The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-23
Moving Toward Combination.

! The government. IN the hands # the Re
/ publican party, is moving rapidly toward
I Capitalization. The election of 1Ir. Reed as
/ speaker meant that there would be legis-
+ lat,ol of the most ceatrahzing kind. lie
7 has little regard for the will Of the people
( or constitutional methods. He began his
career as speaker by ignoring precedents
/ and iy exerc sing power that previous
speakers never thought of possessing. He
opened the way fo- unseating democrats
ana seating republicans. so that his parry
might get q majority large enough to enact
such legislation as would help it to con-
tinue itself in power.
One Of the measures which the repub-
lica-s purpose to pass, by me ms of the ma
jlrity that it is obtaining by unconstitu-
tional methods, Is the Lodge bill. This bill,
while it applies to the whole country, is
really aimed at the south. The purpose Of
it IS to place congressional and presidential
elections under the control Of the federal
government, and in thai way to organize
the black voters and induce them to vote
the republican ticket. 1t provides that
whenever 500 voters in any congressional
A
ing jurisdiction in tina. district to place the
election CT the district in the control of
federal officials, the court shall do so.
The republicans organs in behalf of the
Lo5ge bill are arguing that the bill applies
20 the north as well as the south, and that
IN northern congressional districts there
would be petitions to place the elections
under federal control as well as in southern
congressional districts. They know that
such wou'd not be the case. In no northern
congressional district would there be any
desire to give up the control CT local cleo
tons. and in no southern congressional dis
trlct would there be any such desire, but
the agents of the republican party would
make 1t their business 10 go among the
blacks in each southern district in which
there was large number Of black voters,
ana persuade enough of them to sign petit
ton to place the election Of the district
under federal control The blacks, as a
rule, are ignorant. and would sign the petit
lions without knowing the meaning or pur-
pose Of them. This the republican leaders
know, and their programme is not only to
place the elections in the control of federal
officials, but to organize the blacks and lead
them by appeals of one kind and another to
vote the republican ticket.
If the Lodge bin should become a law a
condition of affairs would be witnessed in
the south similar to that which prevailed
during the reconstruction period. Labor
would be disorganized and business would
be partly paralyzed. Every kind of indus
try would suffer. The marvellous prosper
ity which the south is now enjoying would
be checked. Northern capital and northern
immigration would cease to flow southwark.
But what does the Republican party care
about the prosperity of the south or the
dangers of centralization2 1t would will
ingly see the south ruined and the last rem
nant of local self-government crushed out
If it could insure itself long lease of power.
1t has set out to bring the full black vote
TO its support, and what has already taken
place in this congress makes it certain that
1t will stop at nothing to accomplish its
purpose. For the blacks themselves it cares
nothing. The defeat of the Blair bill proves
that it does not, What it wants is the
black vote