New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-02

|
we hereby offer the veritable speech itsel
as reported in the C0Tier-Jolwnal, will
the general remark, that the conclusion
OF the editor concerning the address, ant
the assertion of fact touching our DISPOSE
ton to suppress the utterances of public
men when they do not suit US, are boil
equally incorrect General Sherman die
not mean what the Louisville paper says
he meant; and we publish all the news
that comes along whether it is for Oh
against, because that is the way to obtain
sensible readers for the true argument. Sc
here goes for the speech which the
REPUBLICAN dare not publish, but which
it suppresses:
GENERAL sHERMAN'S SPEECH.
I believe this government will keep on
| growing until it spreads itself over the en-
| tire American continent; but in order to
| gain this much desired end, and to maintain
| ourselves as free and independent repub-
lie, we have got to show more charity to-
ward each other. 1t has been remarked by
some gentleman who has preceded me, that
| it was generally conceded by the soldiers of
both armies at the close of the late civil
war, that if the questions and all matters of
| the settlement of the differences between
| the North and South were left TO the two
armies, it would be settled at once and
everything would become quiet and orderly
| l so believed and before signing
| the agreement with General Joe
johnson, l called together all the
| generals under my command, and with
| out dissenting voice they agreed with
me. | believe they surrendered in good
faith, and would have lived up to the very
! letter OF the agreement, and, in my opinion,
if there had been 10 reconstruction acts of
| Congress, and the armies been left at the
time to settle all questions of difference be-
tween the different sections of the country,
the people would have at once become quiet
! and peaceable. | probably have as good
means of information as most persons il re-
gard to what is called the Ku-Klux, and am
perfectly satisfied that the thing is greatly
overestimated and if the Ku-Klux bills
were kept out of Congress, and the army
kept at their legitimate duties, there are
enough good and true men in all the South
ern States to put down all Ku-Klux or other
bands of marauders
It will be understood that we do not
youch for the accuracy of the above re-
port. General Sherman may have used
the language here attributed to him, or he
may not, but our opinion is that the re-
port was taken down by Democrat, and
that some considerable license was used
in stating the ideas in language that Gen
eral Sherman never uttered. The last
sentence sounds very like it had been
gotten up by very prominent Democrat.
In addition to publishing the speech as
reported in the Louisville paper, we may
add that it meets our ready concurrence
in most Of its propositions. Particularly
are We inclined to indorse that portion of
the address which declares that if the gen.
uine soldiers of the late civil war had been
left to settle the trouble at the time of the
surrender, there would have been a solid
and lasting peace as the result. But the
misfortune was, and is, that the genuine
soldiers that returned home from the rebel
army never have been consulted about the
policy of the South. They fought grandly
and they retired bravely. Their first duty
was to retrieve their broken fortunes, and
in doing this they had but little time to de-
vote to public affairs. Their surrender was
based upon the supposition that their de-
feat was overwhelming and that their |
cause was lost beyond redemption. The
victors had won the field and were en-
titled to arrange the reorganization of the |
country. Unfortunately Andy Johnson
invited different conclusion He sug-
gested to the Southern people that they
had yielded as political equals, and not as
fallen heroes, and that their franchises
were reserved to them. This was a most
deplorable mistake, for since the genuine
soldiers of the war were voluntarily re-
moved from all interference in political
affairs, this suggestion rallied into life, as
the representatives of Southern politics,
the termagant Democracy Of the States
which had but lately been in open revolt
against the government. This Democracy
was then, is now, and ever has been the
very essence of evil 1t had provoked
it had precipitated the rebel
lion, it refused to hearken to the offers of
which the Union ever adj
dressed to the South, it monopolized the
offices of the Confederacy, it sane
toned the exemption and the impress
ment laws, it never engaged in
The fight, its retreat was in the bomb
proofs or in the departments; it contracted
for the armies, it traded in cotton, it sold
the supplies which were robbed from the
people, it stuck to JEFF Davis in all his
because he was the representa-
Ave OF that aristocracy which was pro-
posed for the country, and it was always
incapable and dishonest. This Democracy,
We say, which constituted no part of the
cal soldiery of the great war, at once re-
ponded to the leniency of Johnson. and
proclaimed itself the South. The North
lalted to see what this extraordinary pro-
eeding would result in. I. had proposed