New national era. [volume], November 23, 1871, Image 1

About New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874

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the new national era, .
rrBLISHED
EVBRr THURSDAY MORNING
At U'???lngtoi? City, D. C.
KIV NATIONAL ERA BUILDIXO, 418 11X11 STRKKT.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS, Editor.
DOUGLASS BROTHERS, Publishers.
fuel! o* Jrwtirrrows: Sltijtl* ropiot, HRo p?r j?r:
flr# f?T 4l0.p?y*bl? In ?d*?oc?.
FREDERICK DOI'OLASII, Jr.,
Lock Box 31, Washington, P. C. -1
- s?ssssasi
COMMUNICATION 1
[The N1* National K?a <!>>< ? uot L.>ld itsoli r??pou<tiblt
for Tiewi expreSMd by correspondent*. Well written **d
ietenwtinc communication* will be gladly reeeired ]
The Election In MI flats* I p pi.
Vicksbuho, Miss ' Nor. 11, 1871.
To tke Editor of tht New National Era :
The election in this State passed off or>
Tuesday Ust, and the Republican party was
triumphantly sustained! Mississippi may safely
be depended upon hereaiter as a Republics'
State. We have carried it by about fiftee?
thousand majority. The fight was desperate ;
the Democrats brought out their best men :
colored men wore tampered with in every pot.
sible way to join the Democratic party, bu?
- _ 1 A
notwithstanding all this wo were tnornpnanv ?
Had we as good material to manage all the
various offices connected with an election as the
Democrats have, we oould, doubtless, gain fiv?
or six th< ceind votes in the .State. But it is
too often the case that we have to ap\?oint iu
competent colored and white men ou our sidt
as judges and clerks of election in some of the
precincts of a county, who allow themselves to
be managed completely by one or two Demo
cratic judges or clerks. This has been pain |
fully the case in this and other counties at th*
recent election. But things are getting bettei i
every year; our boys are hard at work at
school, and at every election we hope to be able
to have better managers. Our Legislature it
Republican by a small majority; but we shall
have terrible odds to fight against, as th?
Democrats have elected a large number of theii j
best and shrewdest men. This, however, wil i
be a good school for our Republican members ;
aa it will make them stand to their posts mor?
punctually, and not be riding all over the Statwith
free passes on the different railroads.
Of course we have carried this county by at
overwhelming majority?not less than threthousand!
We wore in hopes that everything
would nave passed off quietly, but they were in
rain. Some of the Democrats certainly in
- J ,L * i-1- J i _ a
lenueil VO MlU il uruiuu n surcni UIIU jJii'it uu
some of oar best and lending men. The; i
wanted for their chief victim oar candidate for j
Sheriff, Col. Chas. E. Furlong. As early as
teu o'clock A. M. he (Colonel Furlong) heard
that there was a disturbance at one of
the precincts in the county, and he im- !
mediately stepped into a store to write a
note to parties there,* telling them to keep all
disturbances down as tnnch as possible, and to
send the people home as soon as they shall
hare voted. While writing the above note,
Wm. H. McCardle (of the notorious McCardle
case, a few years since) stepped into the store,
passed and repassed Col. Furlong several times,
and uttering a tirade of the vilest epithets
imaginable upon him and the Republican
party, evidently courting an opportunity for a
row, as several of his (McC's) friends were
near the store, while Col. Furlong's friends
were at least a half mile ofT at the polls voting;
but Col. F. would not notice bini. This was the
first intimation we had that a riot, if possible,
was on band, and leading men prepared themselves
for it. In the afternoon, about four
o'clock, while Col. F. was riding from one pre
cinct in the city to another, he beard that there
was a disturbance in the same neighborhood
where he was abused in tbe morning. He immediately
rode to tbe scene and advised tbe
few colored men, who were surrounded by
thrice their number of white Democrats, to go
peaceably home, as they had done their voting,
when he was immediately surrounded and !
preyed upon by t!?e great Southern chivalry
as a dozen eats would a moose. They drew
their revolvers and whirled them in the air
gallantly, but none dared to fire, and it seems
that with concerted action a shower of brickbats
was hurled at the Colonel's head, one of
which made an u<ly wound on his right cheek,
and another strnck him on his back, injuring,
seriously, we fear, bis kidneys. He was
stnnned, bat his faithful horse brought him
safely away from the scene of terror and disaster.
Had the colored men been allowed to
gratify their feelings, they would have resorted
to tha scene, after hearing of Col. F's wound,
and wonld have retaliated in a manner that
weald have taught these so-called chivalry a
lesson. It seems that one can see a spirit of
intimidation brooding every day : and, if car
ried oat, will show itself on the day of onr city
election next month. This election will be
more desperate than our recent county election,
as oar numbers are nearly equal; and, if threats
and intimidation will accomplish anything, the
Democrats will certainly resort to tbem. We
mean, however, that every Republican in the
aity of Vicktburg shall be allowed to vote
without being trammeled by the opposite
party! The colored people here do not court
disturbances, kc.; but, if they are disturbed
in the legitimate pursuit of their righia, they 1
will repeat some of the lesrons which they gave
the chivalry during our late "unpleasantness." I
Ws are all for peace ; but, if peace caunot be
obtained by peaceable measures, there are ;
other resorts from which we can obtain it.
Civis.
Letter from Obcrlln, Oblo.
Obexi.ix, Ohio. November, 13. 1871.
/ft at _ WW s 'a si if i* w-s
io me i^auor oj ine *>tw ^aitonau isra:
Tne Naw National Kka is last becoming a
household affair in many of the families of
Oberlin. We hail its arrival with delight ever)
Saturday, and arc disappointed if it fails to
come at the U9ual time. Doe of our enterprising
young ladies forwarded you another
club of eleven a few days ago, and there are
others yet who intend to subscribe.
The National Conference of the Congregational
Churches convenes bare on the 15th io
staut, and is the all-absorbing topic of the '
community. Among the many notables ex-1
peeled are Henry Ward Beecber, Edward
Beecber, Senator Patterson. fifteen or twenty
presidents of colleges, and many others.
