The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1872-08-09
SENATOR MORTON ON THE STUMP.
The ISLANDERS on President Grant Refute d
flow II orace Greeley Lnb0red for the
Passage Of the ku-klux Bill-Heudricks'
War Record.

Passage sf the Ku-Kilx Biii-Hendricks
Senator Morton addressed large and
enthusiastic Republican Meeting at La
fayette. Ind, on the 25th of July. We
present few extracts from his speech:
Senator Morton said.'the country was enjoy
ing general prosperity under wise admins
tration which was assailed by scarce anything
except personal attacks, not by any PROPOSE
tion Of better measures Of the Government.
These attacks were mostly made by men who
were distinguished only as takers, not as deers.
Now q man who has always succeeded may be
called fool, but he is preferable to speech
makers who have bean failures rs generals and
statesmen. He recounted the leading mess
ures of the Government and their effect on
the business interests of the country.
Replying to Mr.. Hendricks speech at Indian
apolis he said:
Mr. Hendricks made the astounding dec q
ration that he had been in favor of the prose-
sutton of the war and the suppression of the
rebellion, and charged me with having calum-
mated HIM upon this subject. He said that
had known all the while that during the first
month of the war he made bnef publication Of
his views, in which he said that " he regarded
it the duty of citizens to respect and MAINTAIN
the national authority and give 1t an honest
and earnest support during the continuation
of the war, until in the providence Of God it
might be brought to an honorable conclusion.
He did not undertake to quote q sentence
from this document, or tell where it could be
found, nor give any description OF it by which
anybody could hunt it up. / must confess
that have no knowledge Of it. and am sur
prised to hear of its existence. If he pub
lished such q sentiment during the war 1t has
escaped everybody's recollection, and was lot
repeated by him at any subsequent time dur
inn the war, or for years afterwards.
Mr.. Hendricks made many speeches during
the war and 80 far as known, he did not In
any one of them advocate the prosecution of
the war, suppression of the rebellion and
maintenance of the Union by force OF arms.
On the contrary, his speeches were devoted to
the condemnation of the Government and criti
cism of every war measure, and it must be
said that he spared no argument that could
possibly contribute tn make volunteering un-
popular and consumption necessary. And
when consumption came he denounced 1t as
unconstitutional, tyrannical and wicked. When
Mr.. Hendricks claims that he was o War DEM
ocrat he tri1es with public intelligence and
the recollections of men and contradicts the
recorded evidence of his opinions and aston
ishes his most intimate friends. He owed his
election to the United States Senate bv the
reasonable Legislature of 1863 to the fact that
he was recognized enemy OF war, and had
more power and influence than anybody else
II
He says, as an evidence that he supported the
war in 1868. he voted for the army appropri-
alton BILL In regard to this / can say that at
that time his vote for it IN the Senate was not
necessary, and il would have required more po-
litical courage than Mr.. Hendricks generally
has credit for to have given vote IN Congress-
against any appropriation for the army, and
think his friends and mine Will agree with me
that this il the first time they ever heard OF
that vote. aud that he has never boasted of it
before several weeks ago.
Mr. Hendricks. in accepting his third Domi-
nation for Governor, announced that he had
turned his back upon the past for ever, and
looked only to the future; but he seemed now
to be not satisfied with turning his back upon
the past. but he is attempting to reverse the
past, TO obliterate his anti-war record, and ap-
pear in the interesting. .characterof a War DEM
ocrat whose labors were crowned with suc
cess IN the suppression OF the rebellion, all of
which will be received with surprise and per-
haps indignation by his old friends, the Sons
Of Liberty. Another statement in his speech
must have severely taxed credulity and recol-
lection Of his audience. and for fear / shall be
suspected Of misrepresenting him viii quote
the passage. Speaking of myself, he said:
- In q more recent speech he has called my
sincerity in question, in that said had turned
my back upon the past; we stand In the pres
ent, and only look TO the future. No fair
minded man understands this language as a
dessrtion of convictions of right, or an aban-
donment of essential principles This I may
illustrate. Iopposed the amendments to the
Constitution, for / thought then as believe
now that during q civil war, and until passions
exoited thereby have cooled. the public mind
in not in prol er condition safely to change the
foundations and framework Of the Govern
ment."
Mr.. Hendricks gave the country to under
stand that he opposed the twelfth, fourteenth
and fifteenth amendments only because he
thought it was a bad time to attempt to amend
the Constitution during civil war, aud while
passions were excited, not that he had any OBJ
iection to the amendments themselves. This
pretension is like other attempts to appear m
the character Of War Democrat. 1t isl per
fectly notorious that MIR. hendricks voted
against and opposed the thirteenth amend
ment because he was in opposition to the sbo-
lition of slaves, not because OF the time when
the amendment was brought forward. 1t is
perfectly notorious that he voted against and
fought at every step the adoption of the four
teenth amendment, bitterly denouncing every
provision of ii as subversive Of the spirit and
genius of our institutions. 1t is also notorious
that he voted against the fifteenth amendment,
denonncing negro suffrage and political equal
ity in their consequences as immoral and de
structive Of our institutions. 1t was because OF
the horror he entertained Of dreadful conse-
quences that he advised the Democratic MEM
bers of the Legislature of Indiana to resign
In order to prevent y ratification OF the amend
ment. l have no objection to Mr.. Hendricks
cham ing his opinions in regard to the war and
amendments and everything else, and turning
his back upon the past but when he under
takes to reverse the history OF tho times and
appear IN a character which belongs to others,
he places those with whom he was then in con-
flict in false position. He and ! were III q
political conflict during the war, and If he was
In favor of its prosecution must have been
against II, and the next step for him to take
logically will be to assert that was opposed
to the war and doing all in my power to make
the rebellion success, while he was IN favor
of il, and his efforts we're finally crowned with
victory.
Ser ator Morton read from MIR. Greeley's ac-
ceptance speech the declaration that he was
no less Republican,, and they no less Demo
Gratis, than ever and then read Greeley' 8
past opinions of the vice, ignorance and cor
ruption Of Democrats, and asked what he
meant by saying they were no less Democrats.
The rebe. Semmes has just written letter
to friend that he had not gone to Greeley,
but Greeley had come to the captain of the
Alabama which was true. Southern Demo-
Gratis are the same, and now only resort to q
strategy to divide the Republican party. II it
takes Democrats only few days to abandon
the principles OF their whole history and pro-
fess to believe in Republican platform, how
long will it take them If they get into power
to abandon these new pretensions OF principle /?
The plank in the Cincinnati platform on
which this contest il really fought in the
South is that of non-interference by the Gem
eral Government in the Affairs of the States,
which is understood to mean that the Adminis-
tration shall stand neutral between the Sou1hern
Democrats and the colored people, and not