The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1872-09-19
Speech Of Gen. 3. F. Cheatham at
Chattanooga Oh Saturday Last.

oPttcn Oi ueu' Is. r. Clleatham at
Chattanooga Oh Saturday Last.
FeioU-ciGsas--Ludie and Gentlemen.
= appear before you to-day 70. ii,
LrSl tEiG IA my iiis az make Il lalnr
Sieect, ru' : 10 no. fr,yusr t. axe
l"n re- assecn, i oI.upiy propose u
'alk to you III IVY Own way. / am 10
pablo speaker. l wac born aad ruireL
upon n farm, and pubic speaking has
never been my occupatlon. stand ue.
lore you as a candidate for a seat IN a.,
Congress- oi tue United Stotes ior TN.
- to ut large, Illuminated by me Don.o
cratic party at "a State Convention htl.
ut Nashville on the 2lst duy Of h.si
month. That nomination seems to have
created quite L stIrthroughout the cou
hy with General Andrew Johnson and
his friends. General Johnson has held
Office IN this State, / reckon, for the last
tnrty Years, and for almost every otfic.
which he HIS held he has been nomina
ted Ivy conventions belonging to the
8 unc p' rty that ] now represent on tins
loor. / don't know what change has
come over my honorable competitor,
That he Low proposes to run against the
nominee of the very party to which he
claims 10 belong. Well, sofar, SO good.
VIII, / submit my claims to the people
OF Tennessee, he says that / am Il Gen
eral. Well. who made me II General ?
| never received a military education. /
started as II private in Nashville u 1916
carried IL musket az q volunteer, aud I
h"ye gone through all the gradutions Of
RINK from the lowest to nearly the high
est in the army. In 1916 my State cal ed
for volunteers for the Mexi, all war. I
volunteered and was with the army then
Tor two years, and | tried to do nv duty.
In 1861 the war commenced. | lived in
the South, in Tennessee. Ny State cast
her fortunes with the South / belonged
to her and / went with her, aud in so
doing l thought l vas simply doing my
dnty. applause In the four years
/ WAS with the army l never thought of
anything else. l never sought position
and what positions l did hold was given
me by my superior officers who. 1 sup.
nose thought did my duty. General
Andrew johnson in his Gallatin speech.
tries TO render the Confederate soldiers
an~tagonistic to their commanders. The
war was then over seven wears, AID /
thought every man in the country wan
ted pence. l live in the country where
| talk and live in pence. When I meet
the immigrant | take him by the hand
and encourage him to settle and | have
met the federal officer and I have met
with tho federal sold or, and We never
onarrelled. They snidto me, I've lived
III the North and went with the North"
and | sad, II lived in the South md
went with tho South" We shook hands
and both were of the same opinion. |
nave done every thing to promote peace
aud pnt down strife among Ill classes.
Go to Nashville where / live and the
people there will tel YOU he sametiirg.
This bringing up If old issues l do not
approve, and l will not pursue it, even
although my competitor tries to crea,r
bad feelings between the Confederate
older and his officer, the officer wllc
iorglt with him, who fed him, whu
clothed him. These soldiers never took
my risk that | did not take I never
sal Go forward boys" / WA always
willing to lead. (Applause.) But, l
sly nov let these dead issues go; let the
de1d past bury it's dead. I do not pro-
pose to make Il speech, for I simply rot
mp in order that you may see me- This
is the first office [ have ever sought,
while my competitor, Gen. Andrew John
son, has held office in the State for over
thirty years, from Alderman of Gre.n-
VILE to that of President of the United
States. l have Leen an old friend of his
and have voted for him many IL time.
AID even Offered to fight for him. He
has thought proper to come forward and
oppose me on this occasion l must
admit that | was very much distppoin-
ed to think tint he should do so.
Ladies and gentlemen, Won will please
excuse my emotion. for this is II new
thing to me. l thank you for your kind
attention. (Applansp.)