Tue citizens have generously made arrange I
inents to welc? me all that coine, ami the town '
will be a hotel for a few days. Among other 1
interesting things, the conference will lay the i
corner atone of a large and handsome edifice
for the Theological Seminary, which is to cost
$60,000. Recitations grill be partially suspended
during the occasion, and the students
will be permitted to attei.d and enjoy all the
exerciser
A colored lady preacher held a series of re
\ival meetings here recently, and baptised a
number of conversions. President Fairchild
has regaled us with several excellent lectures
on what he saw and learned in his late tour
through the Eastern countries. Hs has enriched
bis mind with msoy valuable soriosities
of ths Old World.
St8, ^
NE\
VOL. II.?NO. 46.}
The John Brown Monumental Association in
flourishing in spite of the absurd opposition
which it at Grst met with from a few of onr
wisacrcs. The number of tho " opposition "
has irrown bcautifullv small of late. We are
heartily glad that they acknowledged in the
Era their regrets for past error, and agreed to
<moke the pipe of peace.
The association is in earnest about inaugurating
a general effort among the colored people
to erect a national monument to the mem>ry
of John Brown. They wish some influential
and responsible persons to take charge of
moneys contributed and superintend tbe rearing
of this tribute to the memory of the sainted
lead ; and they hare decided to ask you, Mr.
Editor, to present the case through the
columns of the Era, and thus awaken a general
interest in this noble work. We want a na
uonal monument, one which will speak of the
lasting gratitude and honest pride that burn in
colored men's hearts. Ilarper's Ferry would
doubtless be ths most appropriate place for it,
Washington city the mosi conspicuous ; but
the location would be settled by the committee
which the people see fit to appoint. We wish
you to act for us in this affair.
The college term i? dragging slowly to its
end, and soon many of us will go away to teach
during the winter yaoation. The catalogue
tatsfl that over 500 students go out from
Oberlin to teach every winter. Some 400 or
.*>00 of college students are enabled to pay their
zpenses here in college by teaching in the prep
iratory department, but of course no colored
jfiuiAnt kti rhia npivilAora Vulnu in
?. r v ...
lira a black Bkin totally incapacitated him for
teaching the pale-faced Caucasian. The faculty
nay that it is inexpedient for aolored students
o teach at present, as the college can't bear
the pressure. They argue, from what they
:al! a benevolent standpoint, that it is right to
lo a small evil in order that great good may
-e-ult therefrom ; that is, if they permitted a
ew oolored students to have equal rights with
the others it would drive hundreds of white
students from the reach of their Christian and
^(iucatiooal influences into the benighted ro
gions of barbarism. Oberlin has done much
good in the past in educating the people
up to higher moral grounds ; but her
flag of Radicalism and reform now trails in the
dust, her cap-sheet is no longer the head-light
it once was to guide the national ship of pro
gress orer moral shoals and breakers. Truly,
had Qallileo lived in Oberlin, he must have
agreed with the Romish Church in its belief
that the world did not move. Oberlin is not
zealously laying hold of this great national
prejudice, as she onoe threw herself against
the bulwarks of slavery. Moral principles
always triumph in the end. The Amerioan
people have been slowly opening their eyes
and hearts to the wrongs of the colored people
for the past twenty years. Gradually they
have recognized his claims to humanity and
acceded him his rights ; and I believe if the
college would open wide its portals and make
capacity, not color, the criterion of reward, the
intelligent community would eventually sus
tain them. One thing is certain, if our educa
inra uq not piant tnemseives on aavaoccd r ireground
on the great questions of man's duties
to man, the mass of the people will remain in
the dark valley of ignorance and bigotry.
Daring the past few years some score or more
of colored students hit re graduated from this
college, yet none of them could obtain a class
to teach. Doubtless many more would hare
graduated hero had they shared in this privilege
with their more farored brethren.
Burns struck the sympathetic chord of the
human heart the world orer, and especially
that of the oolored people in this country,
when he said?
44 Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn.
See yonder poor, o'erlabor'd wight,
So abject, mean, and vile,
Who Degs a brother of the earth
* To give him leave to toil.
Ana see his lordly fellow-wonn
The poor petition spurn,
Unmindful, tho' a weeping wife
And helpless offspring mourn."
The faculty do, indeed, try to excuse themselves
by saying that a lady, slightly colored,
did teach in the college at some remote period
subsequent to the flood.
This reminds me of the reply a church member
once made when rebuked for neglect of
pa!icrir.11* Arttiaa " Wh? " !.? I- ?l-U
. tf uj | ocfttvt ii? iu Miuninumerit,
" I got religion fit teen years ago." He
evidently thought it wonld keep forever.
Yours for equal rights.
Do* Carlos.
Political Expediency.
TRtKTOK, N. J, November 14, 1871.
To the Editor of the New National Era:
This idea is generally used to denote a stroke
of polioy which a political party adopts to
obtain the greatest number of votes?as, noncommitting
on some subjects and the ignoring
of others. On the great question of human
rights there cao be no such thing as political
expe<lienoy. The rights of man should be
held inviolably sacred, aod the doctrine cannot
nor should it be entertained. Such a thing as
ignoring, bartering, or compromising the rights
of man is opposed to the first principles of
right and justice. Whatever is right id expedient
; whatever is right is politic. Civil
and political rights are the colored man's the
same as the white man's, guaranteed, protected,
and secured by law. If they were the
white roan's to give, then they might consult
the expediency of the party. I regard this as
not only cheating with impunity the colored
man out of his righto, but the proposition itself
is a monstrosity which should cause the
blush of shame to mantle the cheeks of every
honest man ; and the time will come when the
children of these very men who thus talk and
act will be ashamed to know that their parents
advocated sucK nrincinle* Th??> i."??
