The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-06-18

motion to reconsider the omnibus ad-
mission bill. This seemed odd from
that Quarter, but all the Radicals sup
ported it, and the motion to reconsider
was carried. It then appeared that
their sole object was to give Mr.. " ates,
of Illinois, a chance to present their
views in o speech in which he argued
the necessity of forcing negro suffrage
immediately on all the States that re-
jected it.
After speaking generally of the views
expressed by various Senator'S in recent
debates on the subject, he asserted that
every man who has voted for the impo-
sition of conditions upon Alabama and
Colorado in regard to the right of suf-
frage has committed himself to the doc
trine that Congress has the right to
control that question in all the States.
He claimed that this is the only doc
trine by which they could make equal
rights all over the Union and remove
the question ont of the arena OF poll
tics. Why, then, should they Tot inter
yene and exercise the powers given
them by the Constitution when Ken
lucky, Maryland and Illinois excluded
blacks He urged that Congress should
take this stand for the sake of uniform
ity of national representation, instead
of having in the States as many stand
ards of citizenship as there are States.
The negro, being now emancipated,
was entitled to equal rights the same as
every citizen. He admitted the truth
OF the doctrine of the Chicago platform
that the question of suffrage belongs
to the States, but it was so subject to
the Constitution, which says that Con-
gress shall guarantee to every State a
republican form of government; and
no government could be republican in
form which denies equality OF rights
to any citizen. He had been asked
whether Illinois or New York had re-
publican form of government: In an
swer to this inquiry he would say, that
the argument that any government is
republican which deprives any cOnsid-
cradle portion of its citizens of the
right to vote is unworthy of a
child ten years old. What is the
duty of the Republican party on this
question Will it stand back APP
palled. Will it join the States Rights
party on the other side of the hall He
had to say to Senators and Representa-
tives, to all the members of the Repub-
| lican party, that this question must be
met. They could not bury their heads
in the sand. No question of tariff or
finance could obscure 1t, no glare of mil
itary glory overshadow it, not even the
mighty name of General Grant. He
would settle this question by bill OF
ten lines, merely providing that suf-
frage shall be universal throughout all
the States. This the people would joy
fully accept, and the Republican party
would triumph most gloriously
in Nov ember next. lie asked-Has ii
ceme to this that the Republican party
will draw dividing lines between the
North aud the South by establishing
universal suffrage in one part of the
Union and not in the otherf lie grant
ed that the question of suffrage was in
the control of the States in the first iu-
stance, but claimed that Congress had
supervisory power which it was now its
duty to exercise, and thus take the en-
tire question out of the arena of politics.
After Mr.. Yates had given this inter
probation of the Chicago platform and
the reconstruction bill" Mr.. Sumner
withdrew his motion to reconsider, and
the hill passed