The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-07-24


estly demand their rights, it was a
habit of kings to silence the demand
by declaring foreign war.
Since 1876, when Tilden won a
victory upon issues similar to those
uppermost this year, whenever the
Republicans feared a merited defeat
for their misgovernment, they have
made it a practise to wave the bloody
shirt and to conduct sectional cam
paign, and in so doing have emulated
the example of the kings of the Dark
Ages.
When the Republican National Con-
vention met in Chicago in June the
leaders-the same men who had
sought to enact the Ubiquitous Force
Bill-felt the necessity of again con-
Quoting a sectional campaign. There
is a story to the effect that one of
them said: "There is one more Presi-
dency in the bloody shirt" However
that may be, the convention deliber-
ately set to work to inject sectional
issue, designed to wrong the South,
into the campaign. 1t was
done with malice aforethought
after making two calculations
to ascertain: 1. That the
North furnishes enough electoral
votes to win; 2. That the negro voter
holds the balance of power between
the two parties in Maryland, West
Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New
York. Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois
and Ohio-the doubtful States. HaV-
ing ascertained these two facts the
Republican leaders deliberately deter
mined to wage another sectional cam
paign. They calculate that they will
thereby hold all the Northern rural
except what Harriet Beecher Stowe
taught them in 1852, and that they
would round up the solid negro vote
in the doubtful states by promising
to punish the Southern whites. And,
basing their hope of success upon
these two sources, the plank looking
to a political rape of the South was
incorporated into the platform.
The venerable DR.. Lyman Abbott,
editor of The Outlook. an old-time
abolition leader, calls that plank "a
blunder." 1t is worse than blunder
it is a crime. In the last issue of
The Outlook DR.. Abbott. who discusses
all questions relating to the South with
a sincere desire to do justice, treats
the Republican plank to rob the
South of it's fair participation in gov
eminent, in patriotic and broad
minded spirit. We copy the article
| in full:
A Bad Blunder.
The Republican National Convention
lperpetrated a great blunder when II
| inserted in it's platform the following
paragraph:
1--WE favor such Congressional
action as shall determine whether
by special determinations the
elective franchise in any State has
been unconstitutionally limited,
and if such is the case, we de-
mand that representation In con-
gress and in the electoral college
shall be proportionally reduced,
as directed by the Constitution or
the United States"
This paragraph is blunder from
three points of view:
/. 1t requires no Congressional in
vestigation to ascertain whether the
elective franchise in any State has
been unconstitutionally limited. Inc
only limitations recently put upon the
elective franchise are those involved
al
adopted by six of the Southern States
namely, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ala
bama. South Carolina, North Carolina
and Virginia. The trainers OF this
platform know, or ought to know, eX-
actly what those changes are Ere
sumptively they had some opinion Oh
the question whether those changes
are in violation of the Constitution OF
the United States or not. If they had
such an opinion, they should have de-
clared it: if they had no opinion, they
should have kept silence on the whole
subject until they had an opinion. To
demand a remedy for hypothetical
wrong. without knowing whether any
such wrong has been perpetrated, is a
blunder. 1t would be a blunder for
an individual to make such demand;
| it is a far greater blunder for great
party to make such demand.
IL. IOllLlCdl cAPCulCHCy hiiShI Va
cuse, If it did not justify, stating sup
positions wrong for the purpose of
presenting a possible remedy; but this
paragraph is POLITICAL inexpedient.
Political expediency requires that the
Republican party endeavor to win
support in the Southern States. Under
the wise policy of President Mckinley,
it was winning support in the South
ern States. Upon the real, vital issues
of today there are large masses of
men in the Southern States who would
naturally belong with the Republican
party; men who believe in a perman-
ent protective tariff, the regulation of
trusts by the Federal Government, the
building of the Panama Canal, the dl-
plomacy which has made that building
possible, the policy which has given
to us the friendship of Cuba, and the
present maintenance of our sovereignty
over Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Phil
ippines Only one consideration pre-
vents these men from organizing ia
their several States and cooperating
to secure the election of Repubhcan
representatives in the Electoral COL
lege and Republican representatives IN
the National Congress. That one con-
sideration is the race problem. 70
litical expediency called on the Re-
publican party to put no more en-
phaSiS on the race problem Jnan con-