The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-02-23
The Messenger.
SUGGESTED BY KENTUCKY CON
DTTIONS.

No doubt many lessons of instruc-
ton and warning may be draw
from the very unfortunate conditions
that exist now. and have existed for
some weeks in Kentucky Kentucky
lies along the Ohio river. and Louisville
is only separated from that extreme
northern state by the river named. In
the war il did not furnish many troops
for the south, and probably gave more
assistance to the Federals. But be
this as * may il has been badly mixed
in It's politics and much afflicted with
politicians of very doubtful stamp like
Buckner, Breckenridge. h nan of
lust, and many others. The republi-
cans have succeeded in capturing the
state more than once. In the last con-
test il is difficult to determine who was
elected governor There was no little
fraud probably. Taylor is the governor
by count by some 1000 majority. The
legislature is of another mind. A COM
mittee appointed to inquire into the
matter reported in favor of William
Goebel, a very able man. The legis-
lature it is charged was not properly
constituted to elect Goebel, as it is al
legged that senators were unseated to
give the Goebel men the control. The
day Goebel was shot was the day for
deciding in his favor. He was killed by
either Taylor's special agent employed
to do the damning, bloody work, or he
was assassinated by one of the many
Of Taylor's emissaries-
The probability is that republicans
were just as corrupt and rcsorted as
freely to frauds as did the men who OPP
posed their man Taylor. The violence,
the utter lawlessness, the anarchic
proclamations Of hat fellow show the
n OF man he is. and that he is a
man of desperation, of greed. of lawless
nature, an usurpeT at bottom. n
ready to bring on a wal in his
own state if to compass his plans It
should be deemed necessary. Kentucky
in its early history was known as the
The Bloody oun 1t has been a
state OF violence all along, and has
more men who shoot and murder than
any other state. That there is a Ia
mentable condition existing no one can
doubt in view of recent events. The
government of the people does not ex-
list there at present. We agree with
the Charlotte Presbyterian Standard in
this view, and it is forcefully put:
The three great enemies of a free
government, are fraud, bribery and vio-
lence- The standing temptation to
fraud, bribery and violence is an ig-
norant, venal and cowardly vote. No
body that knows the character
can tr~uthfully say that he has the in
telfiSence, the moral stamina or the
courage that 40 to make capacity for
Self-government. The wrongs that
nave been lone in Kentucky by both
political parties are beyond defence or
conformation of any kind. But the
wrong that has been the fruitful source
Of these political evils was the con-
ferring of the suffrage upon n class to-
tally unfit to exercise it.
Does any n believe that if the 3d.
900 negro voters, one-third of their
party, had possessed either the intelli-
sence or the courage of those noun
Saineer that came to Frankfort with
their Winchesters, the verdict at the
polls would haVe been questioned?
If, therefore. the small proportion of
negro voters in Kentucky are a men
ace, what of the larger proportion in
the other southern states? And if our
civilization is to be preserved, the
manhood of the south to be freed from
the degrading influences of corrupt pol
tiles, is it not a prime duty to eliminate
that vote by some law that shall put a
premium upon Intelligence
and the courage which is ready when
necessary to back the ballot with the
bullet in open war? 1t is the only safe
guard in a republic against civil war"
.1 -4tal fh@ foot
that in most states in the union the
dearth of truly able men is d~eplorable
and marked. Very few men are in the
federal congress from the north rise
above third grade if you take h great
congresses of the past as the standard
by which to grade. North Carolina
once had in the ngres able. influ-
entail, famous men known around the
whole land. There were such men as
Macon, CASTOR Badger, Graham,
Bragg. Clingman, Vance. Rayner. Ed
ward Stanly, r. NJ. Saunders, Venable,
and many others. The sees
the decay and the day of small men"
IN public office or seeking public office.
In the south it would be difficult to
name men to measure up to the high
standard that nee prevailed-with the
leaders in Virginia-with Calhoun and
McDuffie and W. c. Preston and j. l..
Petigru, and BARREN and Cobb and
Benjamin and Crittenden and Polk and
n score of others who might be named.
The Standard recognizes the decadence,
and says this with a ~saddened interest:
mo man who loves the south and her
highest interests can fail to mourn the
dearth of southern statesmen today.
Where are the men that could rank
with jefferson and Madison and RAN
doiph and Clay and Calhoun and Ben
ton and Andrew Jackson and Davis and
stephens and ToombS and Lamar?
The south is forging ahead in the world
OF business She is winning renown in
the world of literature. She can match
great names of the past with great
EameS of the present in any profession
or calling save that in which she was
admittedly first during three-fOurthS of