National Republican., 1888-01-28
1he dispatch" Fails in Its Law.

pose TO violate the law, Justice, aud de.
cency so that they, as Il minority, may rule
1he "Dispatch" Fails in Its Law.
The Richmond DiSpoirh occasionally at.
ttmpts argument, but Its arguments are
like the steps OF lame man, It hllts aud
s,umbes along In way TO show that II
does not understand the ordinary rules Of
logic. When II attempts to discuss law or
the constitution, the Di2ptch becomes ex.
ceGdingly amusing; It's antics remind one Of
the monkeys which accompany the peri
patCtic organ grinders
The last effort OF the Dispnich In legal
argument is In that paper Of the 18th, when
IL attempts to contravert position taken
by the Cincinnati CDUiUwcui. Gu:ctic OF
the previous Sunday. The Dispatch need
not have waited for the Sunday GI:citc to
find the entire proposition contained in re-
gard to the fourteenth amendment, he
cause the same extract was printed aud
commented on In an editorial in the MA.
TIoNAL REPUBLICAN, OF the previous Tlurs-
day, but it makes no difference as to what
paper contained the article alluded to, the
propositions Of law laid down IN that paper
are absolutely incontrovertibie.
The question at issue Is simply this; Does
the abridgmeut OF votes in the south with
out the intervention OF the state authorltc,
abridge the right Of representation TAFT
question was settled by the fourteenth
! amendment when II said that II the right o.
voter was in duvw wfy Ujrijgsi the basis Of
representation should be reduced.
The attempt OF the DSpt'ri to answer
and get away from this plain declaration %
the constitution Of the United States is
simply ridiculous, According to the Dis.
pohh'S idea Il the Mississippi river were to
rise out of It's baaks and ilJol the state OF
Mississippi from the banks OF the gre It
river to the Alabama state lile, leaving ex.
posed two or three hill tops upon whi1i
dozen len were cougreg itel, but syee ping
| into the sea every other iuhaJitaut OF the
| state, these dozen would b. entitled ID
their seven representatives. AMI two senl.
tors in the Congress Of the United States.
That is the kind OF logic and law to which
| the Ui2pdich treats its readers.
The fact that the vote /; abridged IN One
Of the southern states, no matter for what
reason, no matter in what way, but the fact
that 1t does exist IustIfes, under the foar-
teenth amendment, reduction of the rep.
resentation of these states.
The state Of Georgia in 1850 had 32), ,0JJ
males of voting age in 1856, allowing only
the natural increase in population, It had
10000, and only 2T0)O OF these voters,
| less than seven per cent, sent ten repre-.
sentatives to the ittieth Congress. No
man outside the limits Of home for in.
durable imbecies will pretend to say that
100000 of the people OF Georgia did not
desire to vote; they were prevented in some
way-that is, the right OF voting was
abridged, and that abrldgment, under the
amendment to the constitution, should re-
| duce Georgia's representation.
1t is not alone in Georgia that this state
of afTairs'exists. Mississippi, Louisiana, and
other states follow in the lead OF Gserg Ia,
though none Of them have SO far been able
to compete successfully for such great re.
suits as are obtained In Georgia.
The Dipatch and other Democratic Or
gans and leaders may squirm as much as
they please, but the facts stand out as
broadly as the sun at MONDAY, and these
facts placed before the American people
must compel at least an appearance Of de-
ceEcy in southern elections. Even the ap-
pearance will be better than the present
| condition OF affairs.