The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1868-03-28
WHY A DEMOCRAT.
Great Speech Of Senator Doolittle in tho
q. s. Senate January 23-.-The Path
that led an Honest Republican to tho
Democratic Party.


that led an Honest Republican TO thc
Democratic Party.
/ SENATOR D00LITTLE on RECONSTRUCTION
Amen dment intended to be subm it.ed hy Mr. boo
little to Dir. MoTtOn's resolution 0f thg sth inst
directing the Committee on the judiciary To- r.
| port riil abrogatng illegal State Government
/ IN the States OF Firgtuin. North Cagplinn. H..
by striking out all after The wuTd resolved ANA
inserting in lieu thereof the following words
| That the Committee on Judiciary he instructed
| ia any bill which may be reported by them. hav
ing reference 10 the ''ques,ion Of recou strnrtun
socalled. in any Of the States nat represented ia
the present Congress. 10 insert the following pro-
viso:
Frarided nererfhsless That upon an election for
the ratification Of ans constitution. or of officers
under the same. previous to It's adoption In any
State. no person not having the qualifications oi
an ectt,r uLder the constitution aud laws of such
State previous 10 the late rebsion shall be allowed
TO vote unless he shall possess ofthe following
qualifications, namely:
/. lie shall have served rs a soldier in the Ped
eral Army for year more:
? lie shall have sufficient education To read the
C"n-tiluti If tn United States and io Subscribe
bis naIas to an oath u support tie same /; OF,
;. lie saaIl be scszs3 in sis right. or in the
right oI bis siie. 80, = freehold srthe va.ue %: 500
/ MR. DooLITTLE-i iir Precedent. he
question presented 10 the amendment ,f.
tored by me IN whc her Congress Is still
resolved to subject the white people ot
the Southern States to the domination ~
The negro race al the poiu, Of Ihe bayp.
net, or whether Congress. in Difference 10
the recently expressed wall ot the Amer
lean people. will now 80 far modify its
policy as to- leave the governments ia
those States in the hands ol the white
race and of the more civilized portion ot
the blacks That II the naked ques.
zion. Strip it of oil useless yerba.c aud
spcei0us arguments about sustaining 10y,
al men aud furnishing rebels, IL is moth.
ing more or less than this: Shall the
General Of the Army put tho negro iu
power over the white race in all the
States of the South aud keep him there
That purpose is boldly avowed by some
and that will be the effect Of the Radical
reconstruction now a. il stands, or a. il
will stand, If the idea of the Senator
from Indiana shall prevail. On the 9th.
er hand, the amendment which ] offer. If
adopted, would leave the governments in
those States where they belong aud where
they ought always to remain-in the
hands of our own race-while. at the
same time, it would allow the right of
suffrage to all those negroes who have any
claim to it by reason OF intelligence, or
patriotic services. or estate subject TO
taxation namely:
/. To those who have served iu the
federal army; 2. To those who have
sufficient education to read the Conetitu.
tion of the United States and to subscribe
their names to an oath to support the
same or 3, to those who have acquired
and hold real property to the value Of
$3.50.
But the question may be asked, why
not apply the same tests to the white men
of the South? The answer is plain and
twofold. First, by the constitution and
laws of those States the right of suffrage
is already secured to them, and we have
no rightful power to take it away. To do
so would trample under our feet one Of
the most sacred rights ever reserved to
States. 1t is by extending suffrage to
the negroes that Congress is overturning
the constitutions Of those States. In my
opinion, this is usurpation which its
advocates justify upon the ground of ne
cessity alone. / neither admit the power
nor necessity but, granting both, no
reason can be given, and no necessity but
that of party ascendancy can be urged
for going any further in this revolution
airy work than to admit to suffrage the
classes of negroes named in this amend
ment. The second answer is, that white
men have for centuries been accustomed
to vote. They have BONE all the res
possibilities and discharged all the duties
of freemen among freemen and it is a
very different thing to take away from a
freemana privilege long exercised by him
and his ancestors. from what it is to con-
fer one never before enjoyed upon ignorant,
half-civilized Africans just released from
slavery Three generations back many
of them were cannibais and savages of
the lowest type of human kind. The
only civilization they have is that which
they have received during their slavery
in America To confer this great privi-
lege upon the more enlightened negroes
might tend to elevate the mass in the
end. But to confer it now upon their
ignorant hordes can only degrade the
ballot and the republican institutions
which rest upon it. No answer to this
view has ever been given, no answer can
be given, by the friends of universal suf-
frage, except this: "The ignorant for
eigner is allowed to vote, why not let the
ignorant negro vote 7" rnns to compare
the civilized European, accustomed to
free labor, to self support, and seIf.goV-