The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-04-15
THE SUM OF ALL VILLAIN.

The hen bill to submit the consti
tuition of Virginia, Mississippi am
Texas to vote OF the people was takel
up
Mr. Morton offered as an additional
section, resolution that, before tn es,
states be represented ia congress, theil
legislat ures shall adopt the fifteenth
amendment.
Mr.. Trumbull did not think it wis,
to adopt this section, Congress had
already, With great deliberation, pass
ed several acts prescribing the condi.
lions OF reconstruction, and several
states had complied with those condi-
lions, and had been admitted to repre-
sentation, and for congress now TO i'm
pose additional conditions, would be a
breach of faith with those people. He
had no doubt that these states would
ratify the fifteenth amendment without
it being made o condition of recon
struction.
MIR. Morton denied that it conld be
breach of faith. No agreement had
been made between congress and the
unrrconstructed states. Congress had
offered those states reconstruction upon
certain conditions; but they had re-
fused to accept the offer, and staid out
in hostility to the government, and
new it was the right of congress to i'm
pose whatever conditions it pleased,
provided they were right and just in
themselves. He would rather see the
pending bill fail than pass without this
amendment. The desire of the demo
cratic party was to keep this QUESTION of
negro suffrage open, as an element of
success in the election of 1872. The
democrats calculated that without the
votes of Virginia, Mississippi and In
diana, the fifteenth amendment must
fail of ratification, and the only way to
defeat that result was by making its
ratification condition of the readmis-
sion of these states.
Mr.. Conkling said the imposition of
the new condition proposed by the SEN
ator from Indiana would be breach of
faith. That senator contended that the
states in question had remained unre-
constructed only because they had stood
and refused to accept reconstruction
upon the conditions offered by con-
gress. This, certainly, was not true Of
virginia, one of the states to which this
bill was intended to apply. Virginia
has gone on as far as she could in the
prescribed course Of reconstruction,
and had failed to complete it only be-
cause the commanding general, repre-
senting the government of the United
States had been unable, for want of
money: to hold the election, which was
necessary as condition precedent to
her admission to representation in con.
gress.
The speeches in the above proceed
ings were all made by radicals, never
theless the amendmen proposed by
Nor ton passed by vote of so to 90,
and then the bill, as amended, passed,
with only o votes in the negative.
The argument Of Senator Morton is
the most villainous thing we ever seen
In print. He openly declares the pur-
pose of the amendment offered by him
20 be to defeat the will of the people.
Read the words Of the shameless trail
tor:
"The desire of the Democrat, party
was to keep this question of negro
suffrage open, as an element of success
In the election of 1872"
And he proposes this amendment as
the only means of defeating their pur-
pose. He d ccs not argue the legality
the justice or equity of the proposition,
but whips in radical senators to its
support solely on the ground Of party
expediency.
Not content with depriving Texas
Mississippi and Virginia of their rights
he proposes to go farther and make
them the instruments with which the
rights of Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey
and every other conservative state are
to be wrested from them. And this
too, without even the miserable pretext
that these states have committed any
ofense against the government by
which they have forfeited their rights
Basiug his argument solely on the
ground that the success of the radical
party in 1872 demands this action!
lie knows, as does every radical sen.
ator who voted for his Infamous promo.
sltion, that the people of this country
will never ratify the fifteenth amend.
ment, and deliberately and defantly he
tells them they shall do so, in order
that the radical party may live unit
1872. Truly. whom the Gods would
destroy they first make mad"
We have always regarded o. p
Morton as bold, bad man, and his DO
litical friends have conceded this much
We have always known him to be de
voih of principle, honor, morality, ant