MV*V ? vuw vuiug
certain, oolored men now living have one
thing the white man cannot take, nor
can it be impaired by time, place, or circnmaunce
; and that is their memory. They bavs
the most vivid recollection of those who
robbed them of their rights, either North or
South, East or West; and also of those who
refuse to recognise these rights, after being
constitutionally obtained. All offioe-holders in
States that have ignored the citisenship of the
colored man, cannot and ought not to receive
the colored vote. The reason why honest,
conscientious men will not vote at the elections
is because there is so much perfidy and corruption
in the parties. What right have man
to aes base means to hold or obtain power or
position f What right have men to oonaalt
policy or expediency at the expense of principle,
of right, and justice? Men who will do
this are dishonest, and dishonest men should
not hold plaoes of profit and trust. The Republican
party it but a coalition of the Abolition
party, the Free-soil party, the Liberty
parly, the old foaailised Whig party, aad the I
V NA
WASHING!
liberty-loving Democrats. The doctrine of
expediency has been the cankering worm that
i has eaten and destroyed the vitals of each of
j the old parties. Free-soil, abolition of slavery,
opposition to the General Government giving
its sanction and support to slavery, and confining
slavery within certain prescribed limits,
; was as far as either party dared to go. The
inalienable rights of man, the oitixenship and
equality of the colored man iu the Amerioao
Government, were not only practically ignored,
hut ignored in all the nlatformn of the narties.
or, in explicit terms, objected to. This hw
been the policy that has characterised all the
political parties of this country. It was ignored
in the last Republican platform in Chicago.
The party has now gone ahead of their platform,
in theory at least. The equality of the
colored man now is a well-established fact.
The failure of the Republican party to recognize
it and practically carry out these great
and glorious principles, will limit its existence,
and, like the other parties which hare lived
and died, be remembered only among the things
that were. It is always expedient to do right;
nerer expedient to do wrong.
Tours for the right,
Wm. K. Walker.
I.etter from Florida.
Warrington, Fla., Nov. 10, 1871.
! To the Editor of the New National Era :
On Saturday night last Mr. ?. S. Scott, a
junior student of Lincoln University, Fa., de1
livered a very able and eloquent lecture to the
! citizens of Warrington in the colored schoolhouse
at this place. His discourse was based
upon "Our New Relatiou to the Government."
The audience were principally colored, but a
few whites were present. The discourse was
listened to with marked attention by all
' present.
Mr. Scott is one of the few colored men who
j intends making his home in the South after he
completes his education in college, and if the
people of Warrington will only extend an invitation
to bim he will return to them again
I immediately alter he graduates in June next.
, Although Mr. S. is as yet quite a young man,
there is do reason to doubt that he will ere
long become quite prominent among the educated
men of this country. Hie whole desire
and aim is to become an educater of his race,
believing that ho can accomplish more lor the
material advancement of his race in that capacity
than any other way. Durirg the short
; period that he has taught school here he has
' certainly done more towards the advancement
j of the colored children than all the other
teachers that we have bad in our midst.
Mr. Scott will return to the University on
the 15th of December to graduate, and during
his absence I trust that this community will see
' the importance of having a good, competent
teacher to reside in our midst, and that they
will not, under any circumstances, let so favorI
able an opportunity pass and neglect secur
ing the servioes of Mr. S. as a permanent
teacner 01 tne coiorea youth ot ? arrington,
I Florida.
i Mr. Scott will give a grand exhibition to the
children of this place before leaving in Decern
ber. I hope that it will be one that will be
! long remembered in the hearts of the children
of Warrington, and that, when they shall have
arrived at the years of maturity, they san
truthfully say, that Edward S. Scott is the only
; one since emancipation who has taught the
colored children of this place properly ; and, if
they should consent to retain him, he is destined
to eletai many a one of his color in this place.
I am, sir, truly yours,
A Wki.l-wishkr ok Education.
Letter from Virginia.
Richmond, November Id, 1871.
To the Editor of the A sin National Era :
Our State election for members of the General
Assembly was held on the 7th. Tho results of
the contest are now known to the general
public.
j This city, like the city of New York, is coni
trolled by the Democratic party, and the civil
i rights of the negro, as well as the great macs
of the members of the Republican party, are
equally at its mercy. The courts of the State
are to the colored man what the KuKlux
organization is in South Carolina?a terror in
every county. Colored men are sent to the
penitentiary at the rate of one and a half per
day throughout the year. The whole power
aod machinery of the Democratic organization
of Virginia is used to destroy the Republican
party by this means. Colored men voted for
; Democrats last week, not from choice, but from
j fear to rote otherwise, and, my word for it,
fewer voted at all for Republicans than have
, at any time since the admission of the State.
The Legislature is Demooratio by more than a
two-thirds vote, and where Republicans have
been elected, whether black or white, it was
where it was as easy to have done so as it would
l htT? h)U>n Iftf tKrim mnnltia' ?.M
, MOT, w - w. ? V??> W MMvu?ua VIVI KTXJJ IV vuru UY CI
a cup of water. Io some places, or I should say
in one city, parties were nominated by Re!
publicans who refused to aid io the election,
, in presence or otherwise, and the presumption
is that the colored man has most to fear from the
non success of the Repnblioan party; therefore
he must peril all that is necessary to be
done for its success. If the nominee be a
i white person, then of course it will be expected
, that he will not move hand or foot, but, if not
elected, then that cla^s of voters who wero
slaves the other day are to be considered not
| fit for freedom. Now, the advise of this writer
to gentlemen who heretofore have had two
I horses in view, is, either to be Republican or
j Democratic at once. If Hepublican, then ex;
pect to meet the duties of a Republican ; and
to be a Republican in this city is but to be
hated.
We regret that our State was not represented
in the Convention at Columbia, South
Carolina. Two gentlemen were elected from
this oity to represent the State at large, but as
their names do not appear in the list of delegates,
we iufer they did not attend the convention.
A Loox?r On.
The Colored Man Alive to IIIsi Beat
Interests.
Rochester, N. Y., Not. 16, 1871.
To the Editor of the New National Era :
The fidelity of the colored citizens to the
Republican party baa been most strikingly
portrayed in the recent elections. In this
i distriot almost every man worked long and
well to advance the cause of troth and jastioe,
and to bring aboot a brilliant victory, which
has, moot emphatically, been accomplished.
