Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-04-28
BOOM, BOOMERANG
REED LAUNCHES HIS LITTLE PRESIDENTIAL
CRAFT
On a Stormy Sea-His Speech at Pittsburg De-
signed 70 Form Sentiment for Himself
He Declares in Favor Of a Fed
eral Election Law.

/ forefront OF human progress, TO have |
been followers Of Abraham Lincoln in |
the years gone by is not an honor, but |
burning disgrace. Progress is Of the |
essence of Repubicanism. To have |
met great emergencies rs they arose /
| has been our history. To meet emcrg |
encies as the shall arise must be our |
daily walk and duty, or We cease TO be. |
| Hanging unto old traditions is the bust |
ness of the Democratic party, and IL /
does that business well: we can never |
rival il.
have not for years been of those who |
| have talked about the South. |
| heard me, I'm the House, or in the cam |
paign discourse upon either outrages or
wrongs. murders shoOtingS or hangings. |
| My silence did not arise from any APP |
proval of murder. of terrorism, or fraud !
at elections. 1t did not arise from any
/ ignorance of facts. or any doubts Of the
great wrongs which are perpetrated
against government by the people. Tn
Ill they were aroused, any efforts Of ours
would be utterly in vain. I'm fact, poll
ticianS are only eleventh hour men.
They are worthy OF their penny, but
they never bear the burden and heat Of
the day. II they cry aloud before their
hour. they only turn back the shado|
ON the dial.
THE TRIALS OF THE SOUTH
1t is known to everybody that the
South denies that cheating is part and
parcel of their elections. 1t is equally
known TO everybody that that denial is
not true. The South has passed through
many stages The Ku KluX first EN-
ploycd its midnight terrorS to intimidatc
voters. Then came the midnight shoot
ings and haugingS; and then the bull
doing and driving OF the negro politi-
clans into the woods. in the darkness Of
the night. At present the murders have
mostly passed away, and the terrOrzing
and the midnight maraudcrS, ballot
box stufling and cheating in the count
have taken their places. Throughout
all this variety Of wickcdneSS, / call
upon you to note one singular fact, that
while it existed every one OF these crimes
against the Government was most sol
EMMY denied by Southern press and
Southern people. No man denies them
to-day.
Let MS come at some principles which
are fundamental I'm this matter. \ ne
gro is citizen of the United States.
He has just as much right to vote and
have his vote counted as anybody on
earth. That he Is poor and ignorant
does not. under the Constitution. put
upon his neck the foot Of riches or Of
intelligence. Manhood. and not riches
manhood, and not learning, is the ba-
sis of our Government. We would like
all our citizens To be learned; we wish
they were all rich; but until they be-
come both we will take the average Of
all of them as they are. Nothing less
than that would be government "by the
people
JUSTIFIED WHILE DENIED.
While the South denies the frauds in
elections, the cheatings and ballot-bOX
Stufings, Singularly enough they Justi-
fy them. Why they defend them if they
don't happen. You dannot understand on
the principles of logic, but You can ON
the principles of lying. The defense is
that otherwise the white race would bee
dominated by ignorance. That defense
may do for Mississippi. but il will not
do for the United States. In MiSSiSSip- /
pi the blacks are the more numerous. /
! I'm the United States they are but a /
/ handful. II, in the Congressional dis |
| tricts where they are in the majority. /
/ they should combine and send one of /
/ their own coler. they could only muster /
/ 30 ont of 43O. When. therefore, any .
Southern gentleman, however eloquent, /
scizes ON your race feeling, proclaimS /
L.. ..f l.
/ ems your sympathy for his misgoyern- .
ment. do not for an instant forget that .
| all that has nothing To- do with Federal .
elections II Mississippi be IN danger /
/ OF ignorant domination, the United /
| States is not,
If cheating at the polls be only pious /
/ fraud i'm South Carolina, eXcuSable be- |
cause the white man is superior in in /
| tellcct though inferior in numbers, there /
can be no such an excuse in the elec- .
| tions where the white man, with his SUI .
perior intellect, is superior in numbers .
/ also. I'm other words. the excuse. /
whether it be- bad or good, for cheating .
at State elections cannot be spread be-
yond State elections. When a Federal /
election is held il has nothing to do /
with State government. but becomes .
part and parcel Of the Government OF /
/ the United States at large, where there
/ is no possibility of negro domination,
/ ignorant or otherwise.
ENTITLED TO IT AND NEED IT.
The Republican vote of the South, the
Republican party is entitled to it, under
| the Constitution. whether that vote be
ignorant or sensible. If ignorant, we
need 10 10 offset the Democratic igno-
rance which votes in New York and .
other large cities. Why should they
poll their ignorance, and we not poll
ours? What is the remedy? When,
last Thursday, in the Senate. the COM
mittcc I'm charge reported an enlarge
meut of the powers and uses Of the
United States supervisors Of State elec-
tions. the Senator from Alabama took
the uuusal course OF declaring. then and
there, that such supervision OF the State
elections was unconstitutional. and
would lead 10 bloodshcd and murder.
and would be resisted by all the possi-
ble parliamentary tactics.
What, then. Is the remedy? ! speak
only for myself What | say binds no.
body but me. and not even me. II the
Republican party prefers another pol
icy: but. speaking for myself, IL seems
10 me that the only wise course is %
take into Federal hands the Fedora
elections. Let MS cut loose from the
state elections. do our own registration.
our own counting and our own certiiica-
tion. Then the nation will be satisfied.
Against this course no constitutional
objection can be urged. The Narbor-
ourh case. "a decision OF the Supreme
Court. covers it all over. No objection
can be- urged against 10 on account OF
sectionaliSm. II applies North and
South. East and West. II will pm. an
end 10 an chickering's. The Southern
states will then by themselves grappie
with the problem OF whether any
State Of a republic can permanently
enthrone injustice. Freed from all
right Of Interference except moral and
advisory from the North. within their
own borders. and within the limits OF
their own State rights, they will have
what they have longed fOr-the power
to work out their own peculiar prob
lem themselves and ! venture the
prophecy. as / sincerely entertain the
hope. that the relief from outside pres
sure will break down the race issue,
and as the Southern people divide, not
ON the color issue but on the questions