The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1848-03-10
Senator Douglass Great Speech.

ready read the speech Of Mr.. Douglass o
this state, delivered in the Senate of tn,
United States on the LIST ut, on the Tel
Regiment bill. But many more have no
read il, and as it is the most perfect vindica
ton we have yet seen Of the justice of the
present war and of the course Of our demo
cratic administration and the democratic
party on the subject, we feel constrained, al
though our space will not permit US TO pub
fish it entire, TO lay its main points before
our readers.
Mr.. ID. begins with hasty review Of tn,
action of Congress in reference to the wal
since its commencement. Its legality wa,
recognized by the act of May 18th, 1916
and Congress, by an almost unanimous vote
placed $lO,000,000, and fifty thousand vol
unteers and the whole regular army ant
navy at the disposal of the president to pros.
ecute it with vigor. The brilliant results o.
the first campaign are alluded to and theI
the fact that more men and money were asl;
ed to carry the war into the heart Of Mexico
and again freely voted. With these facts
before him, Mr.. ID. was not prepared at thi,
session to hear, from the same senators who
bad so readily voted for the war measures
OF the two preceding sessions, the war de.
nounccd as unnecessary and unconstitution-
al-much less war of conquest, rapinc and
robbery. Do the senators, he asks, ima CINE
that they can make the president alone re.
sponsible for the consequences that may flow
from the laws they enacted, and under the
ccas..:ut.cn compelled him TO execute? But,
he proceeds,
Il would seem that great discovery has
been recently msdc-that the Congress OF
the United States has been acting under an
entire msapprehenSion in regard to the na-
ture and character Of this war We are
now told that the President has changed his
grounds. and now assigns causes and rea SONS
totally different and inconsistent with those
which he gave at the last and proceeding
seSSiOns-that the causes then were: 'Ethat
American blood has been shed upon Amer
lean soil'-the reasons now given for its
prosecution, are, "indemnity for the past
and security for the fnture.n Tie Senator
from Delaware has made these two extracts
from the Presidents messages the subject of
much mirth and wit. He has told us that
"indemuity for the pasf' means one half OF
Mexico, and "security for the future" the
other half. Convinced, by this wonderful
discovery, that his efficient support of this
war has been yielded under fatal delu-
sion as TO its true character and objects. he
feels constrained, now that he has recovered
his mental vision, to make atonement for
the past, by withholding supplies in future
Mr.. d. then shows, by the most conclu-
sive argument, that there has been no change
whatever in the line Of policy originally an
nounceh by the president on this subjec.
and proceeds:
have show that the causes which pro-
duced it remain unchanged, and that the
President has set out the insults to our flag,
and tie injuries TO our commerce and citi-
zcns, as grievances 10 be redresstd, in the
message TO which the ctofthe 18th of Nav.
1876, was patriotic rcponse. NOW wish
to invite the attention of the Senae-espec-
tally those senators who have hitherto sup
ported the war, and now oppose it upon the
ground that the president has rec emily shift
cd positions by setting upa claim iorintem-
nty--,o the following extracts from doc
umeut which was sent to General Taylor,
from the War Department, on the ith OF
June, 1916, and by him promulgated to the
Mexican people:
81 proclamation by Tie General command
ing the army Of the United States ct liner
lea, 10 The people Of .Iez'ico:
"At;er many years Of patient endurance,
the United States are at length constrained
to acknowledge that war now exists be-
tween our government aud the govu nment
of Mexico. For many years our citizens have
been subjected TO repeated insults and in.
iries; our vessels and cargoes have been
seized and coniiScated; our merchants have
been plundered, manned, and imprisoned,
without cause, and without reparation. Al
length your government acknowledged the
justice Of our claims, and agreed by treaty
to make satisfaction, by payment of sever
al millions Of dollars but this treaty has
been violated by your rulers, and the s,ipu.
lated payments have been withheld. Our
late effort to terminate all difficulties by
peaceful negotiation has been rejected by
the dictator Paroles, and our minister OF
peace, whom your rulers had agreed TO re.
ceive, has been refused hearing"
This is the first statement which Our gov.
eminent ever made TO Mexico, of the pur.
poses for which the war she had made upon
US was 10 be prosecuted on our part.
Let me read another extract from III,
same document; it is a choice muisel.
"We come TO obtain reraration FOR the re
peated wrongs andinjuries; we come to Oh
tain indcmaityJor the past, and secrityJoI
the tUtUre."
| The identical words which have Brighten
ed the scuator from Delaware from his pro
priety, if not his duty, and which whel
! found in the Presidents late message, hav
converted the senator from firm friend 4
an irreconcilable opponent of the war upol
the ground that they furnish evidence Of
change of policy on the part of the Execu
>. tive! "indcmnity for the past mean
one half Of Mexico, and "security for III
future" the other half, why did not the sen
ator then see as clearly as he now sees, tina
it was the object Of General Taylor, as wei
rs the PrdSident.to conquer and hold III
whole Of Mexico? Why did h. not then
as well as now, denonnce the war rs n stu
pclduous scheme Of rapinc and robbery p
Again, sir, it will bc remembered, MS hay
already remarked, that the official report,
roniniuing tho detailed history of nur rn,