Even throughout the State there come to our
uotice meetings organised and conducted by
colored men, showing eonelasively that their
hearts and hands were in the work. They are
as a mass beginning to know who their (Hands
<9
wmamammmmm?m?mm
Tl()>
rON, D. C., THURSDAY. NOVBM
are, have been in the past, and arc to be in the
i future. They are beginning to realize what
party it wa* that upheld the outrage* us villainy
i of '03 in New York city, and throughout the
Northern States ; they behold not friends in
this party, but bitter enemies, who, had they it!
in their power, would take away that liherty
for which so many lives of brave and valiant
i^ons of freedom were given,
t The true sentiment of every true and sincere
I colored man should be to still strive to advance I
i the cause of right and justice, which is the j
j foundation of the Republican platform, and J
while ao doing, he is adding to his own cause i
j politically and socially. Hud it not been for
j the few remaining sparks of corruption
which the once formidable foe (Tammany) had
sown broadcast over this section, together with
i the shortness of the canvass, the champion and 1
I firmest friend of our race would undoubtedly !
have taken a seat in the Legislature; an event
which, bad it been mentioned by a colored man
a few years previous, he would have been im- j
prisoned and probably deprived of life. Verily
we live in an age of rapid progression.
Let us look with unuhating interest towards
the time when colored men win be looked upon j
by all as men among men, and wherever the
glorious ensign of liberty waves he may
j have the same freedom of speech and privileges <
i which may be enjoyed by all true and loyal
j citizen*. 0. A. It.
Chicago and (he South.
No clear lighted observer can have read the
1 record ol' the weeks first following the great j
Western calamity without feeling that the offect j
of the great outburst of sympathy for the out .
casts ot Chicago has been most wholesome and ,
elevating upon the national temper. We had ,
all begun to look at human nature too much !
through the medium of Tammany thefts, Ku i
j Kiux Klans. and trials for adultery and murder, j
1 They had almost put out of our 9ight the actnal
, framework of social and domestic life, its silent'
modesties and pure affections, and the myriad
unselfi.-h ties which in real life bind men to- j
aether. Onl v ann.h >4 ? j tlint of (Mmviirn
-> J T" j
could call this hidden ground of humanity to ;
light in it* uiost geuerous work. The country
hus had her momenta of justifiable pride before '
now in the display of her strength or wealth or
success in arms; but she was never so great as
when in the spirit of her Master she went into
the highways and byways and compelled the (
homeless and destitute to come into her royal
feast, be warmed and clothed, and fed. It will
need many years of squabbles and thefts and
international jealousies to blot out this glimpse
of the substratum of manliness and kindliness
in ordinary human nature, or to make us forget
how from every nation came the quick
response when the great city sat in ashes and
cried aloud like Job, " My bone cleaveth to my
skin and my flesh. Have pity upon me, 0 ye
| niv friends, for the hand of (lod hath touched
me."
I'' There is a plain word in connection with this
I subject, however, which it seems but just '
should be spoken, and that promptly. But
little notice, if any, we bolieve, was excited by
the fact that the sympathy or help proffered
by the South was but feeble. It was regarded,
<f thought of at all, as not only natural, but
i probable, that this should be. One or two
! cities gave munificently. As for the rest, the j
world knows that the country is impoverished
v>|ju mil iu icuiuig iiui" "o tjy ut'uia our
beloved friend and distinguished professor, ,
Rev. E. E. Adams, D. D. ; and whereas the
poor have lost a generous heart, the oppressed ,
a sympathizing friend, the weak a strong Hand,
and Christendom a self-sacrjflcing apostle ; and
: whereas we know he is no*yet be is, inasmuch
as his memory is cherished, his precepts fol|
lowed, and his influence felt; therefore, be it
i Resolved, That we, the students of Lincoln
University, recognize in his.death the will of
, the All-wiae God, and bow in humble submission
thereto, knowing " lie doeth all things
well."
Resolved, That we deeply lament his death,
whose teachings have directed the cnrreot ol
our thoughts, whose example it has been our
delight to follow.
Resolved, That we perpetuate his memory
by cherishing in onr hearts and practicing in
our lives those principles which it has been the ,
aim of his life to impart.
Resolved, That we most feelingly sympathize
with the family of the xleceased in the j
! bereavement of a tender husband, a loving *
I father, and a wise counsellor; and implore
our Heavenly Father to comfort them, knowing
that " He alone can bind up the broken
heart aad pour in the oil of joy."
Resolvd, That we wear the usual badge of
' mourning for thirty days.
Resolved, That we transmit to the family a
copy of these resolutions.
C. W. Mosskll, i
T. E. Mills*,
G. R. UtNDsasoK,
Committes. i
! oy tne war, and tuat the feeling ot resentment
J toward the North still rankles deep and bitter
among the common people. It would have
been, perhaps, too much to expect from the
i uneducated Southerner that, in view of this
! great disaster, he wonld forget this resentment
1 in sympathy for the suffering of his lateeuerny.
| But it certainly is not expecting too much
1 from his sense of good taste and decency to
| suppose that he would shrink from using this
opportunity to drag to light and parado any
| virulence and anger. Our surprise has been
I great to find Southern papers of the baser sort
picturing the burned homesteads and ruined
fortunes which the rebellion left them, with a
scarcely hidden savage exultation that the \
< Cbicagoans have the same bitter cup to drink.
! Now no journal in the North has labored with
more energy and sincerity than the Tribune, j
since the war closed, to promote the growth of,
kindly feeling between the two sections, and
to cement the Union with stronger ties than
those of interest or force ; we hope our Southern
brethren, therefore, will allow us now a
few plain words of warning. We do not pro- !
prose now or at any other tirao to discuss the j
i alleged atrocities of Sherman's raid, the cruel- i
ties of Andersonville, or the propriety of Butler's j
orders, any more thau we shall the whip or ;
scars of slavery. The war is over. It was the :
method chosen by the South to solve certain j
problems involving the life of the nation. We !
believe that the wisdom of God or common
sense of man will soon suggest some other
mode of settling national differences. Brute
force is necessarily brutal; the worst men in
war time find opportunity and scope to work
out their greed and cruelty. But whatever
war is. the South resorted to it of her own
free choice. We believe that her beet men now
acknowledge that the issue whs favorable to
them ; that slavery was a binderance to them
j as much as to the black tnan ; that they stand
i higher, have wider chances now, crippled as
1 thev are. as Dart of a free, live reDublio. than
as a slave-breeding, slave-importing empire
handcuffed with Mexioo. Weaker men and
women may not be able to look outside of their
own empty slave pens or lost crops to sec this.
