The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-10
SOUTHERN HEN INEI1orpLE.

SOUTHERN MEN UELI0IDLE The Kansas City Journal in the course of some comments on the subject of a Southern man for President. says:
 The South has no statesman or politi- clan of sufficient greatness or sufficient popularity to make him pre-cminently strong all over the country 1t has some capable men. but no giants. It has absolutely no inducement to offer a prac- tical party to draw on 1t for Pres;den- tial timber. As long as 1t permits itself to be regarded as safe" for one party 1t will remain in this impotent condi- ton. Whenever the Southern States be come good fighting ground for the two great parties their favorite sons will be- come eligible for Presidential nomination and not until then.
 So far as The Journals first argument is concerned we do not admit that the North has any more great men and giants than the South has. We think some of our statesmen will measure up very favorably with any that the North has on hand, but that is not a matter to quarrel over Either section has men who would fill the office with credit to themselves and to the country. and the only question with Democrats. so far as sections are concerned, is one of availa- bility.
 We must confess that we have long re- scented the idea that the South dare not put forward a candidate for President with any prospect of success, and some <.lk .1Iz rather see a good Southern Democrat nominated. with the certainty that he would be defeated. than that our section should longer feel the humiliation of hay- ing no interest or concern in the duty of making Presidents except to vote. We who are as well qualified to fill the posi- tion as any Northern man is. They are as patriotic and as true to the Union as those of any other section, and they are in every way as deserving of the honor as are any of those North. Alf this is undeniably true, and yet we are forced to admit that one of them cannot yet be elected President. .,
 While there may be something in the Journals contention that the South has no chance as long as it remains practi- cally solid for the Democracy. that is not all. It is true that parties like to get their Presidential timber from strong and doubtful States. States which must be fought for and whose electoral vote may decide the election, are the sections from which the two great parties like to draw their candidates. Thus, since the war the Democrats have made six campaigns with New York men, one with a Penn sylvania man and two with a Nebraska man, the only candidate from a sure Re- publican State being General Hancock of Pennsylvania. The Republicans have not been so particular, having selected three candidates from Ohio, one from Maine and one from Illinois. all practi- caily dead sure for a Republican candi- oate. In fact, the only candidate they have taken from a doubtful State was Harrison of Indiana, a State which has a politically pendulous motion. and is apout as likely to go one way as another
 Ana so, while 1t may be to a certain extent true that the South will not be- come eligible to the nomination until it becomes so divided that it will be good fighting ground for the two great parties, there is probably more due to sectional ism than anything else. There are toe many Democrats in the North-otherwise good men-who would buck or kick out of the traces at the mere thought of SUD- porting a Southern man for President, and especially if he was a Confederate soldier. Why they should consider it easier for us to support a Union soldier than for them to support a Confederate we are not able to say, but it is fact, all the same. Perhaps when all who fought in the war on either side are dead there may be change. but we hardly look for it before.