Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1866-05-31
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"The earth that bears him dead hears
Not alive SO stout a gentleman
The good knight is dust
His good sword IL rust,
And his soul is with the saints we trust
1t may be said of him as of one Of
the olden time patriots, that
By him the people held their native rights
Inmpaired unoprr ssed the great restrained
From lawless violence, and the poor from
Bapme by him--hIm their mutual shield.
He was emphatically-
1.-The .dier's guidance and the curh's restraint
When his enemies shall have rottcd
and their memories perished from
among men, it will be said of Abraham
Lincoln that he
" Hath borne his faculties 50 meek hath been
80 clear In his great Office, that his virtues
VIII plead like angels, trumpet tongued, against
The deep dainnation oi his taking oh."
His tomb in after times will he a y
shrine for the pilgrimage of freedoms
votaries, and upon his grave the fu-
ture patriot will relume the dying
flame of liberty.
But, Mr. Speaker, there are a few,
every select few" gentlemen upon
this floor who were elected as uncon-
ditional Unionists, as | am advised,
that by their speeches in very general
and indefinite terms propose an imma-
terial modification of the Democratic
rebel scheme of reconstruction, hay-
ing the same general postulate, to wit:
Once State always a State ;" but
in the application of the principle in-
volved in their theory, the right
to represention Of such State in Con-
gress is limited to the loyal people
thereof, requiring no action on the
part of their resective State govern
ments to put them in practical rela-
tions with the Federal Government"
and forbidding the action of Congress
in the same direction. And this they
claim par excetienoe as the "my policy"
of the President Judging from such
intimations as are permitted to trans
pire, these gentlemen have the ear of
and the inside track with the Presi-
dent If this scheme at the first blush
should seem more loyal and plausible
than the Democratic rebel scheme, it
will be found to be wholly impractical
ble in its application to the case in
hand. As the case now stands it can
not effect loyal restoration Of the en-
tire government. For it is not claim
ed that any of the eleven rebel States
not now represented, elected or pre-
tended to elect single loyal represen-
tative to Congress, except in Tennes-
see and Arkansas, and perhaps one
from North Carolina who has no con-
stituency behind able to sustain him.
There is not much doubt but that Rep
resentatives who can honestly take the
| oath, from Tennessee and Arkansas,
will be admitted to this Congress, and
perhaps at its present session. At
any rate, for one, | am now and have
been in favor of the admission of such
men from those States, and will SD
vote when opportunity permits.
But as tothe remaining nine rebel
States no one, | believe, who is or has
been regarded as thoroughly loyal.
claims or pretends to claim that they
have elected single representative
who can conscientiously take the re-
quired oath, (the same oath that eve
ry member of the present Congress
was required 10 take before he could
have place on this floor, unless it
be the one from North Carolina, as
before indicated. Why, Mr.. Speaker,
there are not enough loyal men in any
one of 'be nine States to fill and exc
cute the Offices of postmaster, asses
sor and collector of internal revenue.
That this view of the political condi-
ton of those States and their people is
correct is evidenced by the message
Of the President no,y lying upon your
table appealing to Con .gress to modify
or repeal the test oath so that he can
procure the services of enough men in
those States to carry the mails, take
charge of the postofiices, and assess
and collect the Government taxes
therein, which would again bring un-
repenting and unrelenting rebels into
the high places of the nation, there to
tester and batten and riot as in DAYS
of yore.
Thousands of the brave boys once lin
blue are waiting and watching" for
something 70 turn up !" some suita-
bic recognition of their services, suf-
ferings and sacrifices by that Govern
ment they have so nobly and heroical-
ly saved These men could take the
required oath. They are abundantly
qualified in every way to discharge
the duties of these various Offices that
rebels must have dispensation to
enable them to hold.
So much for this prominently "my
policy which is following to its legit-
innate and logical conclusion practical
ly lands in 1.-The slough of despond"
with the Democratic rebel theory, or
else it must be merged in the Union
policy hereinafter stated We hope
that its fate may be with the latter,
for it will be much more pleasant to
cooperate with the former friends OF
the Union and the party who saved it,
than to be compelled to separate from
them for any cause. But unless they
adhere to the well defined and estab-
lished principles of the party, as enun-
ciated by its great leaders and accept
ed by the masses, painful and apPa-
rently destructive as it may be, sepa-
ration will come, not by any act of the
large body OF the party, for it will
move straight forward to the accom-
plishment of its great purposes unse-
duced by patronage and unawed by
,,ouar its only aSniratinu hpinpr.