The true northerner., 1889-06-26
THE SOUTHERN STATES.

A Nortfern gentleman, recently re
turned from spending the season In
New Orleans and vicinity, and who
killed a good deal of time while there
investigating political outrages, writes
to personal friend in Chicago that
"the whites of Louisiana have become
more cruel and intolerant to the col
ored people since President Harrison's
election than they were before, and are
not only determined that the negroes
shall not hold Office but that whites
who are disposed to favor negroes and
protect their rights shall be put out of
Office if in, and kept out if not in"
This is undoubtedly fair statement of
the general Southern situation. 1t is
certainly fair SO far as concerns the
State of Louisiana. The recent trou-
bles in Lafayette all grew out of the
fact that two or three white men who
had shown equal justice to all, and had
for that reason secured colored sup
port at the polls, were resolute in de-
termination to protect the colored citi-
zens of that place in the right to vote.
Not content with preventing that class
of men from being elected to office,
several of them in the Sugar State
have been notified that they must re-
sign to make way for regulators"
When it comes to purely local cleo
tions the regulators can not be made
umenable to national law. If public
sentiment down there sustains that
sort of regulating" then it must go on
until it produces its natural harvest of
retaliation. But Congressional cleo
tions can be inquired into and put un-
der national control. Congress will
undoubtedly inquire into the facts of
these recent outrages, and the develop
ments may have an important bearing
upon the action of that body 1t is
high time the hands of the National
Government were washed clean of all
responsibility for violation of the con-
stitutional amendment guaranteeing
the right of suffrage. The United
States should observe with sharpness
the distinction between elections over
which it has control and those over
which it has not, so that the reproach
of Southern barbarism may rest where
it belongs
1t Will be remembered that previous
to the war the State of Mississippi re-
pudiated its debts. For time the
financial credit of the entire United
States suffered from that bill of repu
diation. 1t was loosely charged to the
account of America. Other States
have since repudiated, but the world of
finance understands perfectly we'll that
the United States is in no way respon
sible for any of those regulations, any
more than it is for the railroad COM
pany that defaults on its interest or
passes its dividends. 1t took years to
free the General Government from the
odium of State dishonesty at the South.
1t is entirely practicable for the Gen
eral Government TO rid itself of any
responsibility for Southern regulators.
The first thing to do is to disconnect
the Congressional from the local and
State elections and then take complete
control of the Congressional polls, and
not simply exercise supervisory power.
In this letter already referred to occurs
the following passage:
This whole country is in an unsettled
condition. l suppose the Chicago papers
have given you accounts OF the troubles
which took place last week 1.-THE letter is
dated May l6I at municipal election at
lafayette, where the regulators tine coun-
try here is iull OF them surrounded the
place whore the people had to enter TO vote.
and declared that nc negro should vote.
that they were going to show that il was
white mans election" and they were so
determined and well armed th at tn @ author
tiles closed the polls alter they had been
open only about thirty minutes. in order to
prevent bloodShed. for few of the whites
were bound that the negroes should vote,
nd W.. pan vin han IN na
And the same week in Gretna. La. ear New
Orleans, they burned fire engine house
belonging TO a colored company. and q nice
church. nearly new, and two or three good
dwelling houses, all owned by colored peo-
pie. because 1t was reported that the negroes
of that place were collecting arms and drill
ing to murder the whites.
Most OF the colored people who live in the
country are afraid 10 60 out of doors after
sunset, and i'm fact il is not safe for them te
do 80. Whippings and intimidativns are
going on all the time. few nights ago
party OF about twenty men on horseback
and armed rode up to "a colored man trudg-
ing along toward home from town. and
leveling their guns at him ordered him 10
halt" Finding out who he was they al
lowed him 10 pass. OF course he couldn't
have been any one they were looking for or
we're disposed to interfere with. Those
banished last winter have not been allowed
TO return yet. though some OF them left large
families. and in two cases within my knowl-
edge the mems wives have died since from
the effects OF fright and cold and wet wealth
er that prevailed at tho time.
This condition of affairs cannot en-
dure permanently. The Republicans,
having at last gained control of both
houses of Congress and the Executive,
should proceed at the earliest prac-
ticable moment to redeem their pledge
to defend the oolored people and up
hold the Constitution at the South
Chicago Inter Ocean.