Year: 1878

yesterday with report pretending 10 give
the Presidents views of the results OF his
Southern policy. The report bore internal
evidence of it's ialsity, and we are surprised
that some of our astute republican contem-
poraries were taken in by it. little re-
Election must have shown them that, how
ever their merely partisan views and desires
might make renewal Of Southern troubles
welcome to them, the President, though he
is republican, must take broader and
more patriotic ground, and could not utter
such stuff as some parts OF what he was
falsely reported to have said.


The partisan republican theory has been
that as the President, contrary to their
wishes, but in strict accordance with his
constitutional duty, restored South Carolina
and Louisiana to self-government in their
local affairs, therefore the Southern States
ought, out of gratitude, to vote the repub-
lican ticket, and are no better than rascals
if they do not. But the sound view. OF
course, is that however kindly any South
ern men might feel toward the President for
doing what caused him to be SO savagely
attacked by his party, as he in fact did
only his constitutional duty and there
was no ''bargain." the Southern citizens
must, like the Northern citizens. vote
as they please. We will add that,
while it is natural to them to strive to
maintain the ascendancy of the democratic
party in all the Southern States, because
4hey are still suffering from the results Of
the enormous thefts and the monstrous mis-
government which the republicans inflicted
on them, they would be very much wiser if
they broke up that united opposition organ
ization which the republican misrule under
General Grant brought about. ''united
South" is a very grave political blunder
1t is potent weapon in the hands of the
least scrupulous wing of'the republican
party, and is the only thing which now can
keep the miserable southern question"
alive.


As to the Presidents attitude toward the
different from his attitude toward the
Northern or Eastern or Western States.
Mr.. Hayes has certain duties to perform
he must execute the laws, and among them
q considerable mass of statutes intended to
protect voters in all the States in their right
freely to assemble. to nominate, discuss and
vote for candidates for Congress, and to
arrest and punish by the federal authority
any persons who in any manner attempt to
interfere with, obstruct or prevent the exer-
else OF these rights, These laws apply
equally to- all the States ; they make it the
duty of federal district attorneys, courts
and marsha1s to take notice Of complaints,
to make arrests and to try and. punish
offenders. Republican politicians complain
that in Florida, South Carolina and Louisi-
ana these laws were violated during the
recent canvass in certain localities and
while it would be monstrous for the Presi-
dent to declare, as he was falsely reported
to have done, that he ''knows that great
crimes have been committed"--because he
until there has been fair and open trial in
court-it is his plain and positive duty
to order his subordinate officers everywhere
to take notice Of. complaints which may be
brought to them, and to govern themselves
in regard to these strictly as the laws direct,
without fear or favor. This is what he has
ordered the Attorney neral, as we under
stand, to instruct the federal district at
torneys, marshals and other judicial officers
to do, and he would not be fit for his office
if he omitted to do this. 1t is in conse-
quence of these perfectly proper orders
that certain arrests have been made in
Florida and South Carolina Neither the
taI tba-c hor
posed the federal officers, and the cases
will be, no doubt, brought to trial. and if
it shall be shown that laws were violated
the guilty persons will be punished, as they
ought to be.


Probably these proceedings will show
that the outcry about new Southern out
RACES, which the republican papers raised
Just before the late election, and most of
the charges since made of wrong doing, have
very little foundation in fact; they were for
the most part mere campaign stories,
intended TO excite the public mind in
the Northern States; many of them have
already been shown false, and the fact
that so few arrests have been made
up to this time, ten days after the election,
though the federal officers have had in
structions to do their duty, shows that the
elections in the Southern States, with prob
ably Insignificant exceptions, passed off in
as orderly and quiet n manner as in the
North. This fact is the best proof of the
wisdom and success of the Presidents
Sou.hrn policy, which has in two years 50
quieted the Southern States that very ex-
citing election, made more so By the at
tempt OF INSCRIPTIONS demagogues in va
rious places once more to "mass the colorcd
vote" has caused less than twenty-five ar
rests in the whole South for violations of
the most stringent election laws on the
statute books Of any civilized nation