The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1867-10-04
PRICE FIVE CENTS.

re vote coming from class well known
le as the" mean whites" which will doubt.
y less give the scale a preponderance In he
same direction and this result Is pro.
Is duccd by the most unreasonable and un.
J. scrupulous disfranchisment of the white
IT population to the extent doubtless of
t more than quarter of n million alto
,f gether in all those States. might read
f. from pamphlet that | have here from
; the Governor of Texas exhibiting the
4 details Of military administration in
Q that State to show how these registra-
: tions are made up; but / shall not de-
t tain you by doing so.
G How is il possible that such an iniuui-
l ty as this registration in Louisiana
t could be perpetrated? We eau con-
r ceive how il could occur. General
+ Sheridan, ,unskilled in civil life, ,untrain-
! ed in political contests, an officer frank
: and gallant no donbt, goes to the city of
New Orleans and brought into connec-
ton there with few sharp politicians
and radicals like T. j. Durant and b.
Rush Plumley, who have his ear. He
makes his appointments on their recon-
mendation, not knowing the people, he
being new and strange man sent there
Tor his military prOwcss in the war. They
get his ear. lie makes for them the APP
pointments Of the persons who take
these registrations. AT their instance ho
removes Governor Wells; he re-
moves Judge Abel both of whom
were Union men, and, so far as we
know, behaving themselves properly ut
the time. The truth is he falls into the
hands of perhaps the most despicable
set, politically speaking, that are 20 be
| found in our country, and they perform
this work their appointees take these
registrations, and hence this result
comes; and eventually when we hold
up this iniquity what do the political
majority do? Answer the facts? Show
that this registration is honest ? Show
that even the harsh, hard bitter laws
passed by Congress are honestly admin
istered: No. They take shelter be-
hind General Sheridan, and talk as if
we were assailing him and prosecuting
| him. He is but an incident he is but
an individual in all this case. Here is
question affecting vast body of Amer
can citizens in State and the policy Of
the Federal governments and arc our
mouths to be closed, is our indignation
to he restrained because gullant officer
has been made an instrument in this in
| iquity and has been oVerrcaChcd by
artfui and unscrupulous men? No! we
must denOunce the iniquity even while
we seek to excuse the General in com
mand upon the ground that his straining
his life and pursuits-had not qualified
him for the duties to which he was as
signed and for resisting the arts and in
tluence of evil men.
There is an additional point in this
connection which desire to state, and
that is, the question OF expense. Now
the whole cost of this system Of recon-
struction in the South Is charged upon
the Treasury of the United States. 1T
is ofcoursc impossible for us to ascertain
the amount exactly or even to approach
al, k..o
it stated in the National Intelligenccr
and the Louisville Journal, land they
alege that their statement is based up
on an examination OF particulars } that
the expense OF the military administra-
ton will amount to A5.OO0,O0O. What
ever the fact may be, it is clear that the
expenditure must be very large, must be
in fact enormous for the mere support
Of the officers and soldiers who are re-
quired to hold military occupation in the
southern country and control this reor-
ganization Of the States. Then again,
there is an enormous expenditure in ta-
king thelregistrations, because they en-
tendinto everylocalcomm
, out the whole Of the ten States and in
, holding conventions, and in holding
( elections subsequently, for the purpose
5 of voting upon the Constitutions. In
the Reconstruction act OF March we vo-
{: lay. At the late July session an esti-
mate from General Sickles was sub
mitted to Congress asking for SjOO,0OO
, additional for the States of North Caro-
0 lima and South Carolina alone, and
D bill was introduced for over 81 100000
. additional. 1t was reduced on my mo-
' ton to 81 ,000,0 and then was passed,
l "a bill appr6priating sl,000,00O add-
e tional for the civil expenses of recon-
have nothing to do with the military
5 expenditures, because they are covered
1 by the general appropriations for the
q, army Of the United States, which have
, been enormous, uncXampled, and, |
4 doubt not and for this Mr.. Stanton is
f: very much accountable,) profligate
: also. These enormous expenditures
will in due time appear, after they are
l. incurred and when it will be impossible
/. to limit them or to throw OIL the bur-
dens which they impose upon the
people Of the United States. We are
/. paying all this for what purpose? TO
. give the Republican party control OF ten
= additional States and to debase suffrage
, to the level at which they propose 10
put it.
: Under this head OF expense there
should bc included also the expenditure
: for the Freedmen's Bureau, an institu-
tioi vi II WHY ptCuiIdT tllIracb'I anu Ol
; very peculiar action. The amount Of
: the cost ofthat Bureau is quite unknown
10 the people. Two sessions ago, Gen.
| Howard, who is at the hcadofi il, asked
' Tor an appropriation ofabout 81 900 900.
: How much money has been expended
/ for that Bureau, and how much will be
expended hereafter, no one can tell. In
J., due time, when il is TOO late pcrhap-,
Il we shall ascertain the amount. But the
! 4
a and intended SO, during the present
n year, has been to organize the elections
n IN the South. Hundreds and hundreds
/; of agents having control of the negro
n population and discussing money from
G the Treasury OF the United States, sup
: plying them with food and clothing,
o have marshalled themto the registrations
: will marshal them to the elections and
: give direction to the reorganization of
. those States. So far as my knowledge
l and belief extend, there Is not one man
in the employment OF that Bureau,
= either at Washington or in the Southern
States, who is not a strong Radical party
J, man selected for that reason, and hold
/; ing his place upon condition Of being
!, such, and doing the work for which he
a was selected. That Bureau asked us
'. for Sll ,OO0,000 in one appropriation and
; the money Is poured out ofthe Treasury
; bounteouSly by political majority who
: ask nothing in return for the public
4 money expended except political power
iorthemselves and the accomplishment
h OF the policy which they support in the
y government OF the United States.
: What Is to come next? The several
: measures proposed by the majority in
: Congress, rs stated before, have been
!. acquicsccd in by the country, or We're
: acquie7ced in down to the present year.
y And why? What was the great rea-