American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1866-08-29
THE ISSUE.
Great Speech of General Logan
At Chicago, Tuesday. Evening, Aug If

|
Major General John A. Logan had an
enthusiastic reception at the Gyera House
in Chicago, on the evening Of the 18th
inst After the usual prelminaries, he
spoke as follows:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN-I tender
you my sincere thanks for the manner in
which havr been rete vel in the city of
Chicago by its citizens. 1t is not alto
gether compliment to myself | am not
vain enough SO to consider it; but COM
p'iment to the principles enunciated in
the platform of that party which has
placed me upon its ticket for Congress-
man at large.
look upon this as great ground swell
among the people in this part of the coun-
try, showing true, pure and patriotic
devotion to loyal sentiment and to the
true interests of the. nation, ana that trea-
son has no interest in the hearts of the
people of the great city of Chicago, Zap
pluuse.
On occasions of this kind we can better
judge the feelings of the people in peter
ence to the qucstins that are presented
before the country, by the manner OF their
assembling together, by the interest they
seem to take. And in discussing the
questions that are presented by the par
ties of the country to the people for their
decision, hope that | may be able to
make myself understood; and that may
be able to present to this audience these
questions in fair, just, and proper man
nsr, SO that they themselves, rs well as |,
may judge as to the right, and when we
once form judgment as to the right, it
then becomes, as is well known, oar duty
to perform it, aud act in aocorIa nee with
that judgment,
There never has been time when the
questions presented to the people by the
political parties of the country were more
easily understood than those that are now
to be submitted, if they properly invest
lgatr aud attempt to understand them.
The question that we have to decide
at the November election is nothing less
than the great question we have been
battling for-the great issue we have
been battling for for the last five years,
cheers "a question that the loyal peo-
pie of the United States in their dreams,
in their hopes, and in their beliefs thought
- tbs the great question of liberty, of
freedom. of the rights of the loyal people
of this country, apd of the forfeiture of
the rights of traitors in this land (cheers1
this great question they thought had
been settled by force of arms We had
thought this question had been submit
ted to the people of this country and dc
vided by wager of battle. We had flat
tered ourselves that those great questions
that we were battling for in this country
were forever settled, and would forever
sleep in silence But for some reason
unknown to me, and l presume unknown
to you, the same questions are now pre-
sented in diflctent form. Heretofore
they were presented to you by men in
arms battling against the flag of the coun-
try, trampling the Constitution undr foot
delying the authority of the people of the
United States of America. They were
presented by armies in battle, by men
associating themselves together, forming
what they called government, aud for
the purpose of its destruction, for the
purpose of establishing form of govern
ment to their own tastes and their own
notions, and intended for the destruction
of this mighty fabric.
The manner in which it is presented
to us is different. Then it was presented
in the shape of battle, in the shape OF
war. But it is presented now as polit.
lcal question Tor us to decide at the polls
for you and to discuss, and for you and
| to decide,
1t sometimes is well enough for us to
enquire, how did this question again get
before the people? We had fought for
four years for this great principle of lib
erty and the integrity of the whole Union;
We had fought against the right of seces-
sion, against treason and rebellion in this
land-i for the purpose of showing that
the men of this country must be obedient
to law, must observe the Constitution,
aud must bow down to the mandates of
tuc uldyoTitJ auu ihV VIII Vi ehc Pcopie
of this great and mighty Republic
CChcers And, too, as | remarked, ac-
cordlng to the laws as We interpret them
aud tho Constitution of the county, those
who raised the arm of rebellion against
the Upion ought to be deprived of every
right, both civil and political, that they
enjoyed under the Constitution and the
laws Of tie land. And why, my friends?
BY their act OF treason, and by the crimes
that are eMbodied within that act Of trea
son itself, they have not only forfeited
their civil and political rights-all the
rights that pertain to the people-but,
having done that, they could set ap no
claim to participate in the affairs of the
government, nor could they exercise any
right, civil or political, except such rights
as the people of the United States in
their estimation should decide to confer
upon them, through their representatives
at :he proper time IF they decide to
reclothe, to rehabilitate them, to reconfer
upon thcm these rights, why it is within
the magnanimity of the people of the
United States, and not under the justice
or discretion Of those men who fought
against the Government, and thereby for
r. IL al n y