The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-11-12
New YOrk Sun.I

cessfal, will pass force bill, !s thor
ou2hly exposed il the November mum
Der Of the Forum. BY cogent array
Of facts and figures Mr.. Edward I.
Clark demonstrates now, from the date
OF The repeal Of the Federal election
laws, the South, once solid, began TO
dissolve, and how the Republicans
themselves, Impressed with the rapidly
o! the disso!v.n3 process, have this year
rcyudia.ed in their national and SAFE
Conventions the.! former policy Of III
reference with the ballot box.
It is a memorable fact that scarcely
had the Republicans passed the origi-
ma! election laws in order TO gain an
unsuitable control OF the South when
that section escaped from their grasp.
They never subsequently started a
movement fDr 4 force bill without in
jury 10 their o*n party. If General
Harrison was beaten IN 1892 It was
largely because he pcfsonihed the force
bill policy. On the other hand the very
first election after Tie repeal Of the
Federal election laws brought Repub
lican Victories IN several Of the South
eTn States which the Democrats them
selves admitted we're due II their loss
Of thcjr Old ra!lyIng cry, whereby, 50
long as force bill vas threatened,
they had always been able 10 weld the
whites together. All the statutes that
gave The general government power to
interfere with e!ccllons in the States
were swept away IN February, 1891.
HE effect WAS plainly visible in the
elections Of the following November.
Tic Republicans carried Missouri for
tie frs, iime since 1869, in which year
many thousands Of Democrats were
still tistranchiscd. They carried Ten
nessce for the first time since recon
s;ruction days except once when
Democratic split gave them victory,
their candidate f)r Governor having a
small majority Of the votes cast, al
though a Democratic Legislature re-
fused to sea! him. The Republicans also
sweep all The Congressional districts
in West Virginia, which had been
Democratic for more than twenty years.
| Moreover, with the help Of the Popu
lists they carried the State ticket and
the Legislature il North Carolina
against the Democrats for the first time
since the reconstruction era. The most
amazing proof, however, Of the effect
produced by the disappearance OF III.
force bill from politics was furnished
by the fact that the Republicans in
49,! returned from the South more
than twice rs many members to the
House # Representatives as the Demo
Gratis we're able to send from tie whole
| North.
Another tWelvemonth showed still
more clearly the change in political
! Conditions wrought by the elimination
OF lhc stctiona! issue. Maryland and
Kentucky had been slave states aud
isfe%lbly opposed tie party which
2b s'l@hed slavery, 50 long as any trace
q; nc slavery issue remained IN the
Federal election laws. In 1895, On
the oil her hand, each OF these ':sure
| Democratic States elected q RepuJ
lean Governor by = substantial ma
| iority Of The heaviest .Ote ever boiled.
NJ dotb. ;he panic Of 1898 contrib
uttd to the over;urnIug Of these South
ern States. Bat Mr. Clark is unQues-
tionably right in declaring that this
reaction alone would not have given
the Republicans the victory if the Old
slavery issue had enabled the Demo
Gratis to draw the race line IS sharply
and as tightly as before. In both
Maryland and kentucky last year Re-
publican Governors were elected only
by the help of many thousands Of men
who previously had always voted for
the Democratic candidates. The rea-
son why Democrats last year vo.ed &C
COIdlng TO their convictions on the f.
nanclal question instead Of standing
together N the race and sectional is
sues, which had grown out of slavery
Was that * the Federal cleo
lion laws had been repealed, and
a force bill was no longer threat
ened.
50 mach for the effect of the e.imi-
nation Of the force bill issue on South
ern Democrats. MIR. Clarl, brings out
with equal CleaIness the effect upon
the Republicans. The first indication
of the changed attitude Of the Replb-
lIcan party was afforded only few
weeks after the passage of the repeal
measure, when the Republican con-
gresSIonai convention IN the fourteenth
Missouri district adopted a platform
endorsing the action OF Congress on this
platform the Republicans carried the
district then represented by Democrat.
BY December, 1894, the drift of party
sentiment toward aCQuiesCenCe in the
repeal, and even toward a hearty wei
come OF It, had become SO strong that
4 Republican Congressman from New
Eng gland, who had himself voted f1r
the force bill o! 1890, declared that
"there Will no; be three men IN the
next Congress Il d. not believe there
will be one) who will any sooner pro-
pose 10 enact any kind Of a rational
election law than they would propose
70 pu; the national troops At thu points
IN the South from which they were re-
moved by President Hayes III 1677.'
The forecast was Justified by The event.
In spite OF the overwhelming majority
possessed by the Republicans IN the
present House OF Representatives, no,
single voice has been raised in favor
) Of enacting new election law to take
the place OF those repealed. The Is
sue thus tacitiy rec gnized as dead
} has been formally buried by the
action OF the HenuhIjran r,,rtv ,hi-