But the weakest man ought to see the common
sense of accepting an inevitable^ituation ; j
ought to know that the South can no more
separate her business relations from the North
than the legs can leave the body without decay, j
For the sake of expediency, if for no higher ;
j motive, we urge them not to tamper with their
owu well being. The temper of the Northern j
States is now most kindly and generous toward
them, but an insult in the time of misfortune j
stabs deep. If no Christian or human feeling,
therefore, can restrain these unseasonable re
criminations, we beg for the sako of policy to
i be silent. Wise men agree to let the unhand;
some corpses of slavery and the war lie, and
to raise above them the profitable front of new
issues.?iV. Y. Tribune.
Liucolu luiverilly, Penuiylrauia,
Whereas it lias pleased God in the mani1
festation of His divine providence and sovesaiffn
will */\ f?mn na J at
m
;al i
BER 23, 1871.
Induft(r]al Partnership*.
Liftter from the Hon. D. .V. >lnrrell, Snprrtntendrnt
ef the Cumbria Work*.
(From the PitUbnrg Commercial.}
Owing to absence from borne, I have just
seen your editorial of the 6th instant, alluding
to the subject of industrial partnerships, and
asking me to furnish a statement of results
obtained under this system at the Cambria
Works. 1 regret to say that our industry is
not organized in a strictly cooperative form,
and you were probably led into error by a par- I
agraph published in some of the newspapers j
last winter concerning a scheme of industrial
na PfnOeu Uin onbknih.ol ?a tko Kaq rA rl i eontAPQ
fMVioilip ruvuiltl^U W UUBIU U1 umwto ,
of this company, which would probably be in
operation at this time, were it not for obstacles
which the Legislature might have removed,
had it seen lit to pass a bill presented by lion.
Harry White in the Senate, and advooated by
Hon. Miles S. Humphreys in the House of
Representatives, a copy of which T herewith '
send you.
I am firm believer in the practicability and
utility of co-operation in tbe smaller industries
which require little capital, and industrial
partnerships in the greater industries, which
demand not only an amount of eapital beyond
tbe reach of associations of workingmqp. but
also financial and business experience and
ability which few of them possess. Purely eo- j
operative associations of wnrkingmen have \
been quite successful in shoemaking, printing,
trunk making, Ac., and it is reported that an
association upon the co operative principle has
made a complete success in the foundry business
at Troy, N'ew York, but with the par- '
ticulars I am not fuiniliar.
In your editorial you refer to an extensive
manufacturing firm in New York city as an
instance of successful industrial partnership.
There are at least two largo establishments in
New York organized upon this principle, and
producing satisfactory results. I allude to
Messrs. Brewster & Co., carriage-builders, and
to Messrs. Cameron ?V Co., iron founders and !
machinists, and you wiil find mention of other
instances in this and foreign countries in Dr.
William Elder's new book?44 Topics of th?
Day"?in which the labor question in all its
phases is discussed with great, intelligence and !
ability, and with a hopeful benevolence ehar- j
actenstic of the author.
Wnile the Cambria Works are not organized
in co operative lorm, as near an approach to it
has been made as is possible under existing
circumstances. Tbe principle of giving work
ingrnen an equitable share in the profits of the
business is partially attained by tbe adoption
of a basis and sliding scale of wages governed
by the price of iron and rising and falling
with it.
r|'L._ L!-i J- - r v i -i ? a. I
? ue iiigufr grams 01 sauieu woraiuen auoui
the mill are upon this basis, while other grades
not susceptible of being directly governed in
this way, are indirectly influenced, the price of
iron deciding every increase or reduction that
is made. This system was substantially adopted
in 1858, but the rapid fluctuations of values
during the war rendered it inapplicable. In
1866, after a difficulty with tho puddlers, this
system was restored and their wages fixed at
one-twelfth of tho value of rails, wages and
iron being taken at their gold value ; the aver
age of the gold price of iron in New York citydaring
one month determining the wage* for
the following month. That this basis is favor
able to the workingman is *hown by the fact
that the cost of puddling in Great Britain is
about a shilling to the pound sterling of the
price of manufactured iron, which gives to the
puddler bnt one-twentieth of the value of the
finished product, that value, owing to duties
and freight, being much less than the price of
iron here. Finding this arrangement with tho
puddlers to work well, it was afterwards ex
tended to other classes of skilled workmen in
the milt, and as before stated, controls ail
changes in wages throughout the entire works,
and has, as far as I can learn, given satisfaction
to the workmen generally, who reeognir.;'
the correctness of the principle.
Industrial partnerships differ in their details,
but substantially concur iu making division of
profits to employer and employed upon the j
basis of invested capital on the one side, ami
wages earned during the year on the other.
A portion of the net protit is annually set
aside as interest upon capital, and the remainder
divided between owners and laborers in
accordance with the terms of the agreement.
At the present time money may be readily
loaned in such way that it needs no care, and
is insured against loss at twelve per cent, per
annum, and it is therefore not unreasonable to
allow ten per ceut. upon capital invested in
manufactures before proceeding to make divi- !
dends of profits to the laborer. Tnis amount
of interest is but a just equivalent for the
wages received by the workmen in this partnership
between capital and labor. Capital ;
takes all risks, for the workmen, in case of !
loss instead of profit, contribute nothing.
This scheme of industrial partnership involves
the paymeot of ordinary and usual
wages to worlkingmen, and in addition thereto i
a certain proportion of the profits?generally
one-half?above interest on capital, which
labor, skill, good management, and capital
combined may have earned. It looks like n I
one-sided bargain, in which all the gains would
go to the laborers, but I believe the employer
will always be compensated by the increased
economy and productiveness in his business, I
and by absolute assurance against the disturbance
and loss which so often result from
conflicts between capital aud labor. Individual
owners may at any time imitate the Brewster
and Cameron firms, but chattered companies
having numerous shareholders cannot so readily
do so. Many of these companies, being com
pelled to keep up with the march of invention
and progress of improvements, have been obliged
to invest all their earnings for years in
new machinery, extension of works, Ac., receiving
no dividends until their property may j
have become double the value of their stock. 5
Of course stock must be the baBis of dividend:*
to capital in industrial partnerships, and com
paiyts whose earniugs huve been invested in
extensions and improvement could not Bturt
fairly without increasing stock to an amount
which will represent the value of the property
at the time, and to do this as the law now
stands, they become liable to the tax oa divi
dends to the extent of any increase of capital, j
Stockholders may be willing to incur the risk
and make the sacrifices which the experiment
of industrial partnership involves, but are not
willing to pay a huge bonus to the State at the .
