The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-09-01
Senator Thurman'S Columbus
Z Speech.
A REPORT REVISED ny HIMSELF.

NN''AhbHi +AAbN N9t va
i 1t having been understood that the rc
: ports OF Senator Thurman's speect
> owing TO the lateness of the hour h
5 spoke, were imperfect, revised repOr
! has been furnished the ohio Statesman;
lie considered first the claims Of tn
administration TO the support oftho COun
7 try ON the ground Of having restored tn
: rebelliOus States to their proper relation
to the Government. So lar as the Repuh
lican party in Congress have done thei
work, the effect has been 10 relard hl
work OF reconstruction. In support o
which he referred N the net compelling
the formation OF new constitutions.
On the new departure he said; Nov
my friends, It has been common for thu
Republican party of this country To say
that the Democrats have taken a. new dc
pRrture. They allegethat Il consists In ad
mitting that we have been wrong and the
Republicans have been right. Isay there
has never been any such confession MS that
We are rs much opposed 70 what has
been done as when we gave our votes
against it, Why if ! should sec man
strike another man unlawful by and in a
brutal manner in.tha street, throttle him
and knock him down and trOspass upon
his rights, and should sec his wounds
and bruises and see him bleeding, | should
be, compelled to say that he was down
and bleeding, but who would call that
a confession that the villain who
outraged him had dono what was proper,
(laughtCrR So when these men thrOttled
the Constitution and ruined the peace Of
the country; when they made the South
almost as ruinOus, as In the midst Oi war.
We demonstrated and opposed them, and
now because we Cahnot deny that they
have done H. because we cannot deny that
the thing has 0lleen accomplished be.
cause we are compelled to admit the fact
that the reconstruction laws have been
executed and the amendments to the
Constitution fastened upon US, wo are
told fOresOoLh that we admit that the
Radicals were rightand We were wrong.
That Is logic for you. Tho Fourteenth
amendment To the Constitution was passed.
We opposed II. Why did We oppose II?
Because 1t provided that all people In the
United States should be equal before the
law. There Is not one Democrat from
the Ohio river 10 Canada, not one In the
United States who opposedIit upon any
backgrounds. That has always been the
law In tho Northern States. The Demo.
Crats he said opposed the Fourteenth
amendment, first, because Of Its disfran.
chising clause; because II disfranChisCd
the men OF influence, Of intellect, Of edit
cation, who aid was most necessary TO re.
store peace TO the South Secondly, be.
cause the language was ambiguous and
was such as would enable an
ambitious President and Congress
to usurp the power that belongs TO the
individual States, and 10 overthrow every
one Of the reserved rights of the people
of the States, and we were denied the
right, for II Is under the ambiguous and
loose language Of that amendment that
the Infamous Ku-Klux bill was passed,
under the pretense Of authority derived
from that loose and ambiguous language.
If this Interpretation were correct the
President would have power In the State
of Ohio to displaCe the Governor, de-
throne the Legislature, turn out OF office
our Judges and establish martial law
from one end Of the State TO the other
whenever he thinks or pretends to think
II necessary for him to take martial pos.
session Of Ohio. In order TO protect the
rights Of individuals we were right then
In opposing that amendment, thus framed
and thus phrased. The 10Th amendment
we opposed because at first Il was fraud
upon the people In the way that the
thing was proposed, and carried out
and direct violation Of the solemn
pledges of the dominant party made In
the platform at Chicago Wesupposed for
stronger reason than that We said IL
was perfectly monstrous that you should
turn over at least one half Of these South.
ern States to the control OF a race not one
in ten OF whom could read much lcss write,
and Of whom not ono In thousand had
the least idea of the Government under
which he lived, and under which they
were to discharge the duties Of law-ma.
kers. II the time should come when they
should be educated up to n proper stand.
ard TO enable them to exercise this right
with intelligence and 10 the welfare Of the
country, we said II would be- Now what
has been the effect of this In the recon.
structed States down South, with their
preponderance of negro votersY The re.
suit has been that they are the worst gov.
erned part Of Gods globe this day. These
States have been delivered over to the
tender merCles Of the carpet.baggers and
adventures Of the North, and Of the
meaner men--the sCalawags-ol the
South and, with the negroes with them,
they govern almost every one Of those
States. And how do they govern them
When the war ended those States were
prOstrated 10 degree we can hardly
realize-ravaged by their own armies as
well as ours; the people were PROSTATE,
their currency was worth nothing, and
thousands and tens of thousands OF their
farms lay desolate under the scourge Of
the war. They were ruined In fortune
and humbled and PROSTATE in spirit |
That was tho time when II behoOved
us to take them by the hand and
help them up. Just at that time this Re.
publican party, these carpet.baggers and
scallawags, took hold Of the Government
in these States. ...
As to the thirteenth amendment, Sena.
tor Thurman said that they had never
made objections 10 u, and that no man
could point to any act Of the Democrats
in the Northern States that ever approved
Of slavery. .4..g
Tic rest Of the speech was devoted to
review Of the finances Of the Admins.
tratlon and the Ku.Klux act.
.- sOTtTTT AWERTrA.