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THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION. ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY JUXS 15
88b*
fEE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION.
‘'jfgttnd tt toe Atlanta Foet-Offc* u eccond-ctes*
*5l matter, November 1L 1*7*.
Weekly ConstltnUon, Sl.SS per annum.'
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ATLANTA, 0*.. TUgBDAY, JUNE 15, U»l.
TO AGENTS.
The Sewing Machine offered by tie
premium for the largest lift of xnbscribere
•ent in during tiic month of April has baan
•warded to Mr. Thomas W. Chambliae, of
Union Springe, Aia. He eent 300 salwcrib-
em dnring the month.
Goiiixi.v lends now, nnd will nerer be
pelted lignin. Mark this!
YisTEltnAV’s victory will be dearly
honght if It makes (he Cordon men overcon
fident.
Ktatehman Walsh wild Cordon would
not carry u county on the Georgia road lw-
low DcKalb. lbs Greene county been
moved?
Tnthp were five primaries held Saturday.
In Sumter Cordon bent Uni on five to one.
In Greene, which waa claimed “solid for Ba
con” alter the joint itiwualon, Gordon beat
Baron two to one. In Fayette, Cby ton and
Spalding there were no llaeon men to make
np a ticket. Wherever Gordon gets before
the people, be will take their veidtet, what
ever Hie.
ItniKMHKii that Dr. Felton, whoabuees
Gordon, is the man who abased Senator Hill
even worse. He said that Senator Hill was
mendacious and corrupt, and says that be
tamed away in “abame and disgust” from a
room in which Senator Hill was speaking,
anil that if any one lied naked him if he also
wes a Georgian he would linvc denied his
birth place, so ashamed was ha of Honator
Hill’s corrupt course. Ho now abuses Gen
eral Cordon because General Cordon fought
fOT the democratic caudidate when Felton
fan against him.
The Deaaon of Saturday.
There have tieen three important voting
days In Ibis campaign—the first Tuesday, tbo
first Saturday and Saturday last. On tho first
Tuesday nine counties voted, ol which Cor
don carried seven with sixteen votes and
Bacon two with four votes. On tho first
Saturday Cordon carried tour counties with
eight votra and Bacon one connty with two
votes. On Rnlmday bit Cordon carried nine
conatiea with twenty-two votes nnd Ilocon
two counties with four votes.
No sensible man can mistake Ate meaning
of these figures. They ore Irrepressible. And
( yet they are net all. A changing of clgli
teen vote* on Tuesday would have given
Gordon every county that acted on that day,
and had Hut, Haralson and lbrrie not been
postponed by the Bacon men when they saw
they were iwalen, Cordon would lmve bad
eight voice added to his total. Ko campaign
in onr memory waa started under inch ad
verse auspices ns Gordon’s, and none has
yielded such overwhelming reunite.
The Bacon organs, bewildered by snccea-
eive and rmshtng defeat*, attempt to post
pone tli* acknowledgement to which they
will be inevitably brought, by axylng that
the tlonlou men fixed these Gordon coun
ties to act early. This is too aboard for dis
cussion. From I ho very first the Gordon
men have fought for time. They were with
out organisation while the Baeen men had
been organised for months. It b notorious
that the Boron men everywhere rushed conn-
ties into action while the Gordon meu have
begged fur time. Every reasonable man will
see why this was done. The Bscon men
were ready for the content and the Gordon
men were not. The Bacon men bad every
thing to preas for delay, the Gordon men
had everything to hope for. The fight has
been mode mainly upon territory of Bacon's
cbooetng, and in the counties ha thought
wero safei.v "filed" for him. Especially is
this true of the lint Tuesday when bis de
feat was so overwhelming.
Tbs lesson of Saturday b that Gordon
will he governor. Titk Constitution b not
disposed to boost while the fight is raging,
but the result of the skirmishing so far leaves
no donlit that Gordon’s overwhelming victo
ry depends only on the devotion of his
friends. The people are determined to
honor him. They are determined to rebuke
hb slanderer*. They are determined to
aneh finally and (braver the little Macon
Telegraph “ring” that has for yean abused
or slendered almost every public man in
Georgia.
There to only one thing that cau prevent
General Gordon’s overwhelming triumph—
that is the over confidence and apathy of his
friends. Ko battle it fatally toot except
that battle that is thought to bo anrely won.
The Cordon men have “surprised’’ the Bo
ron men olten and again. Let them look to
it that the Bacon men do net “surprise”
them. The fight will be over io about a
fortnight. General Gordon is really entitled
to the devotion amt the vigibnceol his
friends foe that short a Ume. With thie.be
wtll be governor by the largest majority in
convention that has been recorded in a con
tested race in yean.