outset. After entering into partnership, other
difficulties must be encountered. It would be
impossible to reinvest or accumulate all earnings,
for a distribution to the workin^men
ry? I
would he compulsory, and the hardship ol
being taxed twice by the State in this process, i
first upon the money when earned, and agaiu
when distributed, appears like a wanton out- !
rage. Manufacturing corporations pay the
same taxes on their lands, houses, nulls, factories,
and other property that are imposed 011 !
individual proprietors engaged in similar busi- ;
ness, and pay in addition thereto a bonus upon
capital stock, a tax upon their net earnings, j
and another tax when these same earnings are !
divided among stockholders. This exceptional
taxation of corporations seems to have origin- j
ated from the idea that they are monopolies,
but this is in no sense true of manufacturing
companies engaged in business in which any ;
individual having sufficient capital may enter
upon, and which are ooinpelled to send their
trebly-taxed product to market in competition
with wealthy individual operators who have no
such burdens to bear. This unjust and im
politic system, which is daily driving capital
away from our State, has attraoted the atten
tion of the National Congrasa, and the appeal 1
of our representatives for protection to our in- 1
dustries was met by the asertion that Pennsyl- :
vania raised the half of her revenue from ;
exceptional taxes upon manufacturing com
paoies, and then sent them to Congress for
relief.
I hope I will be pardoned for thinking it
worth while for the State to remit claims which
are inequitable in favor of manufacturing anu j
mining companies willing to divide their profits,
above ten per cent., among their workmen.
If regarded not ae a matter of justice, but as a
bonus, this policy sesma commendable. Tue i
State Treasury is overflowiag, and if the
revenue should fall off other sources may be
found. |1
The loss to the State and the people by peri-1
ijS'-J.fSO a year in advance
B OoyitKi fbrvlO*
odiral suspensions at labor in raining and manut'acturiug
Mustritt calls imperatively for a
remedy fur which the State can well afford to
pay something.
The bill to promote industrial partnership*,
as presented, a Horded such n motive to chartered
companies to aoccpt its provisions that
its passage in that form would, I firuily believe,
have reorganized the industries of Pennsylva !
nia in a few yenrs. It would have enabled the
poorest w.?rkingman to enter into the manufac- j
taring business on an equality with the rioheat
individual proprietor. These features, which j
gave it value, were stricken out. and the act as
parsed has no practical value whatever. The
only artrnmeut adduced in favor of continuing
the robbery of manufacturing corporations was
the assertion that they had money ai.d must '
stand it. The same reasoning would justify
the same persons in putting their hands into :
the State Treasury, tilled to overflowing by
their unjust exactions, and taking its contents
for their own use.
Pardon the length of this letter, and believe 1
me, yours, truly.
1). J. Morkkm.. j
Johnstown, Mo v. 8, 1871.
T!*e Ku-Kluv In Chain*.
Pen It ruts ?>>- Hundreds?The .1*11 Ovrrfloivtsg?Geatrsl
Panic.
[Corrr*j?'?ndrnco of the New York Kerning Past.'
Yorkvim.e, S. November 6.?A month
ago the post commandant at Vorkville. Colonel
Merrill, of the Seventh cavalry, met the Attor- j
ney General at Columbia, and this meeting resulted
in a conference with the Governor of
.South Carolina. The facts reported by Col. ,
Merrill confirmed what was known at Wash- (
ingion tnrougn nis and other official reports. |
The Attorney Geueral, iu view of the repeated
denial of the truth of these reports had been ;
sent by the President to investigate mutters on ,
the spot, and recommend such action as was ,
necessary. The Attorney Geueral had in his t
possession certain evidence froui sources far ,
removed from the disturbed section, which bore ,
on facts in that section, and his intention was |
to compare the inferences drawn from his evi- |
dence with such evidence as he might find in |
Colonel Merrill's possession. The corres- |
pondence or conflict of this external evidence |
with that in Colonel Merrill's possession would |
determine what parts of each could he depend j ,
ed upon. The Attorney General, with the ( j
District Attorney of Sjcth Carolina and Col. (
Merrill, accordingly went to Yorkville and
beguu the comparison. An almost, exact cor j
respondeucH was found, with only one differ- j
en?e, the evidence collected at Yorkville was ,
much more complete, and went into details J j
which had not b?en known fully at Washing ,
ton. Upon this the report of the Attorney |
General was made to the President, ami the |
known fact9 demanded the action which at ,
once iollowed. j |
Nothing was known oT the purpose of this 1 j
conference of these gentlemen at Yorkville , (
except hy those interested. Vet on the day , (
following their arrival the exodus of the Ku- | ,
Kbix began ; and before a linger was lifted or ' (
a soldier moved or a word of warning given, |
before even it was determined what action ,
should bo recommended to the President, the .
leaders and many of the chief criminals in the ; |
order fled. Ue[>orts of the apprehensions of |
innocent people as to what might follow the \
visit of the Attorney General Lave been cominon,
but more have fled who are not well known j ,
to be guilty. i |
The nroiilumiit'nni During
, -?/? & t ??? . \
first two days the members of tiie Ku-Klux |
seemed bewildered, looking about for their |
leaders and for orders. Finding that to get ,
orders from their chiefs they must either follow ,
them in their flight or seek them in the jail, (
they at once recognized the fact that the (
"game was up." As one member after another <
went into the jail and found there only such as ,
he knew ought to be there, the demoralization
became complete ; all disguise was thrown off, j ,
and hundreds began to confess voluntarily. Tn i ,
many oases their conduct, serious as the occa , |
sion was, was ludicrous. Each man seemed ,
seized with the idea that those who first*eon
leased would have the best chance for clemency, j
and it was not an uncommon spectacle at
Colonel Merrill's headquarters to see men |
struggling for precedence to get in and to be <
heard. J
The rush of penitents was so unexpected ; |
that means of mcetiag it were not at hand, it
was like the sudden breaking of a flood. Day ,
after day the jail was filled up with the worst (
of the criminals, who caine from all sections to (
confess and surrender. Frequently the number |
waiting to be heard was as high as fifty or j
sixty. To d ?y in one case a grand father, aged |
sixty-five, his son, aged forty, and his grand- ,
son, aged fourteen, all came in together. In ,
some parts of the county hardly a white man i j
can be named who has not been identified as a ! |
Ku klux, either by his own confession or those '
of his fellow-members.
