The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-11-29
The Solid South
New York Tribune.

New York Tribune.)
There is no longer a Solid South"
in the old sense, neither subjectively
nor objectively. neither in fact nor in
sentiment. That part OF Il COMMON
country no longer feels nor acts "a
a unit agains any other part. and no
other part regards Il as so doing. All
such sectional feelings are dead and
buried beyond resurrection. The south
is no longer singular in any official
discrimination; for ono again her sons
are admitted TO all places In civil and
military life. and even some Of those
who. after putting on the blue at West
Point, cast IL of and put on the gray.
are wearing the blue again Is COM
handing generals in the federal army.
Nor, finally. as several years past have
shown and last week has again re
minded us. is the south solid in it~
representations in congress. Some 80
Its states are. as indeed some stat
are in the north and west. But some
them have almost entirely detach-I
themselves from the rest politically.
while several theirs now send divided
delegations 10 the capital. With Joe
Wheeler and ~F1tzhuEh Lee signing
themselves K. :. a" and republicans
in congress from Delaware, Maryland.
West Virginia. Kentucky, Tennessee.
Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.
the Solid outh" becomes a memory
OF the past.
II is time. then. for all the states of
the south - consider whether they are
what they are, politically, from free
and honest conviction or from some
lingering tradition 81 loyalty to the
once solid section. We do not pre-
CYl ~. IN a ~ NtHA ia. -
for the states in question themselves
10 do. II Georgia and Mississippi have
as free and fair elections as Vermont
and Maine, they have as perfect "a
right TO be solidly democratic as Yer
mont and Maine have II br solidly re-
publican. More han that. II their vot-
crS, or "A majority OF them. are demo
Gratis from conviction, regardless &C
geographical situation. we hny, no
quarrel with them FOR II any more
than with the voters OF Vermont and
Maine for beings republicans. except
that We should prefer them Ia b" re-
publiCans because We believe rvpub-
liCanism to be better than democrat
cy. But II IL be-we do not say 1t is
that they or any OF the them are dem
ocrats simply because they mr." south
erners and because ~ a notion that
all southerners ought TO ho democrats.
then we protest against IL as Illogical
and detrimental to their own inter
csts, just as we should dcplorc "A mans
having no better reason for being "A
republican than that he lived In Maine
or Ncrmant. such a man as the latter
would be OF no value TO tn" party cN-
cept as the mechanical caster Of one
vote: and such men as the former. IN
there be any, are OF no real value to
the political welfare OF the states in
which they live.
We make these suggestions in inqui-
ny not in any spirit OF Ccnsoriousncss
or carping. They have already been
made by representative democrats OF
the south. We make them because
they seem pertinent and because we
believe the best interests ~ the south
ern states and of the nation viii be
promoted by having them answered
to the satisfaction Of the whole ma
ton. We do not want sectional poll
tics. We do not want men To be re
publiCanS because they liV" in one
part OF the country, or to bc demo
Gratis simply because they live In an
other part Of the country. In the early
part OF this century and down to the
middle Of it there were whig states ia
the south, as there were democratic
states in the north, and there was no
divisional line between them. II viii
be OF good omen for the republic IT
the end of the century shall see "A re
turn to those conditions. to tn" align
ment OF political parties according to
principle and belief, and not according
to geographical situation.