Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-14
POLITICAL.
The Cooper Institute Mass-Meeting.
Close Of the Proceedings Friday Night.

ator Trumbulls speech at Cooper Institute,
New York, on Friday night:]
had hopes, fellow-citizens, that all the
reforms of which / have spoken could be
accomplished through the instrumentality
of those now having control of the govern
ment. But the experience of the past ses-
sion of Congress and the present has salts
fed me that these reforms can't be accom-
| plished through the agency of the ruling
! spirits now controlling them. Applause
| Processing to be for amnesty, they defeat
| every amnesty bill that is offered, by llmita-
! tiOns and incongruous amendments. Pro-
Tossing to be for civil service reform, they
will do nothing practically to accomplish it.
| [Applause.l Protesting with loud voice to
be in favor of full investigation and cor
rection of abuses, they appoint committees
contrary to all parliamentary precedent
| [applause] and all common sense. If the
object is to find out whether abuses exist,
the committees are so organized as TO be
controlled by the friends of the accused,
and from which every person is carefully
excluded, who believes that abuses exist
and wants a strict investigation. Zap
plause.]
In my judgment this Government, eco
nomically administered, need not expend
ninety millions dollars a year now, ex-
elusive of what it pays in interest on the
public debt and for pension. Fifty million
dollars year ought to be saved by an
economical administration of the Govern
ment. But as l said, We have been unable
to bring this about through the instrument
talities now exercising control. And why ?
Because the machinery Of the Government
and the machinery of the Republican party
is in the hands of the sixty thousand office
holders of the country. They control the
Republican party by packing conventions
and otherwise, through the fundamentally
Of members of Congress and others CO.
operating with them, to whom they owe
their places, and to whom the members in
turn many of them owe their seats in Con-
gress. How, then, is a remedy to be OBJ
tanned? Must the people submit? Are
these encroachments upon their rights
to continue? This collection of taxes to
be squandered among the hirelings of the
party to 90 on, until the people find them
selves bound hand and foot to central
power at Washington, that taxes them at
will and squanders money among its favor
ties as it pleases.
Yes, there is a remedy. But that remedy
must come from the people. You can't
feeling, am glad to believe, in the country
that will arouse its honest sentiments and
| lead to a correction Of these abuses. Zap
plause.1
Notice has been given that there will be
a meeting of the Independent Republicans
| in the city of Cincinnati Tapplause1 on the
| lst of May next. That will be a meeting,
not Of office-bOlders assembled for the pur-
| pose of divising schemes to hOodWink the
people and mislead item by prostituting the
name Of a great party to their wicked
| schemes, but it will be meeting of honest,
| sincere men, determined TO bring
! about the reform and publication eff the
! Government. [Applause.] l am glad to
! say that the indications are that the best ell
ements of the Republican party will be as
! Sembled on that occasion. | notice from
my own State within a few days that a call ,
has been issued, signed, as l am told by all
! but two of the electors, and | believe by
! every State officer who was elected on the
! ticket with Abraham Lincoln, in 1864, eX-
! cept perhaps the Governor of the State,
| signed know by the Auditor of the State,
! Secretary of the State and Treasurer of
| the State, who were elected on the ticket i
with Lincoln. | have similar information
| from other States.
1t can, if you Wilt is in your hands
be made a success. But, to make it a sue
| cess, Republicans must be prepared to face
and put down the miniOns of a party, and
the demagOgues and hirelings and thieves
and robbers who plumber the people, and
who will eXcOmmunicate you from what
they call the party, because they set them
selves up to be the Republican party.
Laughter No more like the Republican
party are these plunderers and thieves,
party Of purity and honesty, than the Devil
islike the angel Gabriel. [Laughter.]
They will 60 on, not discussing the issues
of the present day, no, but during the po-
ltica campaign these same persons will
engage in fighting over again the battles of
war, abolishing slavery, and putting down
the rebellion. To your demand for an
honest administration of the government,
they will reply ''you are traitor to the Re
publican party" Applause To your
demand for reform in the manner of APP
pointing and removing from office, they will
answer, Eve abolished slavery" To your
demand for reform they will answer, ''we
put down the rebellion" With the living
issues Of the present they have no concern
further than to retain power in seeking to
resurrect those which are dead.
NON II ILCIt NC dlly AsCpIlDllCbi WIZ uSto
not independence and manhood enough to
meet with scorn and contempt denuncia-
tons, and subterfuges, he has no business
to go to Cincinnati. [Applause.l Let him
wear the collar and bear the burden which
the whppers-in of the party put upon him,
and let those old BOurbons of both parties
that talk of re-enacting the fugitive slave
law and expecting to vote for Andrew
| Jackson, and those who are still talking Of
putting down rebellion and abolishing
| slavery, expecting to vote for Gen. Grant,
| who is politically as dead as Andrew Jack
! son is physically. [Great laughter and ap-
| plause. Well, let these old BourbOns fight
| these battles over and continue to bury
| their dead issues. But let independent Re-
| publcans all over the land who believe in
progress, in reform, in the living issues of
| the present, assemble at Cincinnati and lei
| them there inaugurate measures.
letter from Senator FentOn.
At the conclusion of Trumbull's speech
the following letter was read:
"WdshjngtOn, d. c., Apra 11.-Dear
| Sir: l cannot be with you tomorrow
night, but l deem it my duty to say that
| the movement for reform and purity of gov
| ernment in the State and Nation, and also
10 SeCilIb dG JIlC lltttu VI
statesman, trained in Republican ideas, has
my cordial sympathy. 1t is the necessity
| of the hour. l say this as a Republican
anxious for the success of honest govern
ment and the revival of fraternal feeling
| throughout the government.
every truly, r. E. FENToN.
ITO Col +. X Conkling, New York"
The letter elected loud applause.
| Carl Schurz
| then came forward and was received with
prolonged applause. Mr.. Schurz said he
| came here to raise his voice against partisan
victory which subordinates the public veal
to personal and party interest, and to pro-
test against savish submission to party die
tation; against the continuance and main
tenance of a power which Overules the
laws of the land for selfish ends; against the
growth of personal government which
threatens to convert the public purse into
personal property; against its frauds and the
receptions being practiced upon confding
people to make what is wrong appear right,
and patriotic that which is mean and self
ish. He said he had started in political life