I la Belfast.
Our bleat advioaa indicate a critical Male
•f affairs in Bel bet. It aeems that the riots
of the part two or three days promise still
farther trouble.
Beltkrt is one or the boding "reports of
Ireland. It if a large city of considerably
ever ->00,000 population, and is solidly built,
erith wide streets regularly bid out. The
export trade of the place b very extensive,
ee it b the largest linen trade centre in the
north of Ireland, is well at the largest linen
end cotton manufacturing city in that re-
The jrtMnt whippy trouble* In Btlfiut
are the natural outgrowth ol the rebellions
sentiment so openly encouraged In Ulster.
The Protestants are very strong in Ballast,
seventy-five out of eighty place* of worship
being of their fkith. A* in Ulster, they are
organized into societies of Orangemen, and
they have donbtlen been tempted into acta
of aggressive violence by the weakness ot the
Catholic*.
It b no new thing the the Orangemen to
inaugurate civil war in the atreeta of Belfast.
In 1872 they engaged in a riot lasting several
days. They sacked stores, burned houses
slaughtered people without reprd to age or
sex. Theriots of thb week ore of the same
character, American readers are appalled
by the intensity and fieroensss of these Irish
outbreak*. In onr citiss it b a rare thing
for n mob to hold its ground against cold
steel and lead. In Beltkrt, however, the
Orangemaq. withstood tho bayonet charge of
tho police. Musket balls failed todbperse
them, and armed only with paring stones
they beeieged the police In their station
houses,
lie Catholics of Ireland have too mnch
Iranian nature in them to tamely submit to
these outrages. They will retaliate, and In
some places giro the Orangemen a taste of
their own methods. The sitnation b com
plicated by the fact that the government b
in sympathy with the rletcn, and will be
slow to punish them. With men high in
sntberity and position, like Wolsely, at
their back, the malcontents feel ante. Their
premature opposition to home role, while in
reality rebellions and treasonable, accords so
well with the sentiments of tho British aris
tocracy that they are applauded in England
ss patriots Instead of lieing denounced os
rebels.
It fa to be hoped that the gorernment will
suppress thee* disturbances before they ex
tend^ other localities. With ths present ex
citement In England nothing could be more
unfortunate for the best Interest of the king
dom than a series of conflicts between the
Orangemen and the Catholics. In fact H
would be impossible to predict the ultimate
retails.
How the Vote Stands.
We print a table this week, to which
we invite the attention of onr readers.
When General Gordon entered the race
for governor, Major Bacon had already se
cured I I votes. In lest than a week 1 votes
were edded, so that General Gordon really
entered tlio field with 18 votes already re
corded against him. With the county or
ganizations in the hands of hb opponents,
be bos had to fight almost every battle on
hb opponent’s terrritory and on his oppo
nent’s terms. In spite of this, he has—al
though the fight b barely opened—reversed
the 18 majority agiinat him into a majority
of 10 in his favor.
Kow,lel us examine thb table. Major Ba
con law-It votes. How did he get them?
Seven ol bis conntles noted before General
Gordon was announced, and before the state
executive committee had met to call tlio
convention. Here are 1! votes gobbled up
before the race bad epenod. Three or four
counties acted so quietly that not even
the Bscon organ* knew ol the meotlng until
the delegatee had been elected. These are
Clinch, Liberty, Fickeni, Montgomery,with
R votes. Then there are the (l votes of Bibb,
Bacon's home connty, and the 0 votes of
Jiichmond, which Btatesmeu Wabb con
trolled. Hero ore 3-1 votes of hb total of -H,
Which Ui\jor Bacon got by jnggling without
n fight, nnd half of them before General Gor
don woa announced. There b not the slight
est evidence of strength in carrying cither or
all of them. They were "fixed up," nnd
they went without a strngglo.
How did General Gordon get bis 51 rotes?
He fought for every one of them in an open
fight. In every county be had to storm n
stronghold in which Major Bacon's trained
veterans wore entrenched. Every vote ho
has was won hy the help of the people, from
tho votes of Murray where ballot was 410
and 01, to tlio votes of Dooly, where hb ma
jority was only six vote*.
In our opiniou General Gordon’s lead is
less now tlinu It will be any Tncaday morn
ing from now until the end of tbs campaign.
Mark the prediction.
