Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1868-02-19
S enaator naator MortOn's Speech Conclusion.

are Democrats to- day acting IN harmony |
and concert with the Democratic party |
They were Democrats during the war, who
prayed for the success OF Mcclellan and Pen
dleton, and would have been glad to vote
for them, and the men who carried on the
rebellion They were Democrats before the
war, and the men who made the rebellion.
These are the radicals OF the South, aud my
friend from Wisconsin, alter all Is acting
with that radical party.
The burden of his speech yesterday was
that the reconstruction measures OF Con
gress are intended to establish negro supre-
macy Sir, this proposition is without any
foundation whatever [ believe 1t was sta
ted yesterday by the Senator from Illinois
Mr.. Trumbull that in every State but two
the white voters registered OutnuIn 6ered
the colored voters; and the fact that in
two States the colOred voters Ou.number
the white voters is owing 70 the simple ac-
cIdent that there are more cOlored men IN
those States than there are white men,
Congress has not sought to establish negro
supremacy, nor has ii sought to establish
the supremacy ct any class or party OF men.
Ifit had sought to establish negro supfe-
Elacy it would have been an easy matter by
excluding from the right of suffrage all men
who had been concerned in the rebellion, In
accordance with the proposition of the d:s-
tinguished Senator from Massachusetts,,
Mr.. Sumner, iu his speech at Worcester
IN 1865. He proposed to exclude all men
who had been concerned in the rebellion and
confer suffrage only on those who were left.
That would have established negro supre
macy by giving the negro an overwhelming
majority in every State, and If that had
been the object of Congress it could have
been readily done. But, sir, Congress has
OILY sought to divide the political power be-
tween the loyal and the disloyal. 1t has
disfranchised some fifty Thousand disloyal
leaders, leaving all the rest OF the people to
vote. They have been enfranchised on
both sides. that neither should be placed in
the power of the other. The rebels have
the right to vote so that they shall not be
under the control and power of the Union
men only and the Union men have been al
lowed to vote so that they shall not be uu-
der the control aud power of the rebels.
This is the policy, to divide the p0iltlca
power among those men for the protection
of each. Sir, the charge that We intend to
create a negro supremacy or colored State
governments is without the slightest foun-
dation, for it would have been in the pow
er of Congress to have easily conferred such
supremacy by simply excluding the disloya
from the right of suffrage power wnich it
naQ tne clear rlSQt ID exercise.
Now, Mr.. President, allow me to consid
er for a moment the amendment offered by
the Senator from Wisconsin, and upon
which his speech was made, ami see what is
its effect will not say its purpose, butts
inevitable effect--should it become law.
L wiIlask the Secretary to read the amend
ment which the Senator from Wisconsin
has proposed to the Senate.
The Secretary read as follows:
ProUided, HeUerthstess, That upon an election
for the ratification of any constitution, or OF OIL
GERS under the same, previous to It's adoption IN
any State no person not having the qualifications
of elector under the constitution and laws o
such State previous the late rebellion shall bt
allowed to vote unless he shall possess one of tn
following qualifications, namely:
- 1. He shall have served soldier in the Fed
eral army for one year or more.
2. He shall have sufficient education to reaC
the Constitution of the United States and TO sub
scribe his name to an oath to support theGame or
8. He shall be seized in his own right, il
the right of his wife, of freehold of the Valuc
$3.50. .- szz-,-1
Mr.. Morton. Sir, these qualification:
are, by the terms OF che amendment, toappl,
to those who were notauthorized 70 vote by
the laws Of the State before the rebellion
In other words, the eolored men. de pro
poses to allow colored man 10 vote if h,
has been In the Federal Army Que year, anl
he proposes to allow a rebei white uau L
yote,i enough he has served ia the rebe
army four years! He proposes thaGa color
ed man shall not vote unless he has suii
cienC education to read the Constitution OIL
the United States and to subscribe his nam
to an oath TO support the same, whereas h
permits a rebal white man to vote VINO ueV
er heard Of A and does not know how t.
make his mark even to note gwen TO
whiskey. Laughter ,r
Aguin, SIR, he proposes that the coloret
man shall not vote unless he shall be pos
sessed in his own right or in the right Fiji
wife of "a freehold OF $3.50 a provisiot
which, of course, would cut of ninety nine
out of every hundred coiored men IN tn
South. The colored man cannot vote IN
less he has freehold Of $3.50, but the whitt
rebel, who was never worth twenty-five
cents, who never paid poll-tax IN his life
never paid an honest debt, is to be allowed
= to vote. Sir, what would be the inevitable
effect of the adoption Of this amendment
To cut off such a large part OF the coloret
vote as to leave the rebel white vote largely
in the ascendancy and to put these nev
State governments there to be formed again
into the hands of the rebels. Sir, will no
spend longer time upon that.
Ny friend yesterday alluded 70 my en-
dorsement of the Presidents policy in
speech in 1865. | never indorsed what i
now called the President 5 policy Ia the
summer of 1865, when saw a division com
ing between the President and the Republ
can party, and when | could not help antic
ipating the direful consequences that mus
result from 1t, made speech in which
repelled certain statements that had beer
made against the President, and denied the
charge that by issuing his proclamation O.
May 90, 1865, he had thereby left the Re
publican party. | said that he had not lef
the Republican party by that act. I die