The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-06-26
THE TRUE SOUTHERN POLICY


issue of the Evangelist, published in
that city, has an important article on
the negro question in the United
States. In the course of it he says:--
The giving to the blacks of political
power was not incInded in freedom. The
suffrage is quite distinct from personal
liberty Alexander II emancipated TWEEN
ty millions of scrfs in Russia, but that did
not give them the right to vote. Neither
did it give the right to the freed slaves OF
America That was not promised i'll the
emancipation proclamation OF MIR. Inn
coin; it was the act of Congress, ratlhed
by the States under the excitement OF the
war, long after Mr.. Lincoln was IN his
grave-all act which | do not believe
would have been carried through II ne
had lived. His rugged common sense
would have perceived the fearful danger
of committing political power to such I'M
| tried hands. Here, as in the settlement
of the many other difficult questions OF
reconstruction, the country was made TO
feel mournfnlly the want OF that large,
kind gentle wisdom. 10 make the mat
ter worse, not only We're the blacks let
into the citadel of power. but the whites
were shut out. Under the military rule
that was for time imposed upon the
Southern States, no man could vote VINO
had taken any part in the rebellion. ms
VIRTUALLY excluded the whole white popu-
lation Thus power was taken away
from the upper classes and given to the
lower. Reason would dictate a course
opposite to this. Nature seems to ordan
LIZ. -, of n
affairs, intelligence shall rule over ignu-
rance. and civilization over barbarism.
But here this natural order was reversed.
Ignorance was set to rule over intelli-
eence, and barbarisln to rule over civii-
cation. The whole frame work of society
was turned upside down. That which
had been at the top was savagely thrown
down and put at the bottom, and the
bottom was dug out and put at the top.
This, whatever the political necessity
, that compelled it, l cannot bnt look up
on as ANYTHING less than the triumph OF
barbarism and crime against civillza-
ton
The poor negro was not to blame
. in all this. He did not ask for polltl-
, cal power, he did not desire the right
. to vote, he did not even know how to
A vote intelligently All these respon-
sibilities were thrust upon him by the
r ferocious and rapacious politicians Of
. the North, who wished to use the ne
l.. ORC to break down and enslave the
= Southern whites, so that they might
: the mere readily and successfully be
+ plundered and impoverished. These
}. whites were Inundated, trodden under
!, the foot of oppression and their coun
i try was robbed Of all worth taking
o but, out of it all, no good came to thu
e negro. He was merely the catspaw
n Nevertheless he has learned something
= in the school of crime into which b.
had been introduced by his white in
structors in evil. He had before tina
been an amlable, good-natured bein!
j. somewhat given to petty thieving, bu
pretty generally free from seriou
crimes. In the school of the Repub
s. licau politicians he had finally com
us to be distinguished as murderer,
p robber and ravisher. This is wha
~ the Republican politicians have mad
~, e of the negro.
II, The negro has been changed by
i I single act of legislation from the pol
as teal condition of a slave to that of
at at free citizen, but nothing was done,
it were possible for anything to b
y done, to change his ignorance an
brutality into the qualities that shout
r.. belong to a freeman endowed with a
ed the rights of self-government.
ct The fanatics and malignants vii
:, brought about this state of thing
have neve, ceased their efforts to us
r. the negro as wagon to strike dow
~ the Southern whites, even at the CO.
~ of the negro's own destruction. The
=, know he is not fit to be intrusted Wit
" political power, but then he is just
=, much the more fit for their Wicke
id purposes.
he There are, however, Northern me
- who appreciate these facts, and the
il speak through such a distingulshe
in medium as Rev. DR.. Field. We col
%. tinue our quotations from his lmpo
N tant paper. After citing numeio'
~, incidents illustrating the uufitness
the negro as sutfragan, the Doct'
in breaks out:
nd In such hands the suffrage is II farce
-, not farce in the sense that it is only
3D. subject of laughter, but horrible fare
or in which the stake placed for in this tos
his ing of the dice is the government of
~. people that profess to be civilized, wi
:. the effect of general decentralization
" both races, whites and blacks, one
ass which thinks it no harm to buy what t
We other is so ready to sell. So general h
IDS this buying and selling become, til
u, imany have told me that it was absolute
~ impossible to have an honest vote, al
ms they had given it up in despair JAG
in sonville, Florida, the better class OF pc
" pie have become so Disguised with pop
> lar elections that they have petition
the Legislature to take the business
en-, their hands, and have their city office
NJ appointed by the Governor.
NV From buying votes it is but step