The counties that have acted to date are
ns follows:
covsTirs.
t'amdl—
flay
Clarion
&z:—:
F«y«llo... m
Ktmylh
Fulton....-
Ronton
(imue...... -
K&pirn::.r:z::
S ltcLelJ
Paulding 2
Screven I a
spsldtaf .....I 2
Total „...! M
rvcsTirs
Bibb
bulbs'll....
Camdeo............
Catoon J
Clarke
Clinch..............
coffee.
Columbia..........
Dodge
Echo la
Liberty.
McDtttuO
McIntosh..
Montgomery
Pickens
Quitman
Klcbmoed
Wayne
Dr. Felton's Abuse of Gordon.
Tho most remarkable speech in bitteroeox
nud abuse that oar state has heard b that
now bclug made by Dr. Felton sgainet Gen
eral Gordon. Ko other Georgian in onr
memory has talked ao malignantly o! anoth
er Georgian.
The trouble with Dr. Felton’s speech is,
that in order to credit it, yon mint lieliev*
that General Gordon is n this), a liar, a
bribe-taker, a perjurer nnd a coward. There
b no possibl* middle ground. Dr. Felton’s
speech means nothing or It means all this.
The man who does not helievs that Gordon
took bribes end then sworn he didn’t—that
he boa lied nnd stolen—that he has dealt
criminally with hb people, and then, like ■
coward, took refogc In forswearing—the man
who dues not bclfavo all thb of John B. Gor
don, can find neither eense or roeson in Dr.
Felton’s poisonous words.
Gan Georgians be Inonght to believe alt
thb of the brave and illustrious soldier—the
stainless and distinguished civilian—the
Gsoigiou whose hotly is covered all over with
scars wan in fighting for Georgia’s rights,aud
whose name is illumined with Georgia's
highest honors ? Do even hb enemies wish
that inch a result should lw brought about ?
Doe* oven hb opponent desire to win by
snrh means ss these?
Tbs second trouble with Dr. Feltea'*
e«ch is that Ms animus b plain. General
Gordon, at the call of tbs democratic party,
went Into Dr. Felton’s dbtrict end led the
party hosts in the fight for organised democ
racy. He alone ot ill prominent Georgina,
(excepting the Hon. Thomas Hardeman)
went Into the seventh, snd from connty to
connty fought by (ho side of Lector. Many,
we may ssy most, of Dr. Felton’s supporters
recognized tho tact that in responding to the
tall of hb party, General Gordon simply did
his duty as ha saw it, and they ore now
among hb strongest supporters. Bet Dr.
Felton has not fbigtven. And he takes hb
lurad at revenge.
Tho third trouble with Dr. Felton's speech
b that he b always bitterer than the facta or
the character of hb opponents will justify.
Toko what ho said of tho sainted Hill—as
pure a patriot as Georgia ever produced.
When Mr. Hill was already suffering from
fetal disease which caused hb death, Dr.
Felton wrote of him, what a member of hb
Amity called, "the meanest words ever ut
tered or written of him.” Among
ether things, after arguing in
detail that Mr. HtU had acted
corruptly os a senator, Dr. Felton says that
he approached a door while Senator Hill was
speaking. Oi hb feeling* while listening to
the great Georgian, he says:
"I remembered alto that some man approached
Peter when hb Master was on trial end raid to
him: “Thou.tbo art s Oallllean; thy speech be-
treyeth thee.” Lest I should be asked, "Art thoa
tlio a Georgian" I left In shame and disgust,
like Peter I would have denied the soft Impeach
meat.
Think of thb! Think of Dr. Felton leav
ing a room in which Georgb’s peerless Rena-
tor Benjamin U. Hill wo* speaking, for fear
he wonld lie disgraced by it being discovered
he also was from Georgia! Dr. Felton says
"ho left in shame and dbgnat," and avers
that if any one had asked him if he was from
the same state as Mr. Hill he would have
'denied it" because of hb "shame snd dis
gust." These words, incredible as they
stem, are quoted verbatim Irons Dr. Felton's
printed letter of January 10th, 1888, in The
Constitution.
This b not the wont of Dr. Felton’s abuso
of Senator Hill. Ho calls him “a deliberate
falsifier of tlio truth.” He sayaofMr. Hill, as
gentle a man nnd as frank as ever lived, "Yon
can measure hb malignity by hb hypocrisy.”
He says of one of Mr. HlU’s'pnblic acts:
“Tltonk God my democracy b not smirched
by'sncli a crime as this." Mr. Hill had
written him a friendly and affectionate let
ter. Of this letter he says: "Althongh fall
of lib peculiar affection, M was so dogmatic,
impertinent presuming and offensive that
my wife said: “Lookout for an atrocious
attack on yon." .
