The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-09-06

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yes" 1t you do, it is only to get up q
quarrel between the president of the United
States and myself, for shall have to tell
you that, after the clear and lucid exposition
of the policy of the government, which may
be called his policy, or sour policy" since
Abraham Lincoln commenced it, and it has
been carried out since the Inauguration Of
Andrew Johnson-after the exposition he
himself has given of it, want to know, IN
Gods name, what use he has for secretary |
| at all? A voice, ''Do you indorse itF"l l
| will say very frankly that always indorse
what is right, and, when you find my sigma |
| ture to a paper, / will not disavow 1t. When |
| put nv pen to paper, 1 stand ready to pay |
all the cost.
Fellow citizens, you haYe heard the pres-
| dent of the United States traduced. heard
| Abraham Lincoln denounced, within three
months of his death by the bullet of an as.
sassin, worse, and through larger portion
of the United States, than Andrew johnson
| is now denounced, for treason to the
| constitution and the governments,
| and let me ask you this: If, instead
| of bringing him here in safety to-day, to
stand before you. and to vindicate, virtually
in the presence of the whole American PEG.
pie, his life, his character, and his policy,
past, present and future, he had fallen on
the way as Abraham Lincoln did, do you
think there is one of you who has reviled
him who would not join in his praise, and be
as ready to immortAlize his fame and glory
as you have been to celebrate the virtues of
Lincoln. Cheers. This is it. Tho only
trouble with living president is that he
lives. The virtue Of a dead one Is, that he
is gone, and can be praised with safety by
those who were incapable of sppreciating
his virtues while he lived.
The president has spoken to you upon
topic | have never opened, and l did think
that would never refer to it, and that Is,
| that he is charged, and the members of his
3 cabinet and political supporters are charged,
5 with deserving their party.
The charge is, that we have deserted our
.. party, and he has told you, and very prop
! erly told you, that it is better In every Gaze
} to lei parties go down the falls than 20 let
the country 90 to destruction. SO it would
not be very serious offense if it had been
committed. But he also told you the truth
D when he said that it is not possible to find q
!, word in the record upon which he was nom,
mated that has been falsifed By the record
of his executive acts Did not they declare
: at Baltimore that the war must be continued
until It's cause was removed and the govern
: ment triumphant in the restoration OF the
= states And is not the war ended Have
not the states been restored? And where on
earth is the cause of the war? 1t has gone
into the seputchre of the record OF past ages.
| Cheers. But have | deserted my party
Let call your attention 20 my record on
that subject II you will look back to the
month of October, 1865, you will find there a
speech / made You,-tor. when | speak al
| Auburn, | mean to speak to the people o.
4 the whole state OF New York and In that
speech | told our whole people that the presi
Y dent OF the United States, Andrew johnson
% and | with him, proposed TO accept certain
v conditions and restore the states to then
: rights as equals in the Union if they would
do these things First, abolish the rebel debt
Is second, repeal their ordinances CT secession
D. and, thrd, accept the amendment to the con
a ssitution of the United States aboishlng siaV
cry hencefOrth and forever. When that wa:
done the Union was to be restored: aud every
man of You who voted last year to sustain
l. the party which charges with having de
}. serted it voted upon that very platform, and
, approved every pledge | then gave, and ev
cry word l uttered. Cheers What did
ID tell you In the month of May, at Auburn
n when | saw the party was getting into con
10 test and in the month of February, in New
i York CITY, at the Cooper institute? | told
you precisely the same, that these were ouI
- three conditions; and, though heaven and
Is earth shall pass away. yet the word OF An
10 drew johnson, that the states should he re
+. stored upon those conditions, having been
:. pied god, should be fulfilled. Cheers. Your
- members OF congress were asked to vote for
/. it. | trid to save the party from destrue-
n ton | showed them the way. Ii was plain
= and direct. | was going to use the illustra-
tlon-perhaps ought not-of the traveller
who got bewildered on his Journey, and was
Is shown two roads one of which led to his des
1t tinauon and the other in the opposite direc
10 ton. and his decision finally was that he had
:. not good sense enough to take either road
and so it is with congress. They take Meth
- er road. There they are. Laughter and
cheers. Where are they? They say we
should adhere to party. | have been par
ty man. l have been generally considered a
very consistent party man, and the enemies
l. of those parties have generally thought me a
- tolerably effective one. was never accused
:, of instability. | know, as partv man, that
Il the course of wisdom is to follow the head oil
the party. But there are great many who
|, differ from me; aud if they think that, instead
st of following the nominated chosen head Of
d their party, the way to make that party suo
II II cessful Ia by following the tail, if they are
. | such fools they must take the consequences
Cheers. ] will not follow tho tail of u par
= ty. l am such fellow. Who is the head
of their party in the state of New York p
, A voice--''Thad. Stevens" Laughter and
l. cheers
= I ask who is their head in the stats of New
:. York V0Ice-"Horace Greeiey. he
newsd; laughter and cheers Very well. L
: l mean to do any party any good l want tc
s make it successful Now, | invite them Il
It put their head man in nomination and dc
y not agree with you in your opinion of Mr.
. Greeley by any means, Laughter and
8 oheers | want them TO nominate the man
: they intend TO nominate for governor of the
state of New York to test their principles
and, in the election now some six weeks off
il be is not defeated by q majority of 10, 000
do not call prophet. Laughter and
cheers.
Must desert my course, my government
and my country, to follow party divided
distracted, weak, imbecile, vaciliating, and
absurd, seeking its own destruction Ihavs
, done very different thing. We set the rail
way train the track. The cars were all
empty. 1t was under the guidance of the con-
ductor, Andrew johnson. All the privileged
seats were offered to this party that COM
plains of ''desertion." They were the very
first invited to enter but no.. they would not
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