Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-10-30

g edSN maGU6f TO ada an 2nfeGQl1 eQb TO the con-
stltutlon. It requires two-thirds of the House
and two-thirds Of the Senate to SO much as
propose the amendment. And when proposed,
as YOU all know, it requires three -fourths OF
all the states to agree to it. And, yet, against
these tremendous difficulties the Republican
party have added three great amendments.
Now, this Fourteenth Amendment was SUBJ
mitted and adopted, and I beg leave to read ii
to you, in order that its recital may show to
you how entirely and how ineradicably it
pluck mp the very root of the evil and for
ever abolis the troubles of citizenship
which before had been the contending bauble
and ball of controversy between 81 states.
Here is the amendment and l beg again to
say, so as to impress it upon your ruinds, that
IN my Judgment from the time the Declaration
of Independence was read and adopted on the
4th of July, 1776, there has not been any word
OF constitutional or statute law written in
America
OF MORE VITAL IMPORTANCE,
and Of greater consequence to you and your
children, and your childrens children, to the
latest generation, than the Fourteenth amend
ment to the constitution of the United States.
Now let me read it All persons, foreign or
naturalized in the Uuited States and subject to
the jurisdiction thereof. are citizens of the
! United States and of the states wherein they
reside"
No local legislation of South Carolina,
! Louisiana, Arkansas or Texas, settles that, but
any person, foreign or naturahzed, no matter
what color, no matter what natlvity, all per-
! sons born or uaturalized in the United States
are citizens thereof, and OF the states wherein
! they reside.
| Now tnat is the affirmative positive part Of
! the amentment. | ask voU to give attention to
the negative part, which is still more pungent
aud stl more suggestive. "No state,'' read
it. " shall make or enforce any law which shall
abrldge the privileges or lmmunltles ofcitlzens
of the United States nor shall any state de-
| prive any person Of life or liberty or property
without due process OF law; nor shall any
state deny to any person, within its Jnrisdlc-
tion, the just and equal protection of the law"
! (Cheersl And then follow these significant
words: "And Congress shall have power to
enforce the provisions of this amendment by
! pI oper legislation"
J Now there you have the whole thing. First,
the positive declaration of what citizenship is ;
next. a negative declaration that no state
shall interfere with those rights. Third, a
declaration that Congress is charged with
the positive power OF enforcing those rights.
| (Gheers.)
Now, gentlemen, a case arose which tested
/ the power of Congress under that amendment,
and II was
VERY IMPORTANT CASE,
/ and beg you will bear with me through this
detail which may seem to you somewhat alb
stract, but propose, with your patience, to
cut out garment which l shall fit very close
ly on to the shoulders of Horace Greeley before
4 all LuIOuSu
Now, under the Fourteenth amendment, a
case arose of great magnitude and it was
this: When the war closed everybody eXpec-
ted that certain degree of tumult and dis
order would reign tor q time IN the south
After such vindctive strife and long conten-
tion it WAS hardly to be expected that law and
order would Immediately resume their sway !;
but after patient waiting it was found, and
D infully found, that instead of the disorder
being temporary it was chronic; and instead
4 of it being sporadic and accidental it assumed
an organized form, and throughout the states
that had been III revolt. there was found
AN ORGANIZED CONSPIRACY
against the rights, and persons, and the pro-
perty of men whose only offence was special
and devoted LOYALTY to our common govern
ment. 1t would hardly be believed uLless we
had clear and emphatic proof, which we do
have in the shape of report of a committee
[ of congress appointed from both houses on
: which both parties were represented by the
ablest men, but hardly to be believed, | say,
unless we had this evidence, that in the six
years which followed
THE CLOSE OF THE WAR,
from March, 1865, to March, 1871, there were
I in the south %, 900 men who were made the
victims Of this consplracy-23 900 men that
were MANNED or mauled, or maltreated, or
absolutely murder d, and over 5000 of them
were absolutely and merciessly numbered.
More than three every day were murdered in
the south Tor their devotion to the United
States, and when they ralaed that point it oc-
Cured to Gen. Grant that it was about time to
/ try whether that thing could uot be brought
! to an end and he sent message to Congress
recommending Legislation un1er the Four
/ teenth amendment. That message was re-
tferred to select committee. and IN due time
| they reported bill which gave rise to a very
animated, and might say vindictive, debate,
and was finally enacted, and is on your statute
| books to-day, and widely known as
THE KU-KLUX LAW.
! Now gentlemen while that law was pend
/ ing we had an invaluable aid in securing its
! passage in the great name and the potential
pen of Mr. Horace Greeley. He sa, S:
/ 81 hold our government bound by it's duty
of protecting our citizens III their iundament-
al righ.s to pass and enforce laws for tie ex-
tirpation of the Ku KluX conspiracy and I
say this is Horace talking, 6 say if our gov
ernment hasn't the power to do that, then it
is no government at al. but a sham.n
That was Horace Greeley before getting
Presidency on the brain. [Laughter.l
! THAT DEBATE
was long one; one of the longest debates
that any measure has given rise to in the last
ten years, longer than any debate [ recollect
IN ten years except possibly the debate on the
legal tender question IN the thlrty--lXth COLI
gross. | think there were more than fifty
speeches made against that bill on the Demo-
attic side of The chamber, and every, one OF
these speeches, eubOdylng the views OF The
I ablest men of the Democratic party, every
one OF these speeches had one common
burden and one common cry, and that was
. Ii you attempt to leglslate was proposed
in the Ku-kuX law, yOu trample upon the
great doctorine Of local selfgoyernmeut, and
we are going to centraiize all power i'll the
hands Of the federal COVER ment."
y Now, gentlemen, the Ku-Klux law covers
several pages of our law books, aud has the
Yerblage that belongs to legal enactmtnts, but
WHEN boiled down and the qniDtessence ex-
tracted it is just this and no more: That
. wherever yodr rights as American citizens
have been inIerfered with, your person or
your property outraged, and the local author
tiles within whose jurisdiction the outrage is
committed are unable, or incompetent or un-
willing to protect. your rights, that you snail
have the right to apply to the federal author
tiles, and have tie protection of the federal
judiciary, aud be tried before federal jury
summond by federal marshal. That is pre-
oisely it.. [Cheers1.
And it is not law, mark you, as you woul
infer from the common talk of the Democratic
orators, it is not law simply applying TO the
southern states, it appeals to all the states
alike The Democrats in the debate raiseC
the cry that this law would destroy local self
, government; therefore we said, and said bold
| ly: "Why, certainly, gentlemen, talk cen
trallzatlon as much as you please, we OF tht
Republican party stand here and declare thai
of the Fourteenth am ndment, TO centrahzS
in the hands OF the federal government all thu
powers necessary to protect the individual cit
i2en.
: have often thought that upon this ques
ton, as people, we have some very
CONTRADICTORY NOTIONS,
or else such debate as the one to which
have referred could never have taken place il
the American Congress. Stop to debate wheth
i er the Federal courts shall protect an Ameri
, can citizenl Why, it seems iucomprehensibl
. that any party could take but one side of tha
question. because III another sphere our gov
ernment has been the foremost and the frs
! to assert and maintain the rights of all citl
zens. Let any foreign government, do no
, care how strong or how distant, interfere wi ]
+ the rights of an American citizen, and on
government has been always ready to defent
: and maintain those rights.
, AS | have said elsewhere l repeat here to-
night, that it has passed into proverb with II
that let any foreign government on the face o
Gods green earth, lay the lightest finger on tn
( top OF The baldest head OF the humblest citi
! zen, we are ready to fight, But [ might de