Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1866-03-02

M :.
says contains such an unlimited grant of
support to. .therdestituses and suffering
refugees, their widows and childrep2 l
wilIread The third section:
That the Secretary Of War may d.
rect such issues of provisions, clothing,
fuel, and other supplies, including medi-
cal stores and transportation, and afford
such aid, medical or otherwise, as he
may deem needful for the immediate
and temporary shelter and supply of
destitute and suffering refugees and
freedmen, their wives and children, un- /
der such rules and regulations as he may
direct /: Provided, That no person shall
be deemed destitute = suffering OF
dependent upon the Government for
support, within the meaning of this act,
who, being able to find employment,
could, by proper industry and exertion,
avoid such destitution, suffering or de-
pendence. " .9aA o ~
This proviso is not in the original law
That authorizes the issuing Of these
supplies, all except the medical supplies
and the transportation, just the same as
the bill which the President has vetoed.
Does he object to this bill on the ground
that it authorizes medical aid to Re fur
nished the sick? Or does be object to it
because of the proviso which limits its
operation, and declares that nobody
/ shall be deemed destitute and suffering
under the provisions of the act who is.
able by proper industry and exertion to
avoid such ,destitution2 Why, sir, it is
a Limitation on the present existing, law.
Does that look much like taking care of.
four million people "a precision that ex-
pressly limits the operations of this act
to those only who cannot find employ
ment2 A statement of the fact is ail
/ that is necessary to meet this statement
in the veto message. -.r,F -, s-i.
After commenting upon the third sec
ton of the bill, which ] have just read,
the President says:
| Succeeding sections make provision
for the rent or purchase of landed es-
tates for freedmen, and for. the ere ,tion
for their benefit, of suitable buildings
| for asylums and schools, the expenses to
be betrayed from the Treasury of the
whole people. The Congress of the
United States has never heretofore
| thought itself empowered to establish
asylums beyond the limits of the Dis
trict of Columbia, except for the benefit
OF our disabled soldiers and sailors 1t
| has never founded schools for any class
of our own people; not even for the or
| phans of those who have fallen in de-
Tense of the Union, but has left the care
of the education to the much more cons
| petent and efficient control of the States,
| &c Af
and of individuals. It has never deem
ed itself authorized to expend the public
money for therent or purchase of homes
for the thousands, not to millions. of the
white race, who are honestly toiling from
day to day for their subsistence. A sys.
tenn for the support of INDECENT persons
| in the United States was never coniem-
plated by the authors of the Constitu-
| ton; nor can any good, reason. be adj
vanced why, as permanent establish,
ment, it should be founded for one class
or color of our people more than an
other. Pending the war, many. refugees
and freedmen received support from the
Government, but it has never intended
that they should thenceforth be fed,
clothed, educated, and sheltered by the
| United States" h
have read that whole paragraph in
order to do no injustice to the views of
the President. The objection which the
President makes is that it has never
heretofore been thought that Congress
was empowered to pass provisions of this
character. The answer to that is this:
we never before were in such state as
now; never before in the history of this
Government did eleven States of the
Union combine together to overthrow
and destroy the Union; never before ia
the history of this Government have we
had four years civil war; never before
in the history of this Government have
nearly four million of people been eman-
cipsted from the most abjeet and de
grading slavery ever imposed upon hu-
man beings; never before has the occa-
sion arisen when it was necessary to
provide for such large numbers of PEG
pie thrown upon the bounty of the Gov
eminent unprotected and uuprovided
for. But, sir, wherever the necessity
did exist the Government has acted.
We have voted hundreds of thousands
and millions of dollars, and are doing it
from year to year, to take care and pro
vide for the destitute and suffering Indi.
ans. We appropriated, years ago, hum
dreds of thousands of dollars to take
care of and feed the savage African who
was landed upon our coast by slavers.
We provided by law that whenever saw
ages from Africa should be brought To
our shores, or Whenever they should be
captured on board slavers, the President |
of the United States should make pro-
vision for their maintenance and sup
port, for Eve years, on the coast of
Africa. He was authorized by law to
appoint agents to go to Africa to provide
means to feed them, and we paid the
money to do it. And yet, cir, can we
not provide for these Africans who have
been held in bondage all their lives, who
have never been permitted to earn one
dollar for themselves, who, by the great
Constitutional Amendment declaring
freedom throughout the land, have been
discharged from bondage to their mus
teIs who had hitherto provided for their
necessities in consideration of their
serviees2 Can we not provide for these
destitute persons of our own land on the
same principle that we provide foe the |
Indians, that we provide for the savage
African2 Sir, they can not provide for |
themselves. What are they to dor In
one part of his message the President
says they are permitted to go where they
please / will show by and by that By
local legislation this privilege is not per-
mitted them. essl
But what sort of protection would that
be to the egro if it were sol Here are
hundreds and thousands of these poor,
ignorant, degraded human beings who
never went off the plantation where they
were born in their lives. They do not
know how to travel; they do not know
where to 60 to; they have no means to
pay for subsistence by the way; they do
not know whittier the railroads lead; the
railroads would not carry them il they
did, and were able to pay. As friend |
suggests, they cannot read the finger
boards by the wayside; and where are