The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-02-14
TRANSIENT RATES:
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY IA. 1901
Weather forecast for Fred
erickSbar9 and Vicinity.
Continued cold Thursday
aoith fresh ". W. aoiRdS.
IT WILL COME

In another column will be found
an article on the subject of creating
respectable white Republican party
in the South, which appeared in a
New York paper some weeks since.
The subject is one of great moment,
both to the national Republican party
and to the South. 1t is admitted by
conservative men that the present
political status Of the South ia bar
rier to its material advancement and
deep down in the hearts of thousands
Of thoughtful men in the South this
sentiment finds strongest Judgement.
Without strong minority party no
section can receive the beet political
government, and the South,in recent
yesrs,has been no exception to this
rule. For this condition, though, the
South has itself to blame less than it
has the Republican party, which gave
the ballot to an illiterste people. Yet
the South has btea the sufferer
through it all.
Now that there is a better senti-
ment springing up within the national
Republican party to remedy in
measure the great crime which it
foisted upon this people it should
meet with encouragement from the
thousands Of our people who have
come to RECOGNIZES that there is less
danger to the States in Republican
control than there is in perpetusting
political strife and an uneontested
rule by single party. The methods
by which this must be achieved are
various and tortuous. Republicans
must abandon all interference with
the political condition Of the negro at
the South. She must be let alone in
solving this question, which she is
now fast doing. The disfranchise-
ment Of this element is a long step in
the direction of building up q white
Republican party here, and the
sbreBdest leaders Of Southern De-
mocrsey recognize the truth Of this.
Another Of the requirements in
achieving the desired end is for the
Republican party to frown upon sll
attempts By demagogues to hamper
the Southern people with political
restrictions" force bills," national
supervision of elections and the like.
Such policies in the past have failed
Of enactment, and even if enacted
they could never have been put into
effective operation.
And still another-A very impor-
tant one--is by overtures Of pacinea-
tory policy. We have watched Presi.
dent Mckinley very closely, and We
believe he is imbued with a sincere
desire to conciliste the political South.
The last demonstration of this was
his disinclination to have Congress
reduce Congressional representation.
Another prominent feature in his
administration is the fact that he has
made less appointments Of negroes to
Office than did Grover Cleveland,
while at the same time he has given
recognition to Southern white men
far out OF proportion to their numer-
icsl standing. We do not believe We
err when we say that President Nc
Kinley has . sincere desire to con-
ciliate the South and make it to feel
that his is an administration Of the
whole people.
The present administration has
made many mistakes, in our view,
bnt it has been marvelously free from
sectionalism and ali Of its poisonous
taints. This must OF necessity have
its effect in bringing the South into
closer commercial union with the rest
of the nation, which means its own
material advancement.