. posi-
tion which gives MIN an excellent knowledge
of the needs and demands of the South, and
of the State of public sentiment in regard
to political questions. Mr.. Hart, in reply to
a question with regard to the Presidential
preferences of the Republicans of Virginia,
said
"Well, you remember, Of course, that in
1884, up to the point Of the nomination, we
in West Virginia did as well for Mr.. Blaine
as you did in Maine. We went to Chicago
with delegation solid for him. Mr.. Blaine
continues to be the preference Of very
large majority of the Republicans of West
Virginia, and Of these very large majority
regret that Mr.. Blaine was not employed at
something else when some evil genius put it
into his head to write
THAT FLORENCE LETTER.
That letter mixes things, and gives to
those who have other preferences such an
opportunity as without it they never could
have had to divide the Blaine forces. / am
entirely candid when tell you that / can
make no prediction that will be Of any use
TO you with regard to the delegation from
West Virginia this time. Mr.. Sherman has
very active and capable friends in West Vir-
ginia Indeed we are all friends Of him,
though he is not the Presidential preference
of the Republicans OF the State. You may
put it this way After Mr.. Blaine it is a
scattering field. and good deal VIII OF course
depend upon management Before the letter
think we should have deserved no spec
ial credit for bringing together once more a
solid Blaine delegation, for that would have
been simply to give expression to the sentl-
ment Of the party. Today we are all very
much at sea, though personally look for the
nomination Of Mr.. Blaine"
THE SOLID SOUTH.
In response to an inquiry in regard to the
political condition of the South, with ref
erence especially to the effect there of the
agitation Of the negro question at the
North. Mr.. Hart said;
mo candid Southern man will deny what
exists as to the suppression Of the colored
vote. 1 have recently had an unusually
good opportunity to feel the Southern pulse
on this question. A week ago Friday l left
Hot Springs. N. c., a considerable resort in
the mountains Of Western North Carolina,
where went as president Of the West Vir-
ginia Board Of immigration TO take part in
convention of the eleven Southern States,
east Of the Mississippi river, called to devise
some means to promote immigration in those
States. You will be interested to know that
the call for this convention was signed by
the managers Of the 21 railroads operating In
the South,-indeed l may say covering all
the Southern railroad systems. east OF the
The governors Of the several
States appointed commissioners to represent
their several States in the convention. l
may say here, and It IS necessary part OF
the reply | shall make to your general in
quiry, that 1t may be doubted IL there has
been since the war so thoroughly representa-
tive gathering Of Southern men. They
represented, for example, the old families,
long influential in the politics Of the South
Gov. FitZ Hugh Lee Of Virginia, whose
name was never mentioned without cheers !;
the governor of Georgia, who has warm
place in the hearts of all southern men, and
who is referred to as the Knightly Gordon;
Governor Richardson, OF South Carolina,
who represents the fourth generation OF
governors in his own family; His Eminence,
Cardinal Gibbons, Of Baltimore, by birth
man, whose sympathies during the
war also were with the South, though he
well knew, as he said. that the
South waaged an unequal war, and must
Of less note, but still representative of the
regime, all men Of influence and as firm as
ever in their adherence to the Democratic
party Of today. Then there was another,
and | think the prep0nderating element,
OF younger blood mainly, though
embracing middle aged men and represent
ing what Is regarded as the new South.
Though was from higher latitude, by
birth Marylander, by education a North
ern man. and by affiliation, as they all knew,
OF THE sTRAIGHTEsT SECT,
we were all there together as Southern
men, bent upon common mission.
"The general proposition was how to in
duce immigration to those eleven Southern
States. The conversations which l had
from men every State on this subject will,
think, bring out a satisfactory answer to
your questions.
these informal talks than Of any formal
talks of the lo0r-the general resources OF
the South, and we had no trouble to agree
that they are great enough to induce In fiye
years such tide of immigration as would
Increase fourfold the present population we
agreed that this influx Of population Is high
ly desirable. not only to swell the popula-
tion, but that the newcomers may teach the
natives how to make the best use OF the
wealth Of natural resources with which the
South is endowed; we agreed that wherever
a Northern man may settle in the South he
will be well received, subject to certain con-
ditions.
'sYou ask me what these conditions are.
Let me answer you by recounting briefly
a conversation with one very intelligent
man, whose view, assure you, is that Of all
and progressive white men of the
South. This gentleman said to me, In
West Virginia you stand in very much
better position than any of the rest of us to
make successful effort to secure an early
and large increase OF population, for
you HAVE NO NEGRO QUESTION
to solve. This question is not Of so much
Importance with us as it used to be, for we
have in way found solution for it.
freely admit to you, that we are well aware
that the solution which we have found is not
at all according to the wishes of the Repub-
lican party, perhaps not to the liking
Of Northern people generally, though 1
have not perceived on the part of any North
ern Democrats any reluctance to accept the
results of victory so achieved. Do think
that the Republicon form of government still
exists in these Southern States where the ne
gro question has been solved in this way?
No, according to the letter Of the constitu-.
tion: YES, according to the composition Of
human nature. And perhaps l may go far
ther and say yes, according to the spirit OF
the constitution, for | do not suppose that
the trainers of that instrument ever so much
as contemplated that they were devlslng
machine to place the government OF any
State in the hands of its Ignorance and its
vice. Do you suppose that the people OF any
Northern State would submit to thlsY Would
would Massachusetts, would
Illiuois? Through their Republican press,
and on their Republican stump, and also on
the floor of Congress, they ask us to do 1t,
and they den0unce us as revolutlonists, even
as murderers, because we viii not submit TO
IT, When they. come to do their voting, we
fail to find that they have made that demand
through the ballot boxes. Do you suppose
that If the newspapers, the stumpers, and
the party leaders generally, to whom refer,
express the sentiment OF the North,
that South substantially solid on this ques--
tion would be confronted with divided
North. From the fact that the North Is dt
yided on this question, / infer that the sober
sense Of that section does not regard us as
MURDERERs AND REvoLUTIoNIsTs,