At this time the policy of the military an- ,
thorities is to send to jail those known to be j {
most criminal, and, as that is full, each time 1 ,
that an aggravated case of criminality appears, r
some less guilty man is released on his parole, (
and the uew one is put in his place. There is ; (
no time for words, no time for preliminary ex- t
animation, no time to do anything except t
classify criminals and parole the least guilty, j
No man, accordingly, is now in confinement
against whom the very strongest prima facie j
evidence doos not exist; and hundreds who. by i (
their own confession, have been engaged in
most brutal whippings, are at large on their ,
personal parole to a military officer, simply be- i
cause there is neither place nor physical force ; (
to keep any except its chief men and the mur- i ,
derers.
i\C -T * "? ~ *
yji course, wuere uunareus oi arre3ts have |
been liiude, a few ca^es have occurred in which
the wrong men have been seized. But no case ,
has yet appeared where the man did not have (
wholly or in part the right name. In one cas?'
a man who knew that he was not the one who ,
onght to be arrested, said to the officer who (
who arrested him: ".See, here, they might (
hang me by mistuke if you did not get the (
other . Now go along with me and
I will show you where to find hiui. He's the (
man you want. He's the inan that helped
kill . I have done nothing except
a little whipping." The facts justified what |
he said, and the right "John Smith" was (
aught. (
So far as can bo learned, not a single instance (
has occurred of officers or men under Colonel
Merrill's command treating their prisoners
otherwise than with the utmost respect and
courtesy; and in no case has any complaint
been made as to the manner of the arrest. The
jail is crowded, but in excellent sanitary con- '
dition, and the prisoners are humanely treated?
more humanely fur than wer* ordinary criminals
when the military took prisoners to the ;
jail. Much has been written iu the newspapers
about the harshness of the treatment and i'
the crael and inconsiderate conduct of officers '
and men when making arrests; but careful !
inquiry among those who have been arrested !
shows that without exception they deny the
truth of such charges against their captors.
Colonel Merrill informs us that, bad as he '
believed the facts, the present developments ,
show that but a small part of the villainies of
the ku Klux had ever come to his kuowiedge,
though his investigations have been exception- ,
ully lull and minute. Five murders, heretofore
unsuspected, have been brought to light J
fully by coufossions of the men who were engaged
in thetu. The most that was kuown of !
them before was that certain negroes were miss
ing and were supposed to have lied thecouutry ; *
now it is shown by the inenwho committed the j '
Ciimes that they were murdered. After hear- j .
ing many of the coniessions it must be said that
it is simply impossible to exaggerate the condition
of things which has prevailed in this
section for a year past.
The copy of the ku-Klux constitution which
I enclosed is a complete refutation of the state
men! of Democratic papers that this Order had J
not politioal relations. 1 obtained the copy e
from Colonel Merrill, by whom the original c
was secured after having been traced through j
the hands of Kians directly to the Grand Chief h
of the county. The handwriting of the orig j b
inal proves his complicity with it. The au- a
thentic character of the original is beyond I
question, though it appears to have lost one or a
two pages. A careful reading of it will show, u
-Mm
RATES OF ADVERTISING
TRANSIENT ADVERTISING RATES
On* i user Con, p*r ag pare........... - $1 " )
liiirtiim? ?
The spare of tenlinaa Hrasiartypa cviiStitate* an ad Tar
tialog aguara in this paper.
Anr apaca laaa tuna too linaa it charged tho rata of a foil
?<!??
All adTartfeamanta ivrnpTlnjr laaa thau aqnartar of a column
ara computed ty the sgnara.
Adrartisomanf* Inaertad for a last time than three moo th
are .-harjceJ traaaiant rata#.
by much that is expressed and by much taore
that is implied, thj dangerous character of this
organization.
TL? . -
x tier*? art* now about one huudreJ persons in
jail, most of them leading tueu in the ku Klux
Order, and all more or lew deeply involved in
aetnal deed* of violence. About three han- ||
deed have surrendered themselves and con- 11
frued, and m re are coming, the a-rests being jl
about thirty or forty daily. One stenographer
cannot record their confessions working twelve H
hours a day. Hundreds of negroes from all
over the country have lor the tirst t.mc dared ^
to come in and report what they have suffered.
About one hundred and twenty-five of the
leaders and ahief criminals have either fled the
country or have as yet eluded capture. Oae
or two who are known to havetx >nyt>d in
murder, but are men of wealth and position, , M
are believed to be on their way to Brazil.
Others have fled to Canada, and some are
known to bo lurking ahont in the woods. As
tho negroes express it: "Its tone body tlft 1 i!
tarn to lay out in the woods." J ,
Tl?ree Months on a W'redt t
>lart clous Escape. , ,
F <th Hi.? A T f.? C-'' r> V Bi
On the 2M of June last, the American brig *!.'h.
r, 1uIim,wwa diopa Mm i
(jild-me >ler, M je ke A (' >.. tr >tu tl 1 pert t.- H
Callao, with a cargo of abont 200,000 feet of
lumber, valued at about $2 000. Her crew
and passengers numbered in all 12. She had
a ronirh yovrw? <{<>wn ??><! .??. ?i?.? -* -l
..p. _- ... . .1 iur^nvl'1 .)[ Ill'- (
3d ot July was caught in a cyclone. Fortuaately
the steamship Mom Taylor, on her .
