The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1870-04-27

cidal assault for every day of January in
the city OF New York and its vicinity
There IN the great city of the country, IN
the city which is the pride of the nation,
in the city that has more churches, more
schools, more institutions of learning,
than any place else, the murders are by
the day, and yet you hear nothing about
in the city Of New York.
What has been the effect, pray, of your
measures, if this true? You
have had the South under the heel of mil
itary men, with the right to try men by
commissions, untrammeled by
lurles. Where, then, we're your military
commissioner They would convict, wo'd
they not Z? They are commissions organi-
Zed to convict. 1t would utterly amaze
any man to see q military commission
that failed to convict. Why did thev not
punish these assassins7 Why did they
let murder 60 unpunished because Jurors
would not find verdicts Of guilty, when
the commanding general had 1t in his
power to detail board Of army officers to
try, convict and to hang? If this be
true, then your military domination and
your reconstruction acts have been the
most miserable failure that the world ever
saw.
But that is not all. You have again
and again restored-you call 1t admitting,
l call it restoring them--States in the
South to their rights. They have Radio
al governments What State has had a
more Radical Government than Tennessee
up to the last year? And yet in Tennes-
see the Ku Klux had its origin, according
to all the accounts we have.
Mr.. Fowler-I believe that is mistake
Mr.. Thurman have always heard it
asserted so.
Mr.. Fowler-I should like the Senator to
give some evidence of it more than his
bar9 declaration.
Mr.. Thurman am glad TO be correct
ed. was only stating 1t on Radical au-
thority, and know how uncertain that
is. Laughter I stand corrected.
Mr.. Abbott-The honorable senator
from Ohio denies that there are any Ku
Klux.
Mr. Thurman-No, sir, 1 do not deny
any such thing. Your reconstruction
acts were calculated to make Ku Klux.-
l do not wonder that they did make Ku
Klux. After putting eight millions peo-
pie under the heel of military men with
power to try them by court martial and
military commission, and hang them, in
plain violation of the Constitution, and
then putting a set of ignorant negroes
above all the intelligence of the white race
and using those instrumentalities to
send men to the Senate of the United
States and House of Representatives ol
the United States l do not wonder it
made Ku Klux. I am not iustifying the
Ku Klux.
Mr.. Abbott think the Senator makes
a very good defense-o of the Ku Klux.
Mr. Thurman-The Senator may say SO
say it is quite natural that there should
have been ku Klux. ] am making no
defense for them. But human nature is
human nature, and you cannot trample
out the impulses of the human heart BY
any laws you may make, not even by tho
code of Draco ITSELF
of the loyal men. You bad Tennessee
in the hands of the loyal men, you have
got the old North State in the hands O.
the loyal men, you have got every one o
these States in the hands of the loya
men, and IN addition to all this, you have
had the military to help you. Now, why
is it that you have not had law and ordel
and peace? Is it because they were slave
States? Let me call the attention of tht
Senator to the fact that there were othe
slave States. There was Delaware, Mary
land and Kentucky. They have not hael
reconstructed, they have not been unde
the rule of the loyal men, according Il
the definition of loyalty on this floor, ant
yet, in all this broad land, from the At
lantic to the Pacific, from Darien to tn
north pole, there have not been thre
more orderly States than Delaware, Mary
land and Kentucky Under Democrati
administration, law and order prevail i
them, property, life and liberty are safe
1t ought to be so, for the spirit of Democ
racy is the spirit of obedience to Constitu
ton and law 1t is the very incarnatio,
of peace, law and order, and the bes
thing you can, Senators of the Republica
party, the very best thing that could hap
pen to restore law, order, peace, prosper
ty and happiness to the Southern countr
would be for Radicalism to abdicate theI
and Democracy to be installed in powe
Mr. Morrill,, of Maine. The Senate
will allow me to suggest, saving and eZ
cepting always the city of New York
Mr. Thurman-"Saving and exceptin
the city of New York ?' How is that?
Mr. Morrill,, of Maine. That is Demo
cratic.
| Mr.. Thurman-I thank the Senator frol
Name. Who is it that has been the govern
ing party in New York since the Radica
have been possessed of the legislature
that State? The Mayor? No, sir. n
sir, he has had scarcely any more pow,
in that city than have had in it. a.
the common councils? No. sir, the
have no power whatever. The whole p
lice is in the hands of a board establisht
by the legislature of the State, and i
head appointed, I believe, by the Cove
nor of the State.
| Mr.. Morrill,, of Maine. My honorab
friend must remember that despite Il
aid of the State police, those murders tai
place in that city
Mr. Thurman-Yes, sir, I dare say tn,
: did, and dare say murders take place
Massachusetts,, and l have heard of soI
of them in Maine, Laughter Tn
take place, think, even in my good Sta
of Ohio, that expends more than six m
lion dollars year, drawn from the poe
: cts of the people, in support of comm
schools Think of that, Senators L
r common school system draws from t
} pockets of our people more than Sc, ,0C
} 600 year, and our State has so many !
/ igious people that positively they ha
= had to build churches every year to su
D ply those who want seats IN them t.
s degree that is perfectly amazing. A
you all know, who have seen Ohio, IL
her citizens are law abiding set of pt
pie, but even there horrible crimes ;
committed, too horrible to mention. Y
4 cannot take up newspaper without res
ing of them. If this condition of the Sou
e is nothing more than the condition of
: North, if it is simply the condition of
? eiety, if it is simply what happens evel
= where-for there have been Traupma
: IN America as well as IN France-if ii
r is so, what reason have you to eOmpla
# what reason have you to make a fl
# abour it.
n No, you go upon the principle that
- South is in an abnormal condition, Il
n property is not as safe, that life is not
q safe, that liberty is not as safe there as
: the North. That is the reason why Y
e say something needs to be done. Y
have tried to bring about normal con
s ton of things by military rulers, 10,
:, legislatures, loyal governors, and by
II the machinery of loyalty. Gentlem
3 give it up. Let the people of those Sta
p the majority of those States, resume