New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-06
4 SOTTHERN RENAISSANCE.

Seldom I'm politicnl affairs has there been
marc striking cxcmplifica;ion OF the great truth
,hot ",be wages of sin IL death" than some OF
,ho Southern states now afford. Twenty years
AGO or more a system OF electoral rascal,ty was
established The alleged causes which lea 10
II. and the alleged objects for when " was or
ganlzcd. need not now be discussed Ih"y 90
not alter the facts. In nearly dozen STATES
elections were made farce by either force OF
fraud In one the vote Of one party was sW"i'u
To- a fraudulent majority by th" use OF tissue
ballots In another one party was made 10 ap-
near In a minority by wholesale suppression OF
votes In q third the shotgun was supreme
Each had It's own plan. bu, all tended to the
same end til, slibvcrsiOn of the basic principle
81 popular government.
There were those. perhaps. who vanly imag-
incI that such things could DO done with I'm
puniy: that an honest government could De
secured by systematic dishonesty N the polls;
that force and fraud could be practlsed year
after year without dcmorallzing and debauch-
!ng the public conscience; that men could corl-
nit pcrlmry and theft and murder and yet be
good citizens II 50. they must long since have
been undccclvcd The seed Of scoundrcsm
soon bore its inevitable fruit. The men who had
l.a.r.-l themselves together to do such gross In
Justice 10 others soon took 10 quirrelllng over
the spells ~ their ncflrious victory, and began
practising against each other the very acts they
had together practlscl against another party.
II WAS only natural Thieves have a habit Of
falling out
Worse still. II possible spirit OF dlstrust, in
difference and disgust took possession OF the
masses Of the people. Having seen elections
so often carried by corrupt means. they lost all
interest in them There was no use In voting
when votes counted for nothing. 50 1t came to
pass that the number OF aetna! voters dwindled
10 half or less than half the number OF qualified
electors In the States Thus In Arkansas the
voting population * 2SO.oO0; but at the las;
state election the total poll was only 12Gooo
and the entire Congressional delegation was
elected last yea by less than 10000 votes. In
the whole State Of Mississippi 10000 votes Of
all parties make n good poll. In Alabama the
situation IS as bad. In South Carolina. with
unspcakable cynicsm. n scheme of electoral dis
honesty has been formally embodied In the Con
si,uiion. In all these and In other States the
sin Of electoral corruption resulted In the death
OF political honesty and Of popular government
But from even such death there Is resurrec-
ton Even now the lcavcn Of a new life is here
Manning. of Alabama. which we published on
Friday show what influences are now moving
In the South The people have come TO that
the evil deeds OF the last twenty years have re-
tarcl the material prosperity Of the South as
well as depravci its government: The argument
for reform appeals TO the pocket as well as TO
the conscience. There Is but one issue In the
South to-day" says Mr. Manning. that of hon
est elections That Is quite true. What IL the
use Of voting for sound money. FOR protective
tariff, for the Monroe Doctrine. or for anything
else. II the votes are not to be honestly counted
That Is the consideration which IL coming home
with Irresistible power to the people Of the
South. and. II present indications he not de-
ccptlve. the people propose 10 act upon 1t and
TO make n heroic effort for dellverance from the
body OF political decay and death which has
been fastened upon them.