downward trip from this city to Honolulu, en- 8^
countered heavy weather, run off her cOttW Ba
for several hundred miles. ami a k op J a
the morningof the lOihof October. in lat.ttrdo
2f? deg. 40 min. north, longitude 1 deg. oil
miu. west, fell in with nnd hoarded the wreck
ot' the brig, and found one man. th? captain. H
alive on the forcastledeck in an exhausted con
iition. All others, crew and passengers, had BR
died from starvation. The captain, who hud
been a man of 20G pounds, when discovered .u
the forecastle of his wrecked ship weighed low
than 120 pounds. The sufferings ho endured
for over three months cannot he told; he
ilerally subsisted on his own fat. as he had 81
nothing to est. His pgQfidmliil rescue came Ml
it the last moment, for it is believed it was his 81
ntention to end his sufferings the jsme day by
;aking vitriol and ink. V
From the Hawaian Gazette, of October 24, wc
jlean the following particulars of the disaster
Jn Thursday, October 19, at S A. M., a sail 8
was discovered by the wheelman on tlie steamer m
Moses Taylor. The vessel lay directly in the *
jteamer's track, and appeared to he disabled,
having but one mast standing, aud only her K
lower topsail set, running before a fresh south
?ast wind. On approaching h<?r it proved to
be a brig, apparently descried, no persons ap fc*'
gearing in sight on board. A sail spread over
the forecastle, and a tent rigged in the foretop
;ross-trees, showed that the crew had occupied
hese places for some time. Af every lurch
he sea made a cb-nn breach over the vessel ? 'rom
stem to stern. To all appearance^ it wai
wreck which bad long beta water-logged,
ind her crew taken off by some passing vessel.
Her stern was broken away the bulwarks on ?
Kith sides gone, and bet sails flying from the y '
'oremast in rags.
On reaching the wreck the steamer stopped,
in<i Uuptum Uenuett sent off a boat to ?-?: ?!lain
whether nay persons were on board, nud
vhether any record could be found respecting
aor. The sea being ?|aite rough the brig 4
urched heavily, and the boat appronehed her
with some difficulty. She whs boarded, how
ITtr, t*y the third officer and a seaman from
:he steamer, who immediately went aloft int??
the foratop, and finding no one, went into the
roreeawtle, where they discovered a weak, ema r; '
crated man, who exclaimed, as he saw them,
"drear Clod Almighty! am 1 mvad Bo |j><
was lifted into the boat and taken to the ml
steamer, the only article brought with him
being a small canvas bug containing a nauti flfl
?al almanac, and a vial inclosing a sheet ol 4 .
paper, with the date of the wreck and uaines of iff
the crow and passengers. It proved to be the
American brig Shelehotl', two hundred and thir- 'J|
AMI IMM register, of 8m friHiWO, I ound tO ?
Cullao with a cargo of lumber. The survivor
was Captain Lodor Hookas, th# lost f to ij -i
persons at the time of the disaster.
The brig was caught in a cyclone on tki $ 1
sight of duly:;, the same d?te of tin solar Vj
scupw. Soon after midnight, when the cj p ^
done was at its height, she was thrown on her Si
seam ends, and found to be rapidly filling, and Ija
u order to prevent a total loss of the vessel and
:ier company, her md t away. j,
ind she righted up. No time was allowed to
ave any provisions or clothing from the cabia,
ind the crew were obliged t<> retrpat to the very ,
Foretop to prevent being washed overboard. 4
The mute. .Mr. Johns m, diod ftrst, III days
ifter the disaster. Two half barrels of sulmon,
i half-barrel of tongues, and a box of China t ?
starch were fished up out of the hold, but the
?* ' *
...mh.uk wiiirr wim an li'Uini ri? r . f>ru li ?
I'he fulnH'ii, tongue-:, aturok) ib4 a fcf M * raught
with a book trom time to time, and ocmsionally
a little rain-water caught in a sail,
ind always a little more or less brackish from
be salt spray, were all that the chip's company
lad to subsist on.
Cupt. Hopken's accouut ??f the sufferings of
lis men and passengers is a most heart-rending
>ne. After the death of the mate, on the 9th of
Tuly, none occurred till September t?, when
hflj began to become delirious ami weak froil
aunger and thir&t, and several died or jumped IN
averboard in their delirium. Boils and disease, p.r
induced by hunger and salt water, aided to the \
intensity of their sufferings. Nine or ten dir. . .SL;
before the 9teainer rescued him. C'apt. Hopken ui
states that a bark ran down to the wreck, h ?ve gjfl
to for a few minutes, then squared away with- -p?
out sending off a boat or making any effort to
rescue the lives of those on board, of whom
there were eight then living. The bark came
so near that persons could be seen moving about n, j
on her deck. Those on the brig were so weak
as to be unable to stand, but got on their knee
and waved pieces of sailcloth, hoping to attract
attention. Their feelings, a* they saw the U ^
bark square away when so near theiu.may bet- t
ter be imagined than described. Their last
hope being gone, they lay down, and one after
another died or leaped overboard. The bark
displayed no flag, and all that Capt. Hopken |j .i
can recollect of her appearance was that ^-he
had a new, bright spanker set.
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
Railway Company have commeuced the work
af planting trees along the tracks of their
roads?11,000 chestnut and 10,000 European ij'l.
larches having beeu planted along its line
between White Pigeon and Toledo, through the
country where the forests have he< n mostly
cleared away and the supply of timber M
scantiest. The work was most ftkoroigl f.,
lone, with the intention that every tree mi * \
live, and the coat, including the time of tie
laborers, who belong to the regular for e of
the road, and did this work in connection w.tu
and in addition to their ordinary duties, was an
iverage of eighteenth per tree; excluding the
labor of the company's employers, the cost
was only four cents per tree. The ra.-mg of
;rees mutable for cross ties oo the unoccupied
land adjacent to railway lines has something f
practical in it. These trees, when of proper
?ize. nmy housed for replacing cr>-?s ties, and
Ihns become a source of prolit, or rather of
luving; and when growing, a protection against .
Itorms. e?n*rtftllv th? houvv snnw 1
(term* of the prairie country. The rapid k.;
ixtension of the railway system, and the shori ,
'life" of ties?estimated not to exceed on an
iverage more than four and one-half years? i v
nakea the production of timber of particular
ntere9t to railway men.
?Ex-Governor Spra^ue and brother, Col. fl|
troaasa Sprague, of l'rovidence R. I.. ??"??
reoting, in the Swan Point Cemetery of that J
ity, a monumental tombstone, at a cost of }
tlOO.OOi). The ancestors and deceased members
of the Sprague family have heretofore
ieen buried on the grounde of the homesteud
.t Cranston, a few miles ont of the city of lfr
'rovidtnee, and their remaius will be exhumed
,nd re-intered in th,? lot surrounding the
nonument.