Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1866-07-20
Gen. Logan on Reconstruction.


At recent grand gathering of soldiers
in Salem, Illinois, speeches were made by
Gems. Sherman, Logan, and Gov. Osles-
by. The following is an extract from
Gen. Logan's speech -
Would you have believed two years
ago, when a certain great man of this land
said that treason must be made odious and
traitors must be puniseed, and not only
that, but that they must be impoverished,
and that their properly must be distribu-
ted among the loyal people, that he would
declare that they were entitled to repre-
sentation in the United States? No.
If he did, he had very strange way Of
expressing himself That is all can say
on that subject. Laughter.] No, Sir
the work of restoration in this country
belongs to loyal men, and not to traitoas,
and while loyal men are engaged in per-
forming this work and restoring this coun-
try, they must say to these traitors; Gen
tlemen, we intend to confer these rights
upon you whenever we are minded to-
1t is net for you 10 say the time when it
shall be done, but it is for US to say. 1t is
in our hands, in our power. We have
the right, and you have no privileges in
this country. GGood, coed. That's SO.
The only acts that they can perform are
such acts as we recognize as being lawful
| by our recognition. The acts that we
say to them they shall not perform, they
cannot perform until we say they shall.
! sob, but some of the opposition say,
why if you do not allow these people to
be represented there is one-half of the
Union unrepresented, and the laws that
you pass in Congress are unconstitutional
J because portion of the country is unrep-
resented. Laughter.
! swell, presume upon the same n.y.
pothesis all the laws that we passed dur
ing the war are unconstitutional because
JEFF. Days's part of the country was not
represented. Laughter. So it might
be in reference to this representation if The
doctrine now enunciaied by the opposition
to the Union people in this land is correct
that is, that these people, the very mo-
ment they laid down their arms, although
they had forfeited their lives, although
they had forfeited their properly, although
they had forfeited their rights. civil and
political, all those rights came back to
them, and that they were as fully restored,
as fully entitled to the rights and privi-
leges of American citizens in represen-
tative as well as in any other capacity, as
any other people in this land.
81 am willing that the people should
have their property, or the little they have
got left, though think they have good
deal more than they ought to have unless
they behave better than they seem to-
But ] care nothing about that. If the
: people are willing, have no objection.
do not want to be their executioner; bu
] do want to do few things as one of thu
! | American people, as one Of the loyal cii
r, zens of this land. ! want to be recognized
= in this land as soldier of the Republi,
> of the United States, and not disgrace,
man. want to be recognized, at tn
: same time, as a man who has done NOR
!, for his country than traitor. Applause.
want it to be so in this land that Gen
4 Sherman may stand here to-day befor
the American people in prouder high
higher socially, morally, politically, an
every way, than does Joe Johnston, tn
man who fought against him, in the al
mics OF treason" Applause.
in After touching impressively upon III
: rights of the freedmen to Governmer
NJ protection, Gen. Logan alluded to the di,
III honoring of loyal graves a. Augusta:
ne Hence l want him to have the prote,
40 ton of the law. l am in favor of his ha,
en- ing it. l ask you, my ccuntrymen, l as
IN you, mothers, who are sitting around
TO this little group, that have some fond sor
tn that lie away far off beneath the hot burr
On ing sands of Georgia, whose faces yo
o. will see no more on earth, whose grav,
No. you can never visit again, perhaps, an
fl. the old fathers, too, and the little prattlir
m babe, that often asks its mother, Mothe
when will my father return TO me?
have the laws of this land so modifi,
m that while traitors in the South have the
nd gatherings, day after day, TO strew ga
ed lands of flowers upon the graves Of Reb
mt soldiers, that they may live in their mel
ed. DRY as long as life shall last, if some poo
by old, decrepid negro, who has gained /
"a, liberty by the march and proves
ate American arms, shall come along with
lso basket Of flowers, TO strew upon the gra
Jus of some poor loyal soldier, that he sh
&C. have the right 10 do it, and that no p,
son shall have the right to interfere, a
tina. he is TO be protected. Emotion.