Year: 1879




commonly employed in the South,
where "the Mississippi plan" is pop
ular, that disinterested people at dis
tance naturally look for negro mas
sacre Immediately after hearing of an
alleged uneasy and turbulent feeling
among the colored voters of any local
ity. And when q political slaughter
could not be otherwise accounted for or
explained, it was customary to say that
it was an alteration among the negroes
themselves, in which the white people
took no part. Northern Democratic
newspapers could hardly conceal their
amusement at the success of these va
rious expedients for the covering up of
political murders in the South. 1t was
not possible that they should not know
the real state of the case. The facts
were too patent to be overlooked; !;
but, so long as these outra-
geous crimes swelled party ma
jorities, it was a good joke to wipe
out the opposition by the slow and
gradual process of elimination. At
least, this was the conclusion which
men drew from the comments sof
the Democratic newspapers of the
North, which, it must be admitted,
tOOh buClE CuO buClI COuGCu-
poraries of the South. Why has a
change come over the spirit of their
dreamP For the first time in the his
tory of the country, Democratic leaders,
North and South, have discovered that
there is violence employed in some
parts of the South for the suppression
of all opposition to the Democratic
party. This is not new thing. 1t is
because it has been maintained after
the Republicans have been wiped out,
that we now hear something of its
wickedness. 1t was to be expected, in
the nature of things. that party which
began with beating down one species
of opposition with a bludgeon would
not hesitate to use the same weapon
whenever any other opponent should
arise. .....-


Let it once be established that a po-
litical party may use the most violent
there is an end of popular liberty. This
would not trouble. the Democrats. but
it has become evident that Democrats
who have been allowed without let or
hindrance to bulldoze Republicans will
eventually practice the same tactics to-
ward Independents and other Demo-
Gratis. This is the aspect of "the Mis-
sissippi plan," which has finally
alarmed our Democratic friends of the
North. 1t so happens that the candi-
date who was clubbed out of the can
vass for Sheriff in Yazoo County, was
an original bulldozer and Democrat.
He is the proud possessor of a compli-
mentary testimonial from his fellow
citizens, on which it is set forth that he
has been thus rewarded for his services
in ridding Yazoo of its Radical con-
spirators. 1t is not worth while to in
quire into the methods by which the
Radicals were driven out. But we do
know that the bulldozer has at last
been bulldozed. The engineer is hoist
by his own petard. To the Democratic
mind, the crime of "the Mississippi
plan'' is not so much against human
liberty or against society as against the
Democratic party. The crime is in
being found outbound in q way
which makes denial and concealment
no longer possible. In popular par
lance, the men of Yazoo {" have given
the thing away" As long as the ty-
ranny of the truculent fellows who rule
the Democratic party in the South was
practiced only on Republicans, there
was a chance for their allies in the
North to deceive the people by false
hoods. This chance is taken away when
the witnesses are Democrats who have
felt the keen edge of oppression. Ard
this is the reason why the Democratic
speakers and writer's of the North are
finally out of patience with their South
ern brethren; by series administrations, of
they have finally given the he to all
their former protestations of innocence
of the crimes imputed to them. Not be-
ing interfered with, they have been en-
boldened to turn their weapons against
each other.-M. =. Times. q