The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-07-15
TWO SOURCES or COMPLAINT.
Calm Survey of Causes Which Wrought
 the Chicnnn PIntRnrun

Calm Survey of Causes Which Wrought | the Chicago Platform.
 TO the Editor Of tho JOURNAL AND COURIER
 The action of the Chicago convention will open the eyes of those who have hitherto supposed that the south had forgotten the war of the rebellion; had accepted its results and had outlived the disappointments and the animosi- ties of the conflict The Chicago plat form is senseless from Q political and economic point of view, but it is terri bly, ominous as a revelation of the con | tinuing existence of bitter southern hatred. The extremists of the south, backed by their new allies of the eX- treme west, dare once more to upllft their rebellious head, to show it's cruel fangs and to dart its venomed tongue The platform is as senseless as the out cry ot an angry child, but as dreadful as the howl of a hungry hyena; ''16 to + is meaningless shibboleth seized by fanatics to express their rage. Any l other inane War-cry would serve their purpose equally well.
 If the action at Chicago be declara- tlon of war; a preliminary of hostili- ties, force must be met by force, nor must the advantage of the aggres- l sive be neglected as 1t was neg lected in 1860. Treason plotting must l be met sumnarily and immediately. It is nevertheless not out of place to < inquire into the reasons for this strange union between south and west; for action must proceed from absolute justice. If there be any ground how ever weak; any cause, however faint, 1 for an uprising against constituted au- thorities and we'll established princi- pies, let them be exposed and let the proper remedy be offered
 A calm survey of political legislative history since the war shows two sources of legitimate irritation still ex- ] isting, one of which affects west and south alike; the other affects the south more particularly. The two are the pension laws and the national banking system. The national banking system deprives the poorer states of cheap money, as they call it, and naturally administers to their hostility to the richer states where money is plenty. The pension laws, so far as the south is concerned, are tax on the con- quered for the benefit of the conquer ors. The north receives back it's part of the general tribute as it is distribu- ted among its heroes. To the south there is no return The yoke is to the last degree galling, degrading, insult ing, hated. The far western states, ad- mitted to the Union since the war, nat urally sympathize with the south in the matter; for the issue was settled before they were born and they cannot under stand why legitimate obligations to veterans were not fully discharged years ago. The south had a perfect right to expect that the pension bur- dens would gradually disappear, and would soon be so lessened as to cease to be a humiliating reminder of defeat. But, instead of diminishing. they have grown. Whenever by natural causes the army of pensioners has shown signs of dwindling, new laws have been passed increasing the scope of the sys- tenn, refilling the ranks, even increas- ing the force, as if to perpetuate the barrier between the north and the south; between conquerors and con- quered. Thirty odd years have passed without relief Put yourself in the place of the southerner; imagine your native state still bound to the tail board of a conqueror's chariot; your self taxed to the uttermost without re- turn to support the conquerors retin- ue; the sharp bangs of defeat pressed deeper into your impoverished soul! Would you not welcome any extended hand of help? Would you not grasp 1t though the hand of an anarchist and gloved with treason? This to the staid and stolid northerner may appear an exaggerated and an imaginative pie ture, but our southern brother is man of deep affections, vivid imagfnings and rapid impulses; and it is the first duty of a gentleman to look at his brother from his brothers point of view.
 Examine thelquestion as you may; dissect it; ponder it; debate it; there is but one conclusion and that is that the United States cannot be once more uni ted states till the pension laws are re- pealed and the care of veterans re- turned to the states from which they volunteered and where the honor of their pensioning constitutionally be- longs.
 The national banking system is a , more general cause of irritation than the pension system because it's effect is more immediate and can be more clear Iy traced. The south and the far west are the chief sufferers and can fully ] sympathize with each other. The na-