The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-06-29
Let BUSINESS Men Speak Out.

The MORNING NEWS suggested yesterday
that the business men of the south should
endeavor to impress the business men of the
north with the necessity for inaugurating
at once a movement to defeat the federal
election bill. In our dispatches yesterday
it was stated that the northern democratic
members of congress had prepared, aud
were signing, formal protest against
the bill. There is no doubt
that it will receive the signature of all the
northern democrats in congress. The pur
pose of the protest is to make clear to the
northern people the dangerous and revolu-
tionary character of the bill, and to arouse
such public sentiment in the north against
it as will tend to influence congress to call
a halt with respect to it.
The people of the south should not be
apathetic in this matter. They are
more deeply interested in it than the people
of the north, because the bill is aimed
directly at them. The effect of the bill. if
it should become law, would be to destroy
confidence in the south as field for invest
ments, and create such feeling of uncer-
tainty as to the south's future that capital
and immigrants would be influenced to give
her a wide berth.
Every cotton exchange, board of trade
and chamber of commerce in the south
should use their utmost endeavors TO arouse
feeling in the north against the bill. They
should adopt vigorous resolutions condemn
ing the blu and pointing out how hurtful
it would be to the south and they should
have them SO distributed as to reach the
northern people.
Why should not the Savannah Cotton
Exchange and board of trade inaugurate
the movement to enlist the assistance of the
business men of the north to defeat the bill!
There is no doubt that the course of the
representative trade bodies of Savannah
would be followed by the trade bodies of
other cities If the southern people were to
protest vigorously against the bill through
their trade organizations, there are good
reasons for thinking that there would be
hearty responses from the business
men of the north. The southern
people make a mistake in maintaining 81
lence with respect to matter so vital to
their interests. Their silence is construed
as indicating that they don't care whether
the bill becomes law or not. They ought
to act promptly and vigorously. In little
while it may be too late to do anything to
defeat the bill. If they fail to do what
they can to defeat it they may have cause
to regret their inactivity and indifference.
Some of the ablest lawyers of the country
regard the bill as unconstitutional. The re-
publicans are determined to pass it whether
it is unconstitutional or not Before the
question of its constitutionality could be
tested in the federal supreme court great
deal of harm would be done by it. But
there are other and stronger reasons
why the bill should be de-
feated 1t is partisan scheme
to keep the republican party
in power, and its provisions are of a charac-
ter that would create the bitterest kind of
feeling among the people. 1t would drag the
courts into politics and make them par tisian
tribunals, and it would introduce spy sys-
TEN to which the people would never quietly
submit. 1t would be productive of prose
cutlous before packed juries, and such
prosecutions would provoke resist
ance. 1t would arouse sectional
feeling and strengthen race prejudice. It
would bring about n condition of affairs
that would make industrial progress i'm
possible and bring business enterprises to
standstill.
And this iniquitous bill, that has for its
object the retention of the control of the
government by the Republican party,
may become a law. Should any eff
forts to defeat it be spared? Are
not the people of the south sufficiently
apprehensive of the deplorable consequences
that would follow its passage to DO what
they can to obstruct it, They certainly
ought to be, and they should act at once.
The longer they delay the less effective
would be their protest and their appeal to
business men of the north.