Year: 1874

|


help from the despairing Unionists ha
been heard by the people


The class of the population at tn


South from which the White Lacquer


come is said to be the worst and tn


vilest," the idle, dissI pated, and worthless
who would gladly live By robbery rathe
! than honest labor, and who even plum


der the poor cabins Of the negroes iron


which they have just driven the indus
trious inmates Slavery has created il
| the Southern States a dangerous class
| less easily controlled than that Of any
| other hand. They terrify the moderate
| they rule over society. But they have
| wholesome respect for Northern jus tic,


and power, and nothing but the sympa
thy shown them by the Northern Democ
| racy has supplied them with sufficien
courage to sieze upon New Orleans, or tC
massacre the United States officials a


Coushatta. They hate the United State:
government, no doubt, intensely, bu


they have clear sense of its power. Il
was the encouragement given by the
Democratic press and leaders in the
North to the party of McEnery that led
them to begin the insurrection at New
Orleans. The White League would never
have dared to show itself openly, even in
Louisiana, if it had not hoped that the
arm of the government would have been
palsied by Democratic interference The
White Leaguers have evidently been mis-
led by their Northern allies into the be.
lief that they are objects of real sympa-
thy and interest to their fellow-country,
men, that their nightly raids and mid
night murders are looked upon with con-
genial interest by their Democratic
brethren at the North, who long to join
even in the poor pilfering of negro
cabin. But they will find, we believe,
that there are not many native-born citi-
zens either North or West, or East who
are not ready to listen to the appeal of
the Southern Unionists and avenge their
wrongs. The brigands of Georgia and
Alabama can look for no different fate
from those of Italy and Spain. Massa-
chusetts is not accustomed to suffer her
citizens to be murdered with impunity,
nor is the great Northwest any longer
willing to look patiently upon the out
RACES of the South.


To the revival of the prosperity of the
Southern States the existence of these
White Leagues and incessant disturb
ances has proved nearly fatal. While all
over the North and West the swift tide
of immigration and the rapid progress of
trade have repaired the ravages of four
years of warfare, and founded new ma
tions in the wilderness, the unhappy
South lies shrunken and wasted, covered
with debt, the centre of hopeless poverty.
The emigrant turns away from a land
where the demoniac yells of the White
League are heard in every district; where
life is constantly in peril, or free speech
and free thought banished by rigid
tyranny; where schools are neglected
Il L, j -
they teach Republicanism and enforce
good order. No settler ventures within
reach of the Alabama Ku-Klux, or even
cares to renew the rich lands on the Ten
nessee. Nor are capital and trade less
timid 1t is credibly asserted that but
for the ceaseless crimes of the Leaguers
even New Orleans might once more have
become hourishing port. 1t is certain
that what Louisiana most wants is q
chain of prosperous settlements like Cou-
shatta, full of enterprise and thrift; but
the White League has closed for many
yelr all hope of Northern aid to the fallen
State, and in the midst of its madness the
trade of New Orleans has probably been
forever diverted. Debt, dishonor, and
decay hang over all the Southern States
where the White League rules. Even
Texas is so impoverished as to have
reached virtual bankruptcy. Its Dem
ocratic Legislature robs the public schools,
and its people tremble before the Ku-
Klux. The fate of the Southern States
under the rule of the White Mans
League is so plainly indicated as to es-
cape no observation. Diseased and de-
caying, they cling to the vigorous and
progressive nation, perishing in the midst
of their boundless strength and unim-
proved resources. knowledge flies from
their borders, and nearly universal ig-
norance weighs down their people. Com
merce and capital shrink from their dis
ordered communities. The policy of
murder and violence, the outrages of the
White Mans League, have produced their
necessary results, and population, intel
ligence, and wealth avoid the lawless
land. Meanwhile the Free States grow
with a swiftness that is unparalleled.
They already surround the decaying
South with chain of powerful communi-
ties. Life, property, and liberty are Sc
cure even amidst the peaks of the Rocky
Mountains, and the free school and the
church are the harbingers of Hmitless
prosperity.


The wiser class of the Southern leaders
may well profit from the contrast. Ma
ture has supplied them with the elements
of progress; freedom and peace, wealth
and plenty, lie within their grasp. But
SO long as they tolerate murder and riot
within their midst, they must remain i'm
poverished and fallen. Their first aim
should be to establish good order every
where. Let them consign their White
Leaguers to the nearest penitentiary and
their vagabond population that disturb
the night with demoniac yells to the
work house. Let them protect their col
ored population from all harm, and nc
country will have more assiduous labor
ers. That the negroes have become poll
ticians is due to their danger IN part.
Fear has driven them often to seek office
for they knew that should their enemies
the NJ Enerys and Penns-seize upon
power, they could look for no safety from
robbery and assassination. With kind
treatment and careful education, the col
ored people will easily yield to white
mans government that obeys the law o.
humanity and equal rights; but no out
RACES and and no terrors can convert
them into rebels. In fact, the white
leaders of the Southern people must cease
to be the dupes or the abject slaves o


their assassins and murderers, must re
iect the mad counsels of their Democratic
allies at the North, must respect the
rights of every citizen, and punish rebel
lion and disorder, if they would bring


back hope and prosperity to their faller


land. And in such course they would


have the support and sympathy OF the


East, West, and North, But on the othe


hand, it has become the duty of the peo


pie of the whole country to provide TO


the safety of the despairing Union SITS


Let their cry for help be heard in tn


coming elections. Let each citizen re


member that every vote given Tor Dem


ocratic candidate is an implied approva


Of the murders and assassi nations OF tn


White Mans League; that every victor.