He further soys ot Mr. Hill:
‘Ha<lhe man become Inune that ho should
thus belle himself • • • I charge that he b
dishonest In the representation of his people snd
parly In the senate. • • ’ Hoes he deny hb
double dealings, false friendship end greed Tor
money in the Cohtnlti-Murphy embroglio?”
Let ns quote one more expression. He says
or Mr. Hill:
‘The embodiment of self-conceit. » * • lie
has done nothing worthy for hb country and state
that will live in the memory of the true, the good
and the patriot.”
The shaft ol white marble which Immor
talizes the memory and the features of Sen
ator Hill, and about which 30,000 Georgians
lately gathered to honor lib name and fame,
testifies that Dr. Felton was, to say the least
of It, mistakeu in his prophecy concerning
Mr. Hill. Is It not fair to presume he b also
overreaching the troth in lib abuse of Gen
eral Gordon? He was jnit as positive and
ns special and as bitter in hb chargee against
Mr. Hill’s, honor nnd character ns against
General Gordon. Even worse, for he said,
while suffering with “shame and disgust” at
Mr. Hill’s coarse in Washington, that if h*
hail been asked If ho “also was a Georgian,”
he would have denied hb own birthplace.
We believe be has not gono so far as thb eron
with General Gordon. What bo says about
Gordon is In the vehemence of speech. What
he said about Mr. Hill was written in cold
deliberation in hb own privnte room, and
real and re-read and printed- lie was cer
tainly wrong then. Why b he not wrong
now?
We give Dr. Felton credit for believing
that he regrets ever baring written these
words of Mr. Hill. In contemplation of
Mr. Hill’s grand and heroielife, hs mart ad
mit that they were crnel and unjustifiable
words. The timt will corns when he wilt
led just tbb way about the cruel and un
justifiable things ha b now saying in paarion
shoot General Gordon. Neither Hill or
Gordon deserved ouch wonls. And to hurl
such abase at two such illustrious Georgians
b a very poor business and utterly unworthy
n man of Dr. Felton's Intellect and position.
Tbetimo will come when he will reallss
this.
lh« Hector'* Dilemma.
l’retty Mbs Mayo, of Elizabeth, N. J., b
creating quite a miration in Episcopal cir
cles.
It seems that lost Sunday when ah* at
tempted to partake of communion at Christ
Ciinrcb, her rector, the Rev. H. H. Oberly,
deliberately passed her by. The yonng lady
tlien wept vtolenty, and was with difllcatty
restrained front making a scene. Th* tame
tiling occurred n few Sundays ago, and Mba
Mayo undo her second attempt at the ang.
grstion of Bbbop Scurlwrongh. She U an
hetrses with influential friends, and it b un
derstood that prompt action will Ira taken to
have the stubborn rector removed.
So much for one ride of the csss. There
b an ether tide, or conree, and it la a pretty
strong one. A short time ugq Ur. Oberly
lutd an argument with Mbs Mayont the bap-
tbmal font, when the lady became so ex
cited that she stepped hb be*. It if alaa
sold that Mira Mayo recently purchased a
collln snd dept in it, robed as if for the
grave. Such eccentricity, and above all
such temper, the rector thinks justifies him
in the course be has pursued. The members
ot th* chwch are divided in opinion, and
there will bt a Uvdy racket before the affair
brattled.
The Campaign of Standee.
The campeigu against General Gordon has
resolved itself finally Into nothing bnt abase
and dander against hb personal character.
Mgjor Bacon’s friends realize th* absurdity
of running a railroid attorney against Gor
don who stands squarely for the commission
law as It is, or of trying to beat the most
brilliant soldier that Georgia eent to the war,
tuvered all over with scare won at the head
of her troops, with a man who resigned hb
place as e<\jntant early In the war and came
heme sml became a tax-ia-ktnd gatherer.
They realise that it b impossible to juggle
him through by pecking little courthouse
meeting*. They see that he has no strength
with ths people that will enable him to stand
np agtinat that best beloved et Georgian*—
John B. Gordon. Their campaign has been
a Cat failure. It hex Allen to pieces. The
people have “unfixed” what they had
"fixed,” and smothered their little "cat and
dried/’ programme*.
To save themselves from overwhelming de
feat they resolved to overwhelm Gordon with
slander. Theylutve, therefore, denounced
him ss asbnderer, a liar, a thisf; as eorrupt
in public life and dblionest in private liie;
os a bribe taker, and even as a canard.
Crime after crime has been charged on him.
