Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-02-05
D0Olittle Once More.
y correspondent sends us the folIowine

little 60 great speech am pleased that
you have given it attention to % sec whether
1t has any strength, either in it's logic or the
necessities of the times - but allow me To
ask have you vigorously replied TO his
reasonIngs or arguments? The senator says,
. to confer this great privilege upon the
more enlightened negroes, might tend to
elevate the mass but to confer it upon all
can only degrade the ballot, and the repub-
iIcan institutions which rest upon it." He
says in justification Of his position that the
= foreigner - before he is allowed To vote in
most OF the states, must appear in open
court, and after five wears residence prove
ny the testimony of two citizens good moral
character lie saws 90 society must in the
main be governed by general laws The
general rule Is, that white men are capable
therefore suffrage NAV be made universal .
on the other hand, the general rule is, that
Indians. Chinese, Coolies and Negroes are
incompetent, therefore the general rule
should exclude them from suffrage nj all
events, 1T should be no farther relaxed tlnn
TO admit the excepted classes = Have you
met those arguments fully?
he senator says :. that Congress III re
construction first assumed that the state
were in the Union with governments organo
IHed. with legislatures having powers {
TatIiy or reject constitutional amendments
states arc not states in the Union at ALL but
conquered provinces with no legislatures
which can ratify reject constitutional
amendment VIII YOU have the Kindness
: to see whether that has any strength in
It's logic, or in truth
= Decius > has misapprehended the pur-
pose of our article last week but perhaps
the occasion for that misrepresentation is our
fault IN FILLING to call attention to the every
phase OF Doolittle's argument. We supposed
the amendment which Mr. Doolittls pro-
poscd-and which was as we thought, the
affirmative proposition of his spcech--the
central point of his array of forces, and We
therefore deemed it unnecessary to reply to
each detail of the argument A reply to
each particular assertion or attempted argu-
ment Of a speech occupying over two hours
in delivery, was, of course, impossible in
the limits Of newspaper article When
we broke his centre Of attack we felt quite
sure that we had routed the whole array of
his logic.
We think :. Decius > will see by re
pcrusal of our article that it contains Il sub
stastial answer to the quotations to which
he calls our attention. We answered Doc
little with Doolittle, which apprehend is
fair and conclusive style of reply to any
speech. We made no attempt IL defend
Congressional reconstruction against any
body or anything but Doolittle, and when
we showed that DOolittle, by proposing 10
give qualified suffrage to the negroes in this
country, refuted his own elaborate arguments
and turned his own positions, it did not seem
necessary to go further with reply. When
we set his regiments to firing into each other
we trusted we might safely leave them to
their own destruction. In short. We showed
his arguments 10 he, what Gail Hamilton
says Dr. Todd's logic against wolnan's rights
IS, the g Kilkenny categorical and we
merely set them to devouring each other.
There seems, however, to have been some
tails left to bother our correspondent, and
we now attend to them.
Doolittle said. to confer this great
privilege upon the more enlightened negroes
might tend to elevate the mass; but to
= confer it upon all can only degrade the
- which rest upon it.
If the assertive part Of this proposition is
sound, it is denial of the only proposition
upon which republican government can logi-
caly rest and it is not only an argument
against unrestricted negro suffrage, but
equally an argument against unrestricted
white suffrage, and so proves quite too much
for Mr.. Doolittle's purposes. When Doc
little refuses to accept it when applied u
white voters, why need we take time to show
that it is no reason for excluding any voters ?
Mess it is t. be received n general
proposition, what fairness or reasonableness
is there in urging it at all If Doolittle
had said that arsenic in small quantities
might be valuable medicine for the negroes,
hut in large quantities would be Il fatal
poison, it would prove nothing against black
men, but might prove something against
arsenic. But when Doolittle says that what
is poison to the black man is the white
mans most healthy food, it is enough to
DENY the proposition absurd upon its face :;
and this all the more, when the same Doc
little proposes to give the ballot indiscrmin-
atingIy to some negroes who are unenIight-
eued and have no property. Is it not plain
that he thus confutes himself, -admits away
HIS whole case?
Bit the % foreigner before he is allowed
t, vote in most of the states must appear in
open court" &c
Well, what Of it? lie must do that,
whether lie is black or white How is that
an argument against black natiue citizens
voting? The probation required of foreign
crs-in many states, and we believe in Wis
consin only years residence-is because
they are foreiqners how can that be turned
into an argument in favor of requiring
period of probation Of one race of native born
citizens which is not required of another
And why. most of all. should it trouble
Decius.'' when it is urged az a reason why
native born citizens should not vote unle IS
thew can read, or own property, or have
fought under the stars and stripes, when
that is not required Of foreigners? Because
,,uinine is good for one class of patients, is
that reason with anybody but Dr. Doolittle,
why another class of patients should be
dosed with 7lur ronaica?
Bat Decius'' again quotes Doolittle-
:. the general rule is that white men are
capable, therefore suffrage may be uniyer-
salon the other hand the general rule is
that Indians, Chinese, Coolies and Negroes
are incompetent, therefore the general
10 should exclude them from suffrage at