The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-10-28
&5 E Il H Q I'll
SEN ATOR MORTON
Reply to Governor Seymour

INDIANApoLIs, October 27.-Govl
ernOr Morton delivered the following
speech at the Rink to night, in-reply
to thespeech made by Governor Sey-
mour:
FELLOW CITIZENS: Mr.. Seymour
presents the novel and painful specta-
Gle ofa candidate for the Presidency,
the highest Office in the gift of free
D ople, going about Ike q common
stump orator, electioueering for him
self, and assaiing the character and
positions OF his opponents. Two years
ago, Mr. johnson swung round the
circle for the ostenslble purpose of
laying the corner stone OF a monu-
ment to the lamented Douglas, In
| Chicago. Mr.. Seymour is making his
swing, not tor any such proteSsed
purpose, but, as we believe, is
really engaged in laying the
corner -stoueC ldf ! sthe tomb of the
Democratic party. The result of the
late elections Ia Pennsylvania, Ohio
and Indiana has called him forth
from his rural retreat In New York,
and he is making a last and desperate
| effort to retrieve the fallen fortunes
of decayed, disloyal and dishonored
party. The great object which he.
| seems to have IN view Ia all the
speeches which he has made since he
started on his tour, is to array the.
| Western against the Eastern States;
to excite the people of the Northwest
to hostility toward the people Of what
he calls the Northern Atlantic States.
New Yorker as ne is; Eastern
man as ne is, he does not
hesitate to slander his section and
the people OF his own State, to
repr Sent them as the enemies com
merrially, financially, and socially of
the people of the Northwestern
States. The people Of New York, to
whom he owes his official dignities
and all that he is, are represented by
him as depressing the people of the
Northwestern States, extOrting from,
robbing and plundering Of them In
every point for many years. The
politicians of the South labored to
excite their people against the North,
and their labors finally resulted
in the rebellion. For years it
has been the policy of the Democratic
politicians of Indiana and other
Northwestern States to denounee New
England and arouse the prejudices
aud feelings Of our people against the
people of that portion of our country.
THIS was the staple of Democratic
argument throughout the war, and the
leading men of that party 10 Indiana
hinted broadly at Northwestern Con
federacy, and that New England
should be left out IN the cold; and
now we have an Eastern polttieia0,
candidate for office, endeavoring by
every means ia his power to excite
the people of the Northwest against
the people Of his own State. Among
tho charges which he brought against
the Government Is that the national
deot is sectional in its character;
that 1t was not contracted in the sew
eral States according to their p0pula
tion,i but that most ofythei money was
borrowed from the Eastern States.
LII Is hard to refrain from calling this
complaint absurd lust az if Con-
gress could borrow money In the
States where the people had little or
none 70 lend, aud refuse to borrow
mouey In the other States where they
had plenty of it to lend. He says that
by this improper method of borrow
| ing money chiefly in the Eastern
| States, the States have been divided
into creditor and debtor States, the
| Eastern being the creditors and the
Western States the debtors. This
phrase he first employed in his Cooper
Institute speech of the 10Th day of
June last, and 1t has now passed into
quotation, although there Is absolute
| IL no meaning Ia it. The Eastern
States did not lend money to the
Westerr States, but to the Govern
ment 1t is true, the Western States
are liable to help pay the debt, but so
are the Eastern States; and they will
help to pay the debt 10 very much the
proportion in which they lent the
money. in his speeches at Buffalo
and Chic Igo, the first financial griev-
ance he complained of was that
Congress had levied an export tax of
six per cent. per pound on raw cotton.
He said this not only oppressed the
planter, but chiefly the negro laborer,
with whom he seems to have fallen
in love recently. He describes this
tax as beirg onerOus in its charac-
ter, levied for vindictive purposes,
and as being the chief reason why re-
construction has not taken place in
the South. Upon this subject Mr..
Seymour is not we'll informed. The
tax levied upon cotton was not six
cents per pound but three cents per
pound. The tax was not export tax,
as he states. Congress is expressly
prohibited, by the Constitution,
from leyying an export tax,
which Dir. Seymour seems to
have forgotten. On the contrary,
the tax was levied upon all the cot
ton produced in the country, without
: regard to whetherFit was exported to
foreign countries for money, or kept
in this country. It was levied at a
time when. the Government was
compelled to tax every thing, and to
draw revenue from every possible
source, and ives repealed nearly q
! wear ago, as soon as the time had
3 come when taxation could eredueed
But the most extraordinary statement
which he makes in connection with
| This tax. is that it was iastigated by
Eastern manufacturers, and l quote
his language. I Say it was a selfish
act. because it was done in the inter.
est of Eastern manufacturers
, already wealthy from the fruits
Of the war. Protected by enor
, nous tariffs, this tax OF b cents
paid on all cotton exported, wal
simply imposed so that he might buy
it tor price six cents less tn II
! was worth in the markets OF tht
world" The manufacturers were Of
!. all others the class of men in the
- North who were especially interested
against the tax. 1t is not to be sup
posed that they desired to add si1
cents per pound to the cost of the raw
material which they manufactured
into goods. On the contrary, the
l. people OF the manufacturing Statel