The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1868-10-15

Z '"' Yes, my fellow -eitizenS, and the
men who have done this thing, in vi.
olation of the Constitution, in viola,
ton of all the principles of free gov,
ern1nent, these men are denouncing us
who demand its restoration, who de.
mand its maintenance. They de-
nounce us as reYolutionists, ready to
renew the rebellion. -1I
Yes, and they have gone still fur
ther, and in violation of the provision
they have disfranchised the white race
) in the South, land substitute6in in thei1
place race Of men who are semi-bar-
barous, who are utterly ignorant and
incapable of establishing or maintains
ing any government in the world
A voice-"That,s so."] i'i- =
And, my fellow-citizens, in order to
carry out these Infamous provisions,
in order to establish thoTi7, to give
them binding force and effect, they
have taken from the President of the
United States prerogatives vested in
him by the Constitution, making him
Commander-in-C Chief of the army and
navy of the United States, in so many
words, and have conferred that high
| power upon the chief of the army,
whom they have designated as their
candidate for the Presidency Yes;
and he stands now, this military chief!
tain, armed with the prerogatives that
belong to the President of the United
States. He stands now with Ills bay
onets at the throats of eight millions
of white people at the South, pinning
them to the earth, in order to compel
them to vote for him, and to submit to
the dominion of an alien and semi
barbarous people. [Cheers.] IL -. .,
But, my fellow-eitizens, 1 have not
completed my indictment against
these men yet. Not only have they
done this, but, with an audacity and
mendacity that ought to astonish even
those men who have practised in that
kind of deed and doing for so many
years, they now proclaim that this
armed candidate of theirs, with his
bay onets at the throats of the people
of the South, pressing them to the
earth, is the candidate that will bring
you peace. [Groans.l Yes; peace;
peace at the bayonet!-[ laughter and
cheers rs]-peace at the expense of the
fundamental rights Of a republican
government-the fundamental princi-
pies of our government. The peace,
my fellow citizens, that he proposes to
give us the peace which Napoleon
Bonapart Louis Napoleon?l has Civ
en- to the French people; fapplause,]
the peace that the Gar of Russia pro-
claimed as reigning in Warsaw when,
with his sword, he struck at freedom
and its defenders. The peace which
Grant intends to give us is the peace
of despotisrn and of death! Cries Of
Never, nevef!."1 i''s' i..'''i'''-'.'l'. ;'ii-f
Gentlemen, why are these invasions
of the Constitution For what pur-
pose, think you? Why is it that they
have overthrown and destroyed that
instrument which has protected our
people, and given us the uneXampled
and unparalleled prosperity which we
have hitherto enjoyed? Why is all
this i? Can not any man see, that has
half an eye to see with, that it is done
in order to maintain themselves in
power? Do they not know, as well
as any other human beings in the
world, that those negroes are incapa-
BILE ? that they have shown themselves
to be so? that,nin the whole historic
period of the world, this negro race
has never established OF maintained
governments for themselves2' Did
they not, for year after year, here in
your midst, proclaim that. the negro
had been imbruted with slavery: was
not that their argument when they
were after you to give them power !?
Did they not say that they We're kept
in ignorance on purpose totkeep them
in slavery 2 and that they were i'm
bruited by the slavery in which they
had SO Hong lived !? Yet the in
stant the shackles are stricken
from their limbs,y and iTthey are
made free men,s they are not, only
clothed with political power, and
with the suffrage throughout the
South, but the white men who. created
this government for themselves and
/ their children, are in the same breath
disfranchised. They know that these
men are ignorant and incapable, yet
they give them this lofty power Il It is
apparent to any man that it. is in vio-
lation of what they know of their
own knowledge to be the proper thing
to be done. They have given 6these
Ignorant semi-barbarous people, in
ten States of this Union,, not only
power over the, white men there, but
they have given them the power to
share the Federal Government with
you, and to make laws for the people
of Ohio and the whole5N North. Yes,
my fellOW-citizens, three millions of
black people in these ten States have
twenty Senators On the floor of the
United States Senate, while three mill
lions of white people in Ohio have
but two Senators. So that negro
down there has bytilis Radical recon
stFuction act been made equal to ten
i whitefmen in, the State of Ohio.
H. They have fifty Representatives il
the lower: branch of Congress- from
the ten States more than double the
number the State of Ohio has; and
three million, negroes in these ten
!, States, have twenty Senators and fifty
Representatives in the two branches
of Congress, while three millions o
white, people in the Stateuof Ohio