Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1866-07-19
Reconstruction.

John A. Logan's speech at Salem,
ILL.,, July 4th.
Fellow citizens: The restoration
of this country is the work OF loyal
men, and not the work Of traitors.
And while the loyal men are engaged
in performing this work, they must
say TO those traitors, .'we intend to
confer these rights on you again
whenever We choose TO do so. IGreat
cheering. Itis not for you to speci-
fy the time, but it is for u.s. We
have the right, and you have no
choice in the matter. loud
cheers.
But some of the opposition say,
why, if You do not allow these peo
pie to be represented, one-half of the
Union is unrepresentel, and the laws
that You pass in Congress are uncon-
stitutional. Laughter Well, 1
presume, upon the same hypothesis,
all the laws we passed during the
war were unconstitutional, because
JEFF. Davis and that part of the coun-
try which he claimed was not repre-
sented. Laughter. =
These people left Congress without
anybody requiring them to do so.
They declined to be represented fer
four years; but the very moment
they laid down their arms, they say,
"Why, we are members of Congress.
They want the foreign missions to
be distributed among the Southern
people, and the Southern people want
their rights. They talk about their
rights" Laughter. Well, so
might horse thief, at the very time
he is being tried before the Judge,
and after the proof has been given,
and it has been shown that he stole
the horse, he might say, "Judge, /
want my rights" The Judge might
say, ''My dear friend, you will get
them in a very few minutes. l think
the jury will send you to the peniten-
tiary for about twenty years. =
Laughter and cheers. But they
want their rlghts--nghts that they
forfeited, that they are not entitled
to-rights that by their own acts of
treason they deprived themselves of.
They claim the protection of the
Government, although they defied
its authority by their acts, and lost
all the rights they had; and now, In
stead of marching up with pardon
in one pocket and certificate of
election in the other, and demanding
what they call their rights, what
ought they to do? They ought to be
on their knees and imploring this
great and glorious Government to be
magnanimOus toward them, and to
bestow the clemency upon them that
our gallant, faithful, honest Abraham
Lincoln offered them over and over
again, and they as often declined.
Loud cheers.
So, my fellow citizens, |, so far as
I am concerned, have but one idea
about the restoration Of their rights
to these people who have lost them.
do not want to hang all these peo-
pie; ! do not want to take all their
property and impoverish them, as
some men proposed to do some time
ago, but who do not want to do quite
so much now. Laughter. l want
now just what I wanted all the time,
and no more. am willing, if the
people are, that they should have
their property, what little they have
left, and 1 thisk they have a good
deal more than they ought to have
unless they behave themselves better
than they seem to be doing; but yet
/ care nothing about that, if the peo
pie are willing. j have no objection.
/ do not want to be the executioner
of these people; but 1 want the right
to do few things as one ofthe loyal
citizens of this land-as a man who
has as much right as anybody else,
and no more, to claim and exercise
certain rights and privileges IN TINS
country that, at least, loyal men
should be entitled to. / want to be
recognized in this land as a soldier
of the Republic, and not disgraced
man. / want to. be recognized at
the same time as man who has done
more for his country than q traitor.
IGreat cheering. l want it to be
established in this land that Gen.
Sherman, who stands before the
American people in a prouder light,
morally, socially. politically, and
every other way, is better man than
Joe Johnston-a man who fought
against him in the armies of treason
That is what want to see. i want
to see treason made odious, and 10y
atty respectable. [Cheers. Then
how will we do it? IF / were mem
Der of Congress to-day, and they
urged this dogma before me of loyal
men being admitted to Congress, l
would ask how many loyal men have
you sent up here? But they could
not count over forty odd and find
four in the whole number; and /
would say, gentlemen, you had bet
ter 90 back and try it again
Cheers Iwould say to these peo-
pie, you forfeited your rights.