It bts been amerted that he had his soldiers
shot withoot trial, and that the wound on
bis face was cut by a swinging limb. Every
species of pettifogging abuse that malice can
KUggestor hate envenom has been written of
him, and the state has been flooded with the
miserable staff.
These are iamilbr tactics to the people of
Georgia. Time and again have they been
rebuked and stomped upon. The little “ring"
of intolerant place boaters that b slander
ing Gordon is the some that hounded Alex
Htephena to hb grave; it b the same that
vilified Colquitt; it b the some that palled
down Boynton; it b the some that has de
nounced and traduced McDaniel; it b the
same that threw ib murky shadows across
the glory of Ben Hill’s life and saddened
with ib poisoned venom hb lost years. It
was Dr. Felton, who now charges Gordon
with corruption, who charged Ben Hill as
being corrupt as a senator and who said he
was so ashamed o( Senator Hill’s course that,
he wonld have denied being from the some
state it lie hod been asked. Thb to the sort
of men who, having defamed Hill when he
waa living, now strike with atonder the gal
lant Got don.
General Cordon is a men of courage and
integrity. He never did a cowardly or dto
honest thing. His life b gallant, cbivalric,
generous. In war and in peace he hn been
illnslrions. TVherever Gcoigia called him
he lias served her in honor end fidelity. The
man who insinuates that he ever did a oor-
nipt or cowardly act utters a slander. The
people know it is slander. The men who
bane it know it bahtnder. General Gordon’s
whole life—on the field, in the senate, in hb
home—prove* that it b false. He fights
above the malignant pettifoggers who tra
duce him, os men of great soato and stain
less lives have always done. And these
slanders will roll away from about hb char
acter as the clouds roll away from the moun
tain tops. Ths malice that failed to becloud
the memory of Hill and Stephens will A11 to
stain the character of John B. Gordon.
Why We Have Cyclones.
In thb errantry the foreita have been de
stroyed without making any provision for
renewing them. Cyclones, dnring the last
quarter of a century, have been frequent and
destructive.
In South America there b a vast area of
land as level at onr western prairies. Yet
there are no cyclqpea in that region. AU
along the Amazon stretches n country so
monotonously flat as to afford the falleet
possible scope for the formation and sweep of
the mightieet cyclones. What causes thb
mysterious exemption from. the visits of the
atorm king?
The theory of modern scientists U that the
Amazon region escape* cyclones because it b
the most heavily timbered tract in the world.
Instead of ascending currents of heated air,
thereto ascending moisture from the trees
nnd verdure. In the future, when civiliza
tion stripe the country of Its forests, leaving
n vast desert plain, cyclones will be as com
mon as they are in our western states.
If there b anything in thb theory, and
there to little reason to dqubt it, the best
thing we can do b to devote.some attention
to forestry. The arbor days instituted in
some of the states are stops In the right di
rection, hnt wc need thoroughly organized
action. Wo have reached a point where the
replanting of onr forestoon a large scale is
on absolute necessity.
Dr. Felton's “I Will Not,”
The object of a party nomination it to
prevent the disruption of the party and its
destruction. There are two candidates who
want to run. For both to ran would divide
the party and turn It over to it* enemies. A
party nomination b therefore called. The
friends of each aspirant go intotita nomina
tion nnd try to control it. Which one wins
b entitled to the fall party vote and to the
hearty support ol the friends ot hb quondam
oppenent.
On any other theory than tbb—that evory
man who participates In a nomination b
bound in honor to abide that nomination
when Airly made—no party can maintain
ifoelf. In every party, in every section, In
every connty, thb b insisted on and under*
stood.
Now, Dr. Felton b the leading champion
of Major Bacon. He b indorsed and praised
hy th* Bacon organa. When asked by Mr.
Arnold, of Uontezamn, if he would support
Genera) Gordon if he were nominated, be
replied:
“I will not!”
We have no argument to add to thb plain
and nnmlatakahlo statement General Gor
don’s friends ore democrats. They announce
that they will support Major Bacon cheer
fully If ho is nominated. They submit the
claims of their favorite in perfect good faith
to the democratic voters, anil say frankly
that if tbeto man b put aside tiny will cop-
port whoever bean the standard of democ
racy. On the other hand, Major Bacon’s
leading champion, indorsed by tho Bacon
organa, while asking tho democratic nomina
tion for Boron, openly declares that he will
not vote for Gordon if ho to nominated.
