The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1870-05-05


worth more than. sixty cents on the
dollar. They have raised a crop of
cotton that has nearly brought you to
specie payments, and if you get TO
specie payments by this time next
year, it will be because the cotton
crop of 1870 will be useful. And yet
a country which is prospering, as
everybody admits. and fast regaining
its lost wealth and capital, we are told
is a country in which there is no
security for life, liberty or property.
This statement is sufficient iii itself to
be its own refutation.
Sir, whenever there is any scheme
particularly wrong, whenever there is
any project in Congress that shocks
the human mind, whenever such a
thing is to be perpetrated. as pre-
lude to it or preparatory to it, we have
this rub-a-dub-dub about outrages in
the South. We have no such thing
about outrages it the North, and yet
there is not senator on on this floor
perhaps, but saw in the month of Feb
ruary last q detailed list in almost
every newspaper in the city of New
York, in regard to murders in that
CITY and its vicinity. And what did
that detailed list show? 1t showed a
murder or a homicidal assault for
every day in January in the city of
New Y ork and its vicinity. There in
the great city of the country, in the
city which is the pride of the nation,
in the city which has more churches,
more schools, more institutions of
learning, than any place else, the mur-
ders are by the day, and yet you hear
nothing about outrages in the city of
New York. y .s.ifss.v -r4-
What has been the effect, pray, of
your reconstruction measures, if this
is true? You have had the South
underline heel of military men, with
the right to try men by military COM
missions, untrammeled by juries.,
Where, then, were your military COM
missions? They would convict, would
convict, would they not? They are
commissions organized to convict.
1t would utterly amaze any man to see
military commission that failed to
convict. Why did they not punish
these assasins ? Why did they let
murder go unpunished because Jurors
would not find verdicts of guilty,
when the commanding general had it
in his power to detail board of army
officers to try, convict, and to hang i?
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 it admit
ting, call it restoring them-States
in the South to their rights. They have
Radical governments. What State has
had more Radical Government than
Tennessee up to the last year? And
yet in Tennessee the Ku-Klux had its
origin, according to the accounts we
have. Il - .# st!9 ia1s'
Mr.. Fowler-I believe that is mis-
take. 'a-
Mr.. Thurman.-I have always heard
it asserted so. - 5Elaast - ,e5l.
Mr.. Fowler-I should like the Sen
atof to give some evidence of it more
than his bare declaration. -2 'i.. q
q Mr.. Thurman-Ia am glad to be cor
rected. l was only stating it on Radi-
cal authority, and know how uncer-
tain that is. Laughter, l stand COR
rected. = f'-=-l
Mr. .aAbbott-Theh honorable Senator
from Ohio denies that there are any
ku Klux.s =
Mr.. Thurman-No, sir, 1 do not de-
ny any such thing. Your reconstruc-
ton acts were calculated to make Ku
Klux. After putting eight millions
people under the heel of military men
with power to try them by court mar
tial and military commission, and hang
them, in plain violation of the Consti-
tuition, and then putting set of igno-
rant negroes above all the intelligence
of the white race-and using those in
strumentalities to send men to the
Senate of the United States and House
of Representatives of the United
States, i do not wonder it made Ku
Klux. I am not justifying the Ku
Mr.. Abbott think the Senator
makes very good defense of the Ku
Mr.. Thurman-The Senator NAV
say SO. say it is quite natural that
there should have been Ku Klrx.s 1
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 the code of
Draco itself. - !: yl5zy1 z
Sir, YOU put these States in the
hands of the "loyal" men. You had
Tennessee in the hands of the loyal
men you have got the old North State
in the hands of the loyal men; you
have got every one of these States in
the hands of the loyal men, and in ad-
dition to this, you have had the militia
ry to help you. Now, why is it that
you have not had law and order and
peace? Let me call the attention of
the Senator to the fact that there were
other slave States. There were Della
ware, Maryland and Kentucky. They
have not been reconstructed, they have
not been under the rule of the loyal
men,, according to the defiuition of
loyalty on this floor, and yet, in all
this broad land, from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, from Darien to the north
orderly States thand Delaware; Mary
land and Kentucky. Under Demo-
cratic administration, law and order
prevail in them, property, life and lib
erty are safe. 1t ought to be SO, for the
splrlG OI bciuOcTacy Is Cne spirit OF
obedience to Constitution and law. 1t
is the very incarnation of peace, law
and order, and the best thing you can
do, Senators and Republican party,
the very best thing that could happen
to restore law, order, peace, prosperi-
ty and happiness to the Southern coun-
try, would be for Radicalism to abdi-
safe and Democracy to be installed in
power. 70 " q ID > ia
Mr.. Morrill,, of Maine. The Sena-
tor will allow me to suggest, saving
and excepting always, the city of New
York. 80 'fA a1',s'r+,4 sf
Mr.. Thurrnan-"S Saving and except
ing the city of Now York P" How is
that ii;;sii't 5t. 81" s''55e1
Mr.. Morrill,, of Maine. That is
Democratic. E8'j-'t+a tstl
Mr.. Thurman---I thank the Senator
from Maine. Who is it that has been
the governing party in New York
.since the Radicals has been possessed
Of the legislature of that State? The
Mayor No sir. No, sir, he has had
ca anlx - So