Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-10-06
GOV. HEIGHFOF CALIFORNIA-THE
PIG TAILS AND THE FIFTEENTH
AMENDMENT

Gov. Height of California being in CO.
lumbus. Ohio, on Friday last, was called
upon to address the people of that city,
upon the issues of the day. We extract
so much as refers to the fifteenth amsnd-
ment and the Chinese. He said:
Suffrage is not right, but political
privilege. No man is by any right en-
titled to vote, it is privilege. We re>
quire five years residence before the
intelligent white men of .oreign lands are
permitted to vote. IL il was a right they
should vote at once. We require our
young men to be twenty-one years of
age. If it was right they should vote
as soon as they are able to 90 to the
polls and hand in their ballots. But the
whole teaching of our system OF gov
eminent is that it is privilege to be
regulated by the proper governments.
II you allow the Chinese to vote, it be-
comes a mere question Of money.
They have no idea Of our form of govS
eminent. They know no more about it
than we do of the heaven which we all
hope to attain. You have only to go to
one of the men who hold them in subju-
cation and bargain with him for either
their labor OF their votes, and you can
get either of them upon very low terms.
Ii you ever permit this, popular liberty
and suffrage become a farce, and the
people will be ready to jump to and in.
dorse any measure that will seem to be
better than transparent shame. You
are mistaken fyou suppose this is a dis
tant question. 1t is not. You have
the railroad by which they can be
poured upon US in untold numbers.
II you adopt this amendment, there is
only one step to make them full voters,
and in every respect our equals in the
power and control Of the government.
That additional step is sure to be taken,
for the reason large majority, and among
them the leading men of the Republican
party, have already declared themselves
in favor of permitting them to vote they
will come here in large numbers. The
cheap labor system, so well described and
denounced by your candidate for Gov
ernor, will become fixed fact. They
can put upon your shores, within short
time, ten millions Of this debased and
idolatrous class. They have no wives to
provide for, no families to bring up.
They give no money to charitable or
school purposes. There is nothing Of
them but what the Radicals propose to
make of them-Voters that will come up
like cattle and vote as they are directed
by those who will pay them the most
money. .-...
10 California we propose to exhaust
every legitimate means known to ou1
laws to prevent the consummation of so
foul wrong, so great an outrage on
our system of free government. Great
applause. l think that even yet, in
the States, we have power to prevent it
and by our love of God given rights
and liberties we have heretofore enjoyed
we are determined to do it. Applause.
They are already importing into oul
large cities-Chicago, for instance
Chinese to take the place of the womer
that have heretofore done the work in
our laundries. Do you likeit? Are yol
willing that these cheap laborers shall
take the place and snatch from tn
mouths Of the women of our land tn
poor pittance that by hard labor the
have been enabled to earn No, No
Great applause.