Let thb be dbtinctly under
stood. Lit democrat* everywhere
understand that Di. Felton, who b Major
Bacon’s leading champion, mysho wUI not
rapport Gordon, even If Gordon b nominat
ed. Will democrats indorse each conduct
as this, or sit submissive under such a
threat? Ifthey do, the organisation
party bgono and it bat the mercy of any
dfaorgsnlzer who may enter its ranks for the
parpooo of defying its power.
The -outturn Negro.
The Chicago Times b publishing • series
of notable article! on tho negroes of the
couth, written by a special correspondent
who boa cnrefolly studied the ettnation in
every state eonth of the Potomac. It wonld
hedifiicnlt to find anywhere a fuller or fairer
presentation of the different phase* of the
race question.
We have spec* only for a summary of
aornt of the conclusion* of the Times cor
respondent. He rejects Judge Tonrgee's
theory that the negro race will increase so
rapidly as to ontaomber the white* in eight
eenthern states. Th* negroes, while they
have the preponderance in the lowlands or
hteck belt, are Ailing behind in the uplands.
All th* Piedmont or mountainous region,
comprising more than one-third of the south,
cast of the Mississippi, has so few negroes
that they do not form an appreciable force
in society and government. In tbb region
the whites display es much energy and pro-
gressiveneas os can bo found anywhere in
the country, and it b plain that they will
continue to control. The pore blacks ol'
ways move down the slope, never np. The
miacegenes hold their own better than the
blacks in the highlands, but they are in a
hopeless minority.
Concerning the futnre the writer says:
I consider it certain, therefore, that all the eem
tral louth will remain * “white men's country"
forever: that the colored min will be of less Um-
portsnee there every year: that the development
of mines snd diversified Industries will era tone
create anew system of agriculture and make tt the
richest portion of the south, and that all the plat*
cau region will in time be inhabited by the finest
product of the Caucciten race, and become ths
seat of the ben civilisation yet known on earth.
While It will not be a purely material civilisation,
It will have enoush of the practical elements of
New England life and be without the harsher
features of New England character: It will hare
more of the joyous and sentimental, developing a
new school of literature and architecture. And If,
at I think likely, tho lowland sooth-tbat narrow
crescent below the last line of hills—be given up
entirely to the blacks, tbeir relative weight In
government will (tow less instead of greater.
It is a simple matter of figures, which anyone
can verify by looking at the returns, that without
tho colored men's vote, especially in Connecticut,
New Jersey, Ohio and Indiana, Tilden would hare
been elected In 187G 'and Hancock In Into, while
congress would have been democratic three terou
out of four since 1870. Thb excess ol political
power, which often occurs hy mesns of a clast
vole, which Is solid without regerdto the questions
at issue, Is followed In the natural order by an ere
In which the negro vote is of less consoqnenoe
than in perfect fairness It should be. That, too,
will pats away, but the negro can never again ;bc
the power In politics that he waa. The assertion
that the negroes wonld all vote one way if unre
st rained la about the wont charge that could be
made against them as a race, for It Is manifestly
ImpoOilble that a million men who read and think
could all come to the same conclusion on tariff,
greenbacks, prohibition, banking, labor and cap!
tal, and other question of public policy. The re
publican who asaerts that they would “vote aolld”
does but assert that they are stupid, untouchable,
Incapable or Investigation and independent
thought, and if education does not lead them to
dlfikr Intelligently In politics, as It does white
mast, I shall consider that a conclusive proof that
they are incapable of a really high development,
and destined to remain a black peasantry for all
time. At present, however, the only point I Insist
on Is that their political force can never again bo
what It was, and even If we surrender to them the
three states which oontain most of the mslsrlous
lowlands, and even If every senator and member
from those states Is colored, that wtll be long alter
the new statee of the northwest shall have added
three times as mtny whites to congress, and the
central or white sonth half an many more. Al
ready the single territory or Dakota could outvote
the pure blacks of Louisiana and Florida com
bined.
What will be the ultimate relations of the
races? The Tlmea correspondent frankly
answers that be doc* not know. He to sure,
however, that there will nerer be a war of
races. There maybe occasional riots,but
any general movement to an impossibility.
It is possible that the miacegenes may colon
ize elsewhere, nnd that when the lowlands
are entirely filled np with blacks they will
he governed by white officinb appointed hy
the state. No race ever increases faster than
the iooil supply warrants, and mnch of the
black belt now has as large a population os
it will sustain. In short, all the problems
growing ont of the relationships of the two
races will gradually and naturally settle
themselves.
Will He Maks the I'lodgo ?
The railroads do not want the railroad law
modified if they can have men appointed
whom they can control. The appointment
of men on the commission who sympathize
with the railroads rather than the people
would he a greater victory for the corpora
tions than the mere modification of ths law.
