The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-07-27
TALK ABOUT THE FORCE BILL.
what a Prominent Southern Republican
Told the President.

What Prominent Southern Republican
Told the President.
One of the best-known Republicans in the
South-a man of large interests, formerly
member of Congress-was In Washington
couple of days ago. He called at the White
House to see the President, and during his con-
versation with Mr.. Harrison the latter remarked
that he understood the gentleman was to be
candidate for Congress again this fall The
gentleman said no, he had no such intention.
"Why," the President said, 81 was told that
you intended to run no later than last week"
"WeH, had made up my mind to do so
few weeks ago, but have since abandoned my
intention" The President expressed regret,
and inquired the cause of the Southern mans
change in plans. The gentleman answered
that the change had been brought about by the
agitation over the prospect of the passage of
the Federal Election law. "If that law is
passed" he frankly told the President, az am
convinced that there is no chance whatever for
the election of a Republican in the South
this fall. The sudden and rapid growth
of the Farmers Alliance movement in several
of the Southern States gave the Republicans
great hopes for a time. The Democrats were
becoming badly split up, and we saw a chance
to make big gains But as soon as the Federal
Election law agitation began the Democrats
drew together again, and so much feeling had
already been developed in the South that no
Republican will have much of chance of elec-
tion. The South will be more solid than ever
If the bill is passed no Farmers Alliance move
ment or anything else will keep the Democrats
apart" The President was evidently unpre-
pared for anything of this kind, and did not seem
disposed to prolong the conversation This gen
tleman said afterward, in conversation
with HERALD reporter, that there had
not been 30 much bitterness of feeling
in the South in his recollection since
the terrible times Just preceding the war
Already the agitation had turned mems minds
from the widespread schemes of commercial
and industrial development to which they had
been so energetcally devoting themselves for
the last five years, and had filled them with re-
newed distrust of the North and with the old
hatred OF the very name OF Republican.
"A washington gentleman who has been
largely interested in various extensive schemes
of Southern development corroborates in the
strongest manner the truth of what the South
ern X-Congressman says. The Washington
man has had hand in many of the negotia-
tions for the purchase of large tracts of South
ern lands In which millions of Northern capital
have been invested in the last five years in the
founding of new Southern mining and manu-
featuring enterprises, and generally he has done
much to help along the extraordinary boom
which the South has enjoyed of late. Speak
ing of the agitation over the Force bill the other
day, he said: 1--WE business men feel more keenly
than people generally the bad effects of this
new attempt to coerce the South. Already
there has been an arrest of activity in South
ern business circles, while the immense
stream OF Northern capital which was
pouring into the South few weeks ago seems
to have been suddenly frozen. Capitalists fear
that investments in the South will be seriously
jeopardized in the era of bad blood which is
sure to follow the passage of the Force bill, and
they have suddenly drawn off to await develop
ments. For the time being the movement of
capital toward the South is paralyzed. We can
do nothing in the direction of developing new
enterprises, and many negotiations in which we
were engaged have been practically broken off.
| have known that
dertook to do to have such sudden and marked
effect on business as this attempt to pass Fed
eral Election law has had. 1t is outrageous that
immense business interests should be jeopar-
dized by lot of desperate politicians who seem
to care for nothing but their own aggrandize-
ment.n