Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-09-28
SPEECH OF SENATOR MORTON.
He Reviews the Recent Speech of Mr.
Groesbeck, and Defcnd- the Amend
ments and the Ku-KluX and
Election Bills.

| Election Bills.
Hon. o. p MORTON recently delivered
spes ch il Cincinnati, mainly devoted TO
review of a speech by I'll N VIM. s.
Groesbeck, at Stsubenville. Af5er some
preliminary remarks, Mr. Morton said:
In the first place, MIR. Groesbeck gives
a construction to the amendments that
virtually destroys them, and propose to
show that fact. He saws:
mo State shall abridre the privileges of citi-
zens or deprive any person of life liberty or prop
erty, without due process of law; or deny to any
person the equal protection of its laws or deny or
abridge the right of citizen to vote on account of
race or color. There are in the Constitution other
denials of power to the States, and all these de-
| mails of power stand upon the same footing, and
are to receive 9 like interpre alton. No State
| shall make a treaty; no State shall coin money,
or emit bills of credit or make anything but gold
| and silver legal tender, or pass any Dill of at
| tainder, or impair the obligation of a contract
or grant any title of nobility. Suppose a State
| should authorize the coinage of money, or make
paper money legal tender impair the oblgation
upon that state in the first instance with its
armies Not at all. Upon case made the su-
preme Court decides the case unconstitutional,
and annuls it, and its judgment can be enforced.
That has been our practice under these provisions
of the COnstituAoD, when, for instance. state
| impaired the obligation of q contract. That we
| consider the appropriate or necessary and proper
legislation for such cases. The construction that
| the Federal government may break into the Julls-
dictiOn of state, sword in hand whenever
combination of individuals, it may be, in an nsig
nificant township, violates these amendments, is
| excessive and outrageous. If such combination
should become too strong for the State, the Gen
eral government may interfere to suppress it, but
not until invited by the State"
The substance of this statement is that
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend
ments can only be violated by State ty
passing a law that will 0eny to persons the
equal protection of the laws, or that will
deny suffrage on account OF race or color.
That is his first position. Now ! shall
show that is almost wholly unfounded.
His second position is that the remedy is
to be found in a decision of the Supreme
Court of the United States. Now that will
answer in some cases that he mentions,
but in other circumstances, s, where, for in
stance, 4 Stale p sses law repudiating
the obligations of contract, the law is a
nullity, because it is in violation of the
Constitution of the United States, and
simple declaration of the Supreme Court
is all that is necessary; and when State
passes law to make paper money legal
tender, the law is null and void, because
il is il violation of the Constitution of the
United States, and simple declaration of
the Supreme Court is all that is necessary.
But if State passes a law authorizing the
coming of money, and the State actually
coils money, how will he prevent that by
a decision of the Supreme Court of the
| United States? That is one of the old
clauses of the Constitution that he refers
to, and the remedy is that they must be
prevented by act of Congress, making it
penal offeDse to coin money in the name
of the State. It is made penal offebse
by al enac;meut on the part of the Con-
gress of the United States, but the Supreme
Court cannot prevent State from coin
ing money.
So in regard to the Fourteenth and Fif-
teenth Amendments, as l shall presently
show; but when he says that the remedy
for the violation of the Fourteenth
Amendment, in denying to any person
equal protection of the laws, and the vio-
lation of the Fifteenth Amendment, by
denying suffrage ON account of race and
color, that the Only remedy is in the
Supreme Court, Mr.. Groesbeck overlonks
a part of eSch one of the amendments. His
position nullifies the concluding section of
each amendment, which declares that the
amendment shall be enforced by appro-
pirate legislation on the part of Congress.
This is a provision in each amendment
1t is not a provision belonging to any other
of the classes of the Constitution; il is
peculiar to the new amendments. Con
gress, in passing these amendments, ex-
pressly provided that they should be en-
Congress, and that it should not be left to
the Supreme Court; that it should not be
left to the State for their enforcement, but
that Congress was too see that they were
enforced by appropriate legislation. This
must be considered in connection with
these provisions, and no mao can read the
} history of the passage of the Thirteenth,
fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments
through Congress without understanding
) that the enforcement of these aTend-
; ments was not to be left to the States, and
especially to States to which they might
be obnoxious; but that Congress reserved
) the power TO itself to enforce them. These
amendments must be considered in con-
nection with the concluding section of
each, and in connection with this con-
temporar eous history.
MIR. GROEsBECK AND THE KU-KLUX BILL
This brings me to what Mr.. Groesbeck
said in regard to the Ku-Klux bill. He
argued that it was gross violation of the
!: Constitution of the United States, and
thst the Fourteenth Amendment gave nc
: power to Congress to enact that law. Mr.
Groesbeck then made a statement tC
which wish to call your attention, and
l would like to call his attention TO it. He
says:
A any person of any c. Institutional right. He whS
committed such an ofiense should be prosecuted
The Marshal, having at command all the forct
, he might need, could arrest him, and ample pro
! vision was made for his trial, condemnation ant
. | punishment. All that you will notice, is judic
: ial proceeding and right and proper, but thu
case here provided for is not judicial protecting
{ it is war 1t is not the Marshal and his posS
n making an arr 81 under a warrant. There is NJ
? process in it, and no court. 1t is the Commander
inChief at the head of his army entering the State
4 slay; repeat it, it is war The State govern
ment is pushed aside; the courts are shut, the.
are ao5 wa5tea @ Ins VIII Oh maoTaS cotpIs Is sus
: lutte and supreme command"
o Now this is the general description Mr
a Groesbeck gives of the Ku-Klux bill, AM
:. with all Difference to him, 1 say it is untTu
!; in every line. [Applause.] So far from III
< bill contemplating no court, 10 process
J. the court and legal process run througl
l. every section of it, and this bill, from tn
d first line to the last, provides for judicia
l. proceedings.
e Why, the first section of the bill, m
v friends, provides for the Furnishing in tn
IS courts of the United States, and prescribe
IL the penalty for any person who subject
r any person to be dreprived of his right!
20 privileges or immunities secured by th
% Constitu ion of the United States. 1t dis
E. tinctly points out the offense and describe
the penalty.
d The second section provides that if tw
is or more persons In any State or Ierrltor
le shall conspire together to overthrow, pr
le down, or destroy by force the Cover
[e ment of tn, United States, or shall lev
is war against the United States or sha
t. oppose by force the Government of Il
d United States, or by force or intimidatio
i'd delay the execution of the law, with
D. view to deny to any C tizen due and equ
as protection of the law to the injury of az
person, and so on, he shall be deeme
sh guilty of felony, and, upon conviction
fly shall be punished. Yet we are told
es Mr.. Groesbeck that it comtemplates I
nd appeal to the courts, no judicial proces,
is ings, but declares fragrant war against Il
IN liberties of the people. 1 fear the disti
| guished gentleman did not read the bill
us all, but has taken some Democratic We
sion of it. (Applause.] =,
Now I come to the third section OF
De- which reads as follows.
oil "SEc. 8. That in all cases where insurrectio
domestic uu1a u1 mi