It wonld amount in effect to
the substantial repeat ot the taw,
because all the decisions of a board so con
stituted wonld be against the people nnd in
Avor of tho railroads. The Constitution,
when the legislature wat in session, farored
the modification of the law suggested by the
commissioners themselves, hnt The Consti
tution has never been in favor of emascu
lating the law so that the people wonld not
he ahle to nap the benefits of it.
How doe* Mr. Bacon stand? At Sparta he
evaded the question, bnt seeing that each an
evasion would practically leave him no fol
lowing in tbo state, he tuts since said that be
b in Avar of maintaining the law as it
stands. This, however, it not the important
point. Will he, if elected governor, appoint
men as commissioners who sympathize with
the railroads rather than ths people? Will
he pledge himself to tins? We can answer
the question now. He will not make the
pledge.
The Fire LolWI Last Year.
The racond^volumc of “Tho Chronicle Fire
Tallies,” published hy the Chronicle com
pany, of Ken York, b at hand, nnd ib
statistics are of such an interesting character
os to make a summary desirable for the
benefit ot the general reader.
The lire losses in the United States last
year amounted to about $103,000,000, a fall
ing off of $7,000,000 from the figures of the
preceding year. An nnalysb revcab many
striking facts. For instance, Oregon, with
less than one-eighth of the population of
cither Alabama or Mississippi, loot by fire os
much as these states lost. Rhode Island aud
Vermont kept pace with North Carolina,
whose population b four or five times greater.
California, with one-third the population ot
Missouri, outburned that state. So Con
necticut equals Georgia, and Tennessee b
even with Louisiana.
Incendiarism ranks first in the lbt ot fir*
catties. Ths percentage b as follows: New
England, twenty-two per eent; the middle
states, twenty per cent; th* zonthern states,
forty-one per cent; and th* west, twenty-five
per cent. Various reuses are assigned for
incendiarism. In the lumber regions of the
west the socialists are blamed; in the interior
towns the prohibition movement has some
thing to do with it, and in the Pacific states
the anti-Chinese agitation baa led to a free
use of the torch. In Georgia fifty-one per
cent of onr lost year's fires stands credited to
incendiarism.'
Other fire causes arc worthy of study. In
diana had the greatest number of fire* last
year from lightning stroke*, and also the
greatest number of tramp fires. Pennsyl-
vanta suffered most from matches and from
lamp accidents. Massachusetts led in forest
fire* Defective fines were most dbratrons
in llliiiob snd Pennsylvania, while cigxr
stub* devastated California, Massachusetts,
Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Another interesting point b brought ont
by there statistics. It b that Allans cause
Thb b somewhat oflset by the Act
that fires in tom cxnse Allan*, but it u rafe
to ssy that incendtery risk* are greater in an
nnprosperons region than in one that fa
booming. Rammer is onr want season foe
fires, and August b the worst month.
It seems that the uninsured lees fast yean
was eighty per cent Over one-eighth of lost
year’s loeseo occurred by the horning of
dwellings and tenements, rendering 40,000
persons homeless. The greatest conflsgra-
tion was the one at Galveston, by which
$2,000,000 worth of property was destroyed.
General Gordon and Mr. Huntingdon.
The Constitution long ago determined
to make no answer in detail to ths insinua
tions made against General Gordon in con
nection with Mr. Huntingdon. We felt
that bb whole record as a public and pri
vate citizen, his character os a Christian
and a gentleman was more than snfllcient
to answer the miserable insinuations that
have been uttered against hint. We felt,
and we still feel, that the people of Georgia
demanded no answer and that they wanted
none. The aame charge! in efiect were
mode against Mr. Hill and he and his
frlenda treated them with the contempt nnd
scorn they deserved and hb memory lives
all the brighter because of the attempt
made to blacken hb character while in life.
In four counties oat of every five that have
selected delegates since Gordon was an
nounced as a candidate these miserable
slanders hare been answered to the eonfa-
slon of those who made them, and to the
satisfaction of hb friends. As the campaign
grows older and these slanders ore scattered
wider thb answer from the people becomes
more emphatic, and if let alone wonld have
resulted in General Gordon’s overwhelming
triumph.
