Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1890-07-02

election.
CoNGRESSMAN EwART'S speech in the
house on Saturday was Il fearful aud
Just arraignmcnt Of his party for their
treatment of the South in the past and
their contemplation of the passage of the
infamous force bill. 1t is seldom that n
republican is willing to conccdc what
MIR. Ewart did in his speech, and even
less seldom that Il politician dares to
step outside of the ring marked down by
his party and give his outspokcn opinion
of any measure advocated or opposed by
that party, that is il il differs with the
opinion of the majority.
But Mr.. Ewart dared to do this.
His speech was so different from that
of his colleagues that il would have done
credit to n democrat. After an introduc.
ton in which he drew picture of this
section of the country both before and
after the war, Mr.. Ewart struck such a
blow at the reconstruction period as is
seldom credited to republican. lie
said:
The State governments fell into the
hands OF the most disrcputablc gang OF
thieves and plundcrcrs that ever disgrlced
Il nation, and the very name of Rcpubli-
canism became n stencil in the nostrils of
all honest men. Bv hloodslcd violence,
and intimidation these governments were
wrcstcd from the thieves and plundcrcrs
and to-day without exception are held
by the Democratic party. In spite oi
this long era oi misrulc and all the evils
of reconstruction the South has prospcred
as never a section prospcrcd before. Go
South now. and your Journey will bc
through n continuous and unbrokcn
strain OF the music OF progress, the whrr
of the spindle, the buzz ot the saw. the
roar of the furnace. and the throb of the
locomotive. The next census will show
it to bc the richest section of our country.
Then he went into figures showing the
increase in the wealth OF the country
since the war.
Let me briefly submit few statements
as to the wonderful increase oi wealth in
the South in the past nine years. In
1850 the total wealth OF the South was
81. Ia, ,f3i, 900. In 1889 il is estimated
at 81, 100. 10000, an increase OF ST..
3O6 900 900. The assessed value OF prop.
crty in the South is about ~ per cent. oi
its true value. On this basis the increase
has in reality been 81, ,OOO. 900 900 in nine
years. In ten years the South had in.
creased its iron output from 397 ,3Ol tons
to ,566. 7O2 tons. The percentage oi
increase has been 29+ in the South aud
7S in the rest of the country. In lSS2
the South produced 6.5G9.3lG tons oi
coal: in 1889, 0,t97,iiS tons. The
year 1890 will show an increase of over
90. 900, 900 tons.
Since 1865 the South has produced and
sold $4,000, 100000 worth oi cotton.
With 16l cotton mills in the year 1850.
having G67 ,S5+ spindlcs aud 323 looms,
this industry has increased till the South
possesses to-day over 100 mills. with
over 2,25O,OOO spindlcs aud 5O.OOO
looms. The agriculture! interests of the
South have also maryclOusly Increased.
From 5000, 900 bales OF cotton IN 1870
the yield in the South advanced to ..
100000 in 1889. Its corn production
for the same period shows game OF 27O,-
OOO. 900 bushels. In wheat there is an
increase oi 22,O00,OOO; in oats, Of l5,.
900. 900 bushels. Comparing il with
the production of the rest oi the country,
we find that. Notwithstanding the fact
that the West produced last year the
largest crop OF corn ever made. the in
crease ms compar, d with 1870 was only
~ per cent, while that OF the Suuth's
corn crop was 80 per cent.
From there the gentleman jumped in
the center Of the negro problem aud after
disposing OF il by the broad assertion
that there is no negro problem he came
back to his subject, the federal election
law. His argument from there on was
one of ability. lie opposed il because il
would cngcndcr bad blood between the
races, because il is not what the country
needs and because its enforcement will bc
humiliating to n free people.
Mr.. Ewart's speech certainly was an
able one, but il lgnatius Donnclly' s
cipher were applied to ii, no doubt il
would b. discovered that il was con.
criy,d with the intention OF being used
as campaign document when he bobs
~ scrcncly next Tall for reelection.
Attention! ! OId Comrades.
There will bc reunion of Company /,
18th Regiment n. {. Volunteers at the
baptist church ON llominy Creek upon
the same spot where VIC organized TWEEN.
ty.ninc years ago. All surviving members
Of the company are commanded trcqucst.
cdD To attend. Come provided with three
days ratons, u blanket and cooking utcn-