The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-06-16

southern situation. There is no luminosity
toward the Union ut present, no tens them.
among Soutuern people. NOT ope DEMO
cra,s in ten thousand In the South harbors.n
he saws. any resentment agains, ,ne United
States There Is no reason pef'a'nalIk W "ar
issues why Southern whites sn'u aaso o ', n.
Democrats" There Is every renson-apart
from Ranublican policy since ls6o-wny they
sLorld ba Divided as Northern whites are
d;v;Jsd into Republicans and Democrats. As
late "A 1850 Virginia and 1enneseee casl lheir
electoral votes against the Democia..o cauui-
da,a Wings. FederaIists. &c, up 70 recon-
strnct;on times. We'd with Democrats IN these
and other Southern States for political con-
tro, What then. fused the discordant ele-
nents into such mass OF democracy that 1t
seems useless 10 attempt to break IL up
Mr. Wise answers the question; ~ WIS, ne
saws. "a course OF Idiotlc legisia',on. no"
known az ''reconstructiOn. when began by
..rvithholding the suffrage from all the whites
and threatening 10 give it TO ell the blacks"
Tine ali white citizens Of the South were
driven into opposition through resentment
andifear.p Had the Republican leaders been
wise they would. Mr.. Wise says nave re,
served the question of negro suffrage and
nernitted the old Wing aud DEMOCRATIC eie-
rnents . who-he tells us-"cordialiy hated
each other - 10 renew their war upon each
other In that case, when negro suffrage
came. the negro vote would have oeen d.
vided between the two. parties. ana tnere
would have been a substantial eiement OF
whites in both parties" 49,
But nothing like this happened. The
whites were disfranchissd. The state gov
eruments were turned over TO utterly ire
sponsible whites and negroes" Inc result
was the union OF federaslsts States-rghis
men Wings Know-nothings and Democrats
into a party which professed no tenet save
the purpose TO assert and maintain white SUI
ureuacy.n This nOndescript combination
afterward assumed the name OF democracy
and found friend and protector IN tue De-
mocracy of the North.
The fear of a renewal of negro supremacy
is Mr.. Wise AYERS, the sole tie of the solid
south. That fear cOmpels all who identity
themselves with Southern interests to vote
the Democratic ticket Now and then there
Is bolt. like the Readjuster movement In
Virginia or the Alliance movement In South
Carolina. but the memory or reconstruction.
fortified by race prejudice, steadily works,
like the law OF gravltation, 10 orlng every
thing back 10 the starting point Even good
Republicans from the North who go South 10
live. in a few years. says Mr. Wise, desert
their party and vote the Democratic ticket on
national as we'll rs State and county issues.
There is no chance. he tells us, for hepuD-
lican success in any Southern state.
The Force bill Is the partys plan for carry
ing the South. but Dir. Wise has no faith in Il.
Force bills he says. cannot reach II. To
carry out force bill would require the pres
ence of enough honest republicans from other
places to imperl the republican maIorities
there AS for the Harrison administration.
Mr.. Wise saws it has inflicted deadly stabs"
upon repubicanism in the South. The pres
ent ADMINISTRATION, he SAYS, is beyond com
parison the most sectional administration that
has ever been in power. The South IS no
more part of it than Hayti." The party and
tie President. il seems. are wholly wrong in
their attitude to the South. The wonder is
how MIR. Wise with full knowledge Of the
facts, manages to continue republican: