Weekly Democrat-Times clipping

Harris, John F., 1827-1913; Lynch, John Roy, 1847-1939

Political Events.

During the past week there has been a good deal of speaking in the various precincts; chiefly by Judge Alcorn and other Republican speakers, who have been striving to destroy the poison introduced by Lynch's speech here two weeks since. At Stoneville and Winterville they were aided by Capt. W. W. Stone, Democratic-Conservative candidate for the Legislature, in a manly and sensible speech, upholding the administration of State and local affairs by our party, that ought to prove convincing. Judge Alcorn has spoken earnestly and ably in the county during the past week; and now leaves for Hinds county.

There is no disguising the fact that since Lynch spoke here, there has been a change of tactics by the confusionist speakers. In speeches made by J. F. Harris, Cartwright and others, during the past week, as reported to us, all effort is directed to work upon the prejudice and ignorance of the colored voters. Their speeches have been quite as incendiary as those by which the carpet-baggers kept the negroes banded while they were plundering the county. Indeed the object of the confusion party in this county could but be, even possibly, effected by this line of action; to which line pursuit of this object has naturally gravitated. The effect of Lynch's appeal plainly afforded the cue to his followers in Washington county, and they have taken it up.

Heretofore, under appeals such as are now being made, inciting the colored laborers to regard the white planters as their enemies, we have realized that reason is powerless. We earnestly hope that this realization, and the hopelessness attending it, will never again attend the earnest efforts of the ablest and best men of our community. We do not believe that it will; but will know whether this hope is baseless after next week's canvass, under the appointments which we publish.

We urge upon the planters of the county that they attend and co-operate in these meetings. There is cause for just complaint at the apathy displayed by the land owners in the pending election; wherein they are chiefly, of all classes, interested. They should not forget the era of reconstruction; nor fail to know that there is a constant danger of the present relapsing into the past. Remember the difficulty, the abortive efforts that attended the labor of arousing the people to the revolution of 1875. It was not the first approaches to a subversion of local self-government that were resisted; nor the years of repeated and constantly increasing robbery and oppression that banded all honest white men against the robbers. It was only when it became a question of confiscation or revolution that it was possible to organize effective resistance. In this Ben King movement we see a repetition of the first step in the establishment of carpet-bag government; with the single change of home material, equally unprincipled and reckless, for the carpet-bagger. The appeals to the ignorant voters, by which a foothold may be secured, are identical with those made in 1869. We have not yet done paying off the debts incurred by the carpet-baggers when we are threatened with rule of those having the same object in endeavoring to secure the public offices. We warn all property owners that it is economy to meet and crush out the first approaches of this movement.