The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-04-26

seven months. HOW was tnat cnango
brought about? Was 1t change of
opinion? 1t was brought about by
the terror that had been inaugurated;
and | viii present you some figures
that go to show it. refer to a doc
ument printed by the House Of
Representatives and this will show
how this great change of 53 600
votes in seven months had been made
/ have list here IN this document OF I
nineteen counties and one city-the /
city of Savannah. In the city of Sa- t
vannah the number of white votes reg I
istered was 5000; colored, $500. OF |
that number Bullock received 1854, |
and Grant received 400. The terror
did it's work pretty we'll in Savannah.
I come now to ones county. The
number of white votes registered in
Jones county was 486; colored, l,O13.
OF that number Bullock received 718;
, Grant received not one. The terror
did its work pretty well in that
county. [ come to Columbia county.
In that county the white votes regis
tered was $50; colored, 1854. Bull
lock received ], 122 votes and General
Grant received one. | come to Ran
dolph county. The white vote regis
tered was 954; colored, ] 1913. Bull
lock received 697; General Grant re-
ceived one. | come to Baker county,
| where the whole number of colored
votes was 1,053. Bullock received
255 of that number. The terror. did
its work pretty well there, as Grant
received only 33.
Then, running down through these
nineteen counties and this one city,
we find over $4,000 voters who were
prevented from going to the polls, or
were compelled to vote the Democrat
ic ticket. Here was a revolution
brought about in seven months in the
State of Georgia, resulting IN change
of $4,000 votes, our distinguished
President, Ia some counties, not being
permitted to receive one vote. This
will give you, sir, foretaste Of what
are to be the results of an election
forced on in that State next fall.
In the city of Augusta, in 1868,
there were registered 1867 colored
voters. In Decembered, 1869, some
four months ago, they held munich
, pal election, and the whole number of
colored voters registered was az. All
the rest were deferred from even put
ting down their names upon the reg
istry.
Sir, the Kuklux are spreading In
all the Southern States, and the idea
, is not original. There was such So
7 ciety in Europe IN the sixteenth CEN
fury, to which the death of many no.
BILE aud good men is accredited by
history; and l find on looking over
the ritual of the Kuklux Khan that
many things are borrowed from that
; celebrated assassination society.
, And now, Mr.. President, for 1 do
not wish to detain tie Senate, allow
f me to consider very briefly what
should be done. l. the first place,
there must be a law of Congress
authorizing the President of the
United States to extend the power
7 and protection of this Government
into all the States, and that law
should be framed so as to enable him to
: do it where there may be a weak or q
disloyal Legislature that refuses to
, act with the Governor, as in the State
of Tennessee. There must be some
+, such law put upon the statute book
, to protect the lives of loyal men in
: | the late rebel States. ] will not now
stop to discuss the features of that
, measure. They will, perhaps, come
up for discussion on the amendment
. proposed By the Senator from Mis-
souri, kMr. DTake); but state that
as being one of the measures which
must be passed by this Congress if it
! intends to do its duty toward the
! loyal men OF the South and the peace
E of the whole nation.
: And, sir, | would not now refer
Georgia back to military authority
and keep her in her present oondi-
J ton. l do not think that it is III e
best way. think that she should be
3 admitted; her Senators should be al
lowed to take their seats, and she
should be authorized to organize a
!. militia, and that militia, organized by
: the present jealous, bold, and active
Governor of Georgia, would be an
omnipresent force existing in every
, county, existing IN every township,
! while the military force of the Uni
, ted States under the present law
! | would only be established at a few
:, points-would not have that omni-
present character which is necessary
to afford complete protection. /
might refer to the result In the State
: of Arkansas, where the militia or.
: ganiged under Governor Clayton
4 has proved most efficient in pro-
tecting that State from Kuklux out
, RACES.
To remand Georgia to a military
, government, | think, would not now
accomplish it. 1t would be a repu-
diation of the loyal men of that
, State. All we ask is that they shall
be allowed through their own action,
or, if you please, by the express 40
ton of Congress, to continue the
present loyal State government dur
/ ing the term for which they we're
elected. The Legislature elected for
, two years was cheated out of the first
two years very nearly. It was revo-
lutionized. They have but Just come
into power; indeed, hardly yet, loy-
, al organization having even Effected
| for the first time In the month of
January. What we ask is that they
: shall be allowed to serve out
. the two years for which they
were elected, that these men shall
not be allowed to take advantage of
, their own wrong. First, by usurpa-
ton they kept the loyal men of Geor-
gia out of authority for two years !;
and now / say they should not be
, driven to count that usurpation upon
their term There is no Justice, and
there is no law in that. = eo1-
Mr.. President, the Union men of
the South are everywhere falling
, silently in most cases-their fall no.
ted only by their Father in Heaven.
, There bones may yet be found, like
those of the murdered traveller, but
there will be no epitaph to give their
names, or to tell by whose hands they