Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1866-02-23

we dcepiy regret That president
Johnson should have considered it his
duty to veto the Freedmen's Bureau
bill, which we look upon as a measure
absolutely essential to tho peace and
quiet of the South, az we'll as to the
protection Of the Freedmen in their just
rights. His objections to the bill may
be put down as follows: @.a~a
L. The bill is not warranted by the
Constitution Of the United States.
III. There Is no present necessity for
the passage Of the bill, as the Freed
mems Bureau as established by act of
March last is sufficiently stringent.
III. The measure would be expen-
sire, subject to abuse, concentrate a
dangerous power In the Executive, and
provide for unjust appropriations.
w. The bill should not be passed
while the Southern States are. denied
representation in Congress. a@
The Presidents objections, it appears
to ua, are prompted by tender regard
for the feelings of the late rebels and
very little regard for the rights of the
late elavcs. Let US briefly look at his
objections In the order we have put
them down. a .rsf
/. The bill is not warranted by the
Constitution of the United States.
This position Is taken on the ground
that the country is at peace. Now we
insist that the country is not at peace
The bloody war of arms it is true is
over, the South having been subdued
by superior physical force; but that
came antagonism which induced the
South to resort to arms is still rampant,
and the defeatedrebels will lose no cp-
portunity to display 1t. The prejudice
existing against the colored man, to-
gether with the vindctve hate of the
Union for having liberated the race and
vindicated its own authority, will make
the despised African for years to come
the special target for their abuse and
vindictiveness. 1t Ia preposterous to
maintain that the negro will be accord
ed justice at the hands of our overpow-
NASa ShShS. ba"s 81 liai rs INC negro
is concerned, would be q farce. There,
ross, t''v s.srriOts Vt .i.o-- r--. ...i~- L. :.
the Federal Government. The bill wa.
introduced by Senator Trumbull, one
OF the most cautious and able members
Of onr,present Congress, and it is no,
to be supposed that he would introduce
or two-thirds of both branches vote fol
. measure which they considered un.
constitutional. The Presidents judy.
ment on this point cannot be considered
infalliblc.
III. There is no present necessity 70,
the passage of the bill, as the Freed.
mems Bureau as established by act OF
March last is sufficiently stringent.
Here the President puts himselfiu di-
rect opposition to adj impartial witness
cs. Even many Influential Southern men
concede that throughout tae Southern
States there exists a prejudice against
the coiored race which is incen patible
with justice. All the witnesses whom
Congress has called have given it as
their opinion that the late slaves would
be lis u ritiable condition if left to the
mercy oftheir late masters. II the ne.
gro, left to the vulturous care Of the
Southerner, is to be dcbased te q condi-
ton beneath his state Of bondage if pos
sible, then 1t must certainly be conceded
that there is necessity for protection
But the Frcedmen's Bureau, as it exists,
possesses sufficient powers, insists Mr.
johnson. Congress thought not very
decidedly, and it looks presumptivc for
the President TO set up his opinion in
direct contradiction. During tho war,
while our armies possessed Southern
territory, the Treedmen's Bureau was
but an auxiliary to the national armies
but since the suspension of hostilities
and the withdrawal of troops, the Bu-
rcau must, to he effective, have ample
powers within itself TO protect the
Freedmen Therefore the necessity for
extending its operative force. If the
ceiored men were enfranchised, if they
had voice in making and executing
laws for their own control, then the ne
cessity for the law proposed by this bill
pould be rendered unnecessary. 1t will
not do, however, to deny them the right
of protecting themselves and the right
of being protected as well. The Presi-
dent ignores the fact that the late reb-
els control the South and will do all
they can to heap misery and desrada-
zion upon the blacl1s.
III. The measure would be cxpen-
sivc, re.
The remarks ofthe President Oh these
points contain much of truth, but u
great deal more ofexaggeration. Either
the President pocr!y understood the ma
ture of the BILL or he has descended to
the vocation ola pettifogger. An argu-
ment might have been made against
the war much upon the same grounds
and with much the same force; and,
indeed, an argument of that kind was
made by such men as displayed flags
from their windows when they heard
OF the Presidents veto. The President
does not urge special objections against
the bill, asking for amendments and
notifications: but he puts himself
sgainst the bill in toto, and therefore
against the object Of the bill. ...
Nv. The bill should not be passed
while the Southern States are denied
representation in Congress.
Here is the vital point. The Presi-
dent virtually makes a demand upon
Congress to admit the Southern repre-
sentatives. He might MS well have re-
turned the bill, saying, admit the
Southern States to representation in
Congress before I sign any bills effect
Ing the people Of those States" He
demands that the late rebel States shall
have voice in shaping the policy of
their own reconstruction. We are sur
prised at this demand. II lily accords
with his repeated utterances during the
fret months Of his Presidency. What
influences have led him to abandon his