We are in receipt however of a communi
cation on thb subject from • gentlemen of
character and acquaintance, of tho
facts of thb esse that b so manly
and clear and convincing that
we give it place in onr columns. We do
not believe that there b a man in Georgia
—not even those who itened or repeated
these insinuations—that believes that Gen
eral Gordon ever did or ever could have
done a corrupt act os a senator. This com
munication not only dean him from any
each suspicion, even among those who do
not know him, bnt it demonstrates that the
very act on which these insinuations are
based was one among the noblest and best
things he ever did as n senator. He foaght
the largest and most unscrupulous lobby
that ever went before congress. He fought
it successfully. He and others who agreed
with him saved the government from affix
ing its indorsement to $50,000,000 (of bonds
to secure a rood that has been built withont
one dolbr of notional indorsement. Wo
did not know the tacts ns detailed in tho
letter of onr correspondent. Wc did not
cere to know them. Weknewthat Gordon
woa a man of honesty and integrity. Wo
knew that he never did a dishonest or cow
ardly or corrupt act. It transpires that ho
not only did not do wrong in the Hunting
don matter, hnt that he deserves a monu
ment from the people of tbb country
for having trailed with others to
crnel) and heat an attempt to
get n useless indorsement on $50,000,000 of
bonds. In thb he exhibited a courage anti
sagacity nnd Ar-8igbt«1nea3 that, if he bad
never done anything more, wonld establish
beyond donbt the high power of hb states
manship. He and hb friends contended
that the government should not lend ita
credit to secure a road that was already be
ing built by private enterprise; that south
ern men should not vote a subsidy to a
northern road that waa miscalled a southern
road, the whole purpose oi which would bo
to destroy a southern rood that was then
being bnilt; and after a straggle that lasted
for months; he, with others, succeeded in
defeating thb scheme. AH that he pre
dicted hxs come trie. The Huntingdon
road b bnilt, and not one dollar of govern
ment indorsement or money ha* ever been
asked or given. It has met every require
ment that Tom Scott’s road wonld hsvo
filled, end has justified General Gordon ss a
statesman and patriot.
Cordon’* victory to Screven.
General Gordon’a victory in Screven connty
is a significant one.
He had never been in the connty. It has
alwsys been considered a perfectly safe Ba
con county. It has been - announced as
‘fixed” for him, and wat, consequently,
called early for the sake of effect. It had
been flooded with the Macon Telegraph and
“Plain Talk’s” letters. It b in the section
that b claimed aolidly by Bacon.
In spite of oil this, tbs good people oi that
connty rose np and gave Gordon the dele
gates by a majority of 01 In a total vote of
404. Where all theee Gordon men of Screven
came from, it wonld puzzle General Gordon
himself to tell. Neither he or a friend of
his ever went into the county. Hb com
mittee bad lets than a dozen correspondents
in the county. Yet, after having fed on the
slanders of the Macon Telegraph for a
month, over 230 men rode or walked into
the little town of Sylvanta and cost their
votes for Gordon.
The lesson of all thb b plain. John B.
Gordon is irresistible before ths people of
Georgia. No man, or set of men, can beat hing
there. Hb splendid record a* a soldier, his
stainless and Ulnstrioas political life, his
gallant and chivairic personality—all these
have made him beloved of hb people.
Anil then, too, abate don’t win in Geor
gia! A breve and generon* and boneat life
stand* white agrinst vilification nnd mud-
slinging in thb good old state, and a good
character, though dstractora swarm aU over
it, b safe in the hands of thb people.
THBSB BABES OF OURS.
hiked the other day who gavt ths moet—were the
root: generous to him—ladles or gentlemen.
"Well,’” he raid with rherznlmChe-inmey, “yea
know the gentlemen have more”—Graphic.
“Mr. Jonee,’’ raid little Johnny to the gen
tlemen who wee making ea Afternoon cell, "cam
whisky lalkt” "Net my child; how ever can you
ask such a question’'' “O. nothing, only mm said
whfrky waa beginning to tell on you.”—Hotel
Nests.
Adoring grandmother—“Isn’t he a lovely
child:'' Ctlm visitor—-Yes, he's a nice little
baby." Adoring grandmother—“And so intalU.
gent! He Jut lies there ell day, and breathe*;
and brvathee, and breathes."—San Francisco New*
Letter.
Little Willie prayed long and ineffectually
for a brother. At fast he gave It up as -no nee."
Soon alter hb Bother bad the pleamra of ebevfoa
him twin table* He looked at than) a moment
end than exclaimed: “Bow tacky It waa that I
stopped praying: Toera might have been threel'i
—Babyhood.
They tell of a boy in England who aeafogs
great teat In which a panorama ot “Benjuurt TO-
grim's Progress" sras twin* exhibited, wont to too
ticket tatiw and asked If Mr. Banyan waa In. Re-