Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-03-19
RECONSTRUCTION.
An Argument as to the Condition of
Tennessee by Beast Butler.
He Insists we Must be Reconstructed
We Must have a Radical
Form of Government.
What the New York Tribune and the
Evening Post Think About It.

Evening Post Think About 1t.
From the New York Herald Of Monday.
THE PROPOSED TENNESSEE Sill
GENERAL BUTLER on GOVERN
NrENTs IN THE STATES.
The proposed reconstruction OF Ten
nessee will be considered at the meet
ing of the Reconstruction Committee
next Tuesday. The Tennessee Rad
fcals scarcely know what they want
They are desirOus of making a changl
in the present condition OF affairs II
that State, but they do not know how
TO 20 about it. In their dilemma they
have laid the matter before Genera
Butler, and are anxiOusly awaiting
his advice and action. Butler Is no
the rash, ineonsiderate man he is sup
posea TO be, and he is tLe-efCre giving
the whole subject serious thought be
fore bringing It to the attention
of the House. He is satisfied
that the condition of afiair'
in Tennessee demands some ac
ton on the part Ct Congress. H'
has no idea OF reducing Tennessee tC
a territorial con iitiOn nor OF placing
her under military rule except IN 81
far as it may be necessary to execute
the laws. Situated as Governor Sen
ter is said to be, he should call out the
militia, but Butler says the Leglsla'
ture has repealed all the laws relating
10 the organization of militia, and
there Is none in the State. The Gov
ernOr is thus Let helpless, unable 70
enforce the laws or GO pTOte2A llle ana
property. Butler says Inc evidence
before the Committee on Re2OHsEruc-
ton shows that Governor Senter cen
feSses that he is in this eonotuon.
4sWhat is 10 be done under these err
cumstancesg" saws Butler. "ihe
United States must guarantee to every
State a republican form Of govern
nent. or, in other words, a govern
ment republican in form. FIRST Of all,
there must be a government. 1t Is
r,resumed that the United States
4,o,sId not allow any OF the
state 10 remain in con-
difion n anarchy. They must
bs{Ta q govevnment Of some s0Tt, and
fba. consiitutia,o says its form must ee
rennbI;can. Now. WhSt IS a govern
ment? Why, il is 80 iIistl.tll1h loI
the protection Of life AMI property. dIu
10 promote the welfare u sOeisty A.
general. Whenever it ceases 70 uo
this it is no governmental at all, be- aus
it fails to accomplish the chief ObleS'
Of its existence. Very well. How IS
it in Tennessee? The Governor says
he can't enforce the laws. he can't
protect life and property. He has 40
militia, and the Legislature has de-
creed that he shall not have militia
force. In the meantime murders are
being committed every day; property
is being destroyed, and there is no re-
dress. What is the inference? That
there is no government in Tennessee.
Now, Congress is bound to see that
every State has a republican form OF
government, but il must first see that
there is a government; il Is easy then
TO settle what form Ii shall be"
= asked the General what he pro-
posed to do, and if lac had prepared a
bill 10 remedy the matter. He re-
piled that be had not quite made up
his mind vet. and no bill had been
prepared. What they wanted was to
establish an efficient government IN
Tennessee, one that could protect the
people. He presumed the best way
would be to have a new election
there and prevent persons from voting
who were disirancbised under the
State Constitution. l referred TO a
rumor that the President and Secre-
tary OF war, after consultation, bad
agreed to send q regiment Of troops TO
Tennessee to aid the revenue officers
in collecting the revenue. Butler in-
0uired how he could do that, and
called my attention to the language
of the act Of 1895, which says
that in case of insurrectiOn in
or invasion of any State for the
cOlieetiOn Of the revenue, the Presi-
dent shall call out the militia OF
the State OF of the neighbOring States
TO suppress il, and to preserve order
and enforce the laws. That was the
law under which the first 15,OJ0 men
were raised TO suppress the rebellion.
4 inquired if there was not some law
authorizing the President TO use the
regular army in case Of lnSurrectlOn.
- No. sir.D said Butler, "Opr fathers
didn't know anything about a regular
army going into a Statej they de
"a, ded upon the militia, either of the
gta,,to here the insurrectiOn existed,
~ 80, of tba states nearest to it. Very
,,-aIJ 10 co,,1e back to Tennessee, l
bsye said there = 40 militia in that
Sfate to cali out. low is it in the
neigbhoring StatesP There Is no
militia of any account in A,2sissippl,
Alabama OF Georgia, and what li.ere
Is perhaps find enough to DO al nome.
. : for kentucky, the militia there Is
A. ~Osed of the ku-KlUX, ana Ten
comp S's better without them."
ilessee L. Y. Evening Post Of Monday
rom Ihe \ Butler think it useful TO
Does Gen. 'Oful to his fame and
ana hei. = Congress the part
success, 10 enact I. celebrated dog
Of Mr.. Beecher's a seen a sduiT-
Noble? Noble bad one, certain
rel run into a hole, nea. day after
fence corner, and thereafter, Simseli
day, he returned and made A. ,cia
ridiculous by barking at the same
hole.
The people have pleased themselves
with the belief that they were very
nearly done with reconstruction, and
here, now, comes Mr.. Butler, and be
gins to bark Vehemently at that same
Old hole. To-day he is to introduce
bill 10 Te-recOnstruct the State govern
ment OF Tennessee; and thus, before
we are quite done with Georgia and
Texas, we are to begin anew at the
other end of the line.
We hope the Republicans viii not
support General Butler in this scheme.
III Congress is to investigate election
returns and proceedings, and TO upset
q State government, or turn out a
Governor and order new election,
at its pleasure, il viii soon have its
hands 80 full--nO matter whether
or Republicans have the
maiOrity-that il can do nothing else;
and every state viii fall prey to pO-
litical intrigue at Washington, just as
the States Of IeXico are the victims
Of schemers at the Mexican capital.
1t is hard to consider such measure
as that Of Gi neral Butler with pa
tience. 1t is of course, Of small ac-
count to say that il is uncOnsdtu-
tiOnal; nObOC ly suppOses il to be 9th
erWise. But it may be useful for Re
to remember that whatever
rredit they may gain to themselves
from the economical and faithful ad-
Of General Grant, from
the Improvement of the credit, the
steady decrease Of the debt, the better
collection Of the revenue, they viii
lose all, and more too, if they allow
restless members Of their party to keep
open the reconstruction question.
The Tennessee politicians, it is very
well known, are not men of enough
character or principle, on either side,
TO be depended on. Stokes or Senter
it makes very little difference which
of them rules the State-and when the
question is of election frauds, we
dnnht if either side has any right to