Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-09-19

80 - S-F-E
all persons the right to vote, without regard
TO color or race l propose to deal with very
great frankness with you, my ~neighbors anC
friends. l am not in favor of that PROPOSE
ton of Congress for this reason: the Negro
either is qualified in having a right to vote
or he is not. he ought TO vote or he ought
not. No taxation without representation
we settled In the beginning of this evening
If he has the right to vote, and Congress of
fers to the people the Constitutional Amend,
ment to fix the great rights of citizens, then
1 say I won't offer a bride to anybody to give
the right. He shall lave the right directly
and in SO many words-therefore l Am agains
it, for 1t don't go as far as l would 90: i
stops short Don't let any man say, are you
In favor of indiscriminate suffrage. Lam il
favor Of any body's voting that Is now ft tc
vote, and l don't think tae question of eolol
enters into the question of fitness FIX your
standard of qualification, and when any man
comes here 10 vote, let him vote. Let Con-
greSs fix It; let these people fix It; and then
ask c to come back in the Union; let us
all nix 1t, by the Constitutional Amendment.
We call upon the negro TO fight our battles,
and now we don't want him TO aid in govern
ing the country be aided in defending. /
cannot understand why Congress did not 90
forward. It was well enough as far as they
went, to offer to the South the gift of mower.
if they would let the negro vote. l would
say to the South, gentlemen, we fought YOU
for four years, we captured your armies. We
captured you, and you are all ours, ed We
will give you so many rights, so much rep
resentation, and you may make such laws.
l never go in for indirectness. 1 mean what
1 say, and 1 carry out what 1 say as well as
l can. l give everybody fair notice that
5 shall try to get, whenever and wherever ]
have the opportunity, impartial suffrage for
every man in my command. And nybody
that don't like that, 1 don't want him to 20
with me. We are too afraid of this fear
about negro equality. And are you willing
TO make the negro your equal! I am not
going to make him anything. 1 am going
to let him make himself. TApplause. 1
am not going to be so poor and contempti-
Bile as to build myself up by crowding him
down. If he can really beat me fairly, beat
me 1 am willing he should. Any man who
talks about being afraid of the negro has q
lite doubt in his own mind whether the negro
is not the better man of the two. Laugh
ter. sS
, l believe l have,gone over all the diff
Guilty between the President and Con-
gress, and the question is broad as the
milky way, plain in every mans sight
1t addresses itself without sophistrS and
without gloss; are you willing to have eV-
cry man back when no man is safe from
the mob in the most civilized commune
ties in the South? And when any man
undertakes to make discussion with you,
ask him fine is in favor Of what was done
at New Orleans: read him General Sheri-
dams letter again, and say: "Are you will
ling to walk arm-in-arm with these men?"
| trust the time will soon come when the
loyal men of the North and the loyai men
of the South can walk arm-in-arm through
the streets of New Orleans, without in
sui and dread. Then | am willing to re-
celye back these men: but until that time
| can not call these men brothers, when
they are ready to stab me under the fifth
rib. Until that time. shall come, | say
let the President or Congress keep these
men down, In some form. l hear il said
you can not keep them down; you can
not govern them. You must not talk to
me, for l know better. l have done it.
LApplause. You can have law and or
der@you can have it as safe in the Streets
of New Orleans as in our own town; and
any man can walk from one end 10 the
other, safe in life and property-not by
locking armin-arm, but by locking some
thing entirely different.
L am going to speak Of a matter which
IS a trait IN the society of the South. and
also of why they are easily governed. We
hear 1t said every day that they are a
hIgh-spirited people, and ought TO be con-
clllated; but this struck me as a distin-
gushing trait-that having for about
twenty years of my life been in the prac-
fIRa nf RrTmTvo II 4 nv I L.-1
pleading for wives, fathers for children,
and children for parents, but 1 never saw
mortal knee to- mortal. Yet, when I
was In New Orleans, it was an every day
occurrence that women, splendidly
dressed m silks and satins, would come
into my office and ask for faVors on their
Bonded knees. The cause l suppose was
that having always been accustomed to
exact obedience and have faVors asked
upon the knees, when the positions be-.
came changed, and new masters appeared.
they assumed the position they had once
taught as proper, and, therefore, | saw,
talk not to me that these people can not
be subdued.
The telegraph brings the news to day
that the only loyal paper of New Orleans
has been suppressed, since peace was de-
clared, and the citizens sustained in their
The next question is one of great con-
cernment. If 1 have any doubt II. isabout
this Convention to select delegates TO Con-
gress, and to override the North and
forming q conjunction with them in the
North, we would have all our work 10 do
over again. And Mr.. Blair tells YOU that
unless they get the control of the Govern
ment in the manner proposed. and the
South is admitted, civil war must
rage again. Governor Brownlow. Of Ten
nessee, tells you that there is now an at
tempt In Tennessee to get hold of that
government, and to overthrow the Con
of Tennessee, which di- fran.
chlses rebels, so that they may elect dis
loyal representatives to the next CONGRESS.
Therefore, it becomes the duty of every man
to sustain Congress in sustaining the first
Civil Rights Bill which gives to everybody
their rights in every State, and sustain Con-
gress in giving protection to the ne
gro, in holding these States where thew are.
insisting that free speech, a free press,
civil and religious liberty shall be guaran-I
teed until a change can be made. Sustain
them though but ten honest men can be found
IN a State, for ten men would have saved
Sodom, and these States are not much worse
IAoA OO1OHus duu ASI THESE Ten rlglteOuS men /
save them Let US have 8 Republican party
the South. Let us have party where free
speech can be heard, and when q loyal rep
resentative of a loyal constituency comes to
he doors of Congress we will admit him.
L am sorry that 1 have detained you so
-ong in this heated room, by these crud. and
hsjointed remarks, but L feel it my duly, as
ask my views and opinions upon the pol
ltieal issues in our time, to give them in a
familiar, conversational manner, di4inct
and clear, that no man should doubt what
they might be, and that the great Questions
might be preented to you as they affect my
mind.
Born in a Democratic State, and reared a
Democrat-taught it from my very youth
lp-l felt myself obliged 70 uphold the South
n all Its claims and in all its exactme,ts 50
ong as 1t should remain under the Consti
tuition. To do that, 1 sacrificed everything
that l had Of political preferment; i stood
almost In a very small minority with nv
lelleW-cltlZNna haaouca IL, T-- 81