Evening journal., 1890-06-03
NEWSPAPER OPINION.
A Federnl EIectInn Lnm
Philadelphia Telegraph.

I'uiitutlpAAh AfttEIdpu.
Hon. S. $ Clarkson, First Assistant
Postmaster. General Of tbs United States,
has bout accomplished the wolk which
he was appointed TO do by tho present
administration-whic was that Of turn.
ing out all the Democratic postmasters
and giving Republicans their places, and
is now turning his attention to stump.
speaking Mr. Clarlson is frank. honest
man he Is no civil service reformer he
is practical politician; he devoutly be-
lieves that TO the victors belong the
official spoils, and on every occasion that
titly presents itself be bluntly
says so. bis politics is prac
tical through and through; and be not
only wants the spoils for tue victors
but he wants Federal Election law
which shall place the polls Of every
Southern state under the control ot
Federal canvassers, assessors inspectors
judges and returning boards. II these
should not be sufficient to induce the
Solid South to dissolve and give electoral
votes to his party, then he insists that
they shall be reinforced by United States
marshals and United States troops. Mr.
Chrkson insists that all elections shall
be fair, as they were in the South under
the Reconstruction laws, when the moral
agents were present at every poll
In the form Of bayonets. He demands
that in defence OF the purity Of the ballot
aud Of the sacred right of franchise, those
good old reconstruction methods and
times shall be revived. and that no votes
shall be cast in the Southern country,
except under drawn sword Then, and
then only, says this unselfsh patriot,
whose patriotism is pure and undefled,
will the colored voter have his rights as
citizen conceded him.
Possibly Mr.. Clarkson is right, but how
about the white citizen in those states of
the South in which colored brethren SO
greatly outnumherei him2 Does Mr..
Clarkson and his friends really desire
that they shall be subjected to the restor-
alton of the rule of the dense ignora ace
and venality which prevailed in South
Carolina before, during, and after the ad-
ministration of Governor Moses? There
are two sides to this question and Mr..
Clarkson and those OF his sort see only
one of them. In the natural order
OF things the highest intelligence
will rule. From the beginning Of
the world, in every country, among all
peoples, it has done IT, Those who ad
yocate Federal Election Law, which
shall make raoid partisans the presiding
spirits Of every Southern election. pro-
pose to make the lowest intelligence
rule; to place ignorance on top and edu
cation under That is little thing to
do, unwise and disastrous as must be- its
results, only provided that it Yields
electoral votes enough to always keep
Mr.. Clarkson's party in power. But
apart from the justice or injustice
OF the plan it is not desirable that any
one party shall by such unnatural means
so intrench itself in control OF the
national government as to make 1t i'm
possible for the majority Of the people to
disl0dge it. 1t is notorious that political
parties which obtain permanent control
Of government grow reckless Of and in
different to the public welfare; that they
grow corrupt and extravagant; that they
pay no heed to the country's interests.
and are mindful solely Of their own in.
The people cannot afford to permit the
practical politicians to make laws which
will give them control of the govern.
ment in perpetuity. 1t wants TO have
power, even If IL does not choose to exer-
else it, Of turning any party. Republican
or Democratic, out so soon as it becomes
unworthy OF commence. Inc proposed
Federal Election law which MIR. Clarkson
and his associates want. is intended to
prevent the people turning out the party
that enacts It, That would be a
much worse thing, if 1t were accom-
plished, than keeping ignorance from
the polls As matter OF fact, the col
ored man of the South is getting his
political rights. If they are coming to
him slowly they are coming to him none
the less surely. just as rapidly as he is
educating himself to have little under
standing Of the duties OF citizenship, he
Is successfully asserting his right to
citizenship. As he rises ia the scale OF in.
telligence and usefulness as a citizen. his
rights as a citizen cannot be and are not
denied him. In several Of the Southern
States the colored man votes as freely
aud has his vote counted as surely as
does the white man. In the fulIness OF
time they will all vote as freely, but It is
doubted il Federal Election law would
hasten the time, or that IL It did, the
country would be the better for it. There
Is something in the rule Of intelligence
that cannot be safely disregared Ii the
direction Of the rule Of ignorance ruin
generally lies