The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1891-08-19
THE SOUTH UNDER HARRISON.
Republicanism Killed by the Present Ad.
minstration.

lhiuistFNtiOns
Taking the figures of 1883, an able
statistician in Kansas has figured out
surprising increase of republican
strength in the southern states, and
his statistics are finding wide circu-
lation in our republican contempora-
ries, who find comfort in graveyard
whistling
The figures are all right, but it is q
characteristic republican habit to go
wrong on right figures.
The trouble in this case is that the
statistics are compiled from the re-
turns of the election of 1858 The coun-
try then knew little or nothing about
Nj. Harrison and did not dream of
such a revival of the radicalism of the
reconstruction epoch as it has seen
under his administration in the plutoc-
racy of the Mckinley bill; or the
shameless fraud of the bullion pur-
chase swindle for the characterization
of silver, and in the bitter malignancy
of the force bill, using sectional hate
against the southern states as a pretext
for putting the control of congressional
elections in the hands of clique of
politicians in office in the District of
Columbia.
The carnival of corruption during
the reconstruction epoch made it inn
possible for any disinterested and in
tel]igent person residing in the south
to be republican With the lapse of
years this was beginning to change.
The people of the southern states are
attached to the theory of rotation in Of
ice. They grew restless under the
]ong-continued control of one party in
their state affairs. They wished
change. Under the Cleveland adminstra-
ton they began to believe they could
risk a change without danger. With a
democrat like Cleveland or such re-
publican as Arthur in the white house,
they were in danger of concluding that,
mere ly for the sake of change, they
could venture on putting republicans in
office without the danger of having
them kept there indefinitely by repub-
lican force and fraud.
The Harrison administration has
shown them how gravely they were
mistaken. 1t has convinced them that
the republican party can never be safe
ly trusted with such power as will al
low it to follow it's bent and demon
strate it's real meaning. Under the
Harrison administration, the prosper
ity of the south has been attacked; the
attempt has been made to violently
subject it politically, and it's agricul-
tural interests, in common with those
of the west, have been ruthlessly sac
rificed to the plutocracy. AS a result
republicanism in the south is dead.
There may be some few white repub-
leans left, the majority of them in the
Businesses of the mountains and in re-
mote backwoods where little or moth
ing is known of the outside world. But
there are not enough OF them anywhere
to make even the nucleus of an effective
republican organization in support of
such republicanism as that of Reed and
Harrison, Dudley and Quay, Wanna
maker and Bardsley, Chandler and
Lodge.
The entire country has reacted
strongly against the radicalism and
plutocracy of the republican party ,un-
der Harrison, and as the southern
states have been most fiercely attacked,
most seriously threatened by it, the re-
action has naturally been strongest
there. If the democratic party were to
disband Tomorrow the republican par
IT, would still be unable to carry a
single southern state in 1s93.-St.
Louis Republic.