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The President’s
proclamation under the Ku-Klux law is a simple, earnest appeal to the
people of the disturbed section to keep the peace and secure the rights of
all citizens through the agency of local laws. It is the sincere
expression of a wish not to be compelled to exercise the great powers
confided to him, but also of a fixed resolution not to hesitate to use
them if his warning does not suffice. The proclamation is both firm and
modest; and in the assertion of the authority confided to him by the
representatives of the people it contrasts agreeably with the dictatorial
tone which is apt to characterize such documents.
We have heretofore plainly
expressed our unfavorable view of the law itself. Whether the method
devised by Congress for restoring order and protecting rights is the best
method remains to be proved. But there is no question in the mind of any
honorable and intelligent citizen that the President speaks like the
proved patriot and honest man that he is when he says: "It is my
earnest wish that peace and cheerful obedience to the law may prevail
throughout the land, and that all traces of our late unhappy civil strife
may be speedily removed. These ends can be easily reached by acquiescence
in the results of the conflict, now written in our Constitution, and by
the due and proper enforcement of equal, just, and impartial laws in every
part of our country." That is the platform of every hearty
Republican; and that is what the Democrat resists. |
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