Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1872-04-26
TrumbulI as a Falsider

ssaa,or Trum5al is "a, 4usl.fyias hinse Il
fer democratic c,nliiacy by reckless sicption Of
the icn5c-lti; tactics Of Misrepresentation and
i.l.el,1i III, speech Al Nee York TIE other
evening Ass crowded With uu;ru.hs, bota openly
asserted and insinss,el The New York Tines
r.iurs cut few Of them as follows:
Mr. Trumbu.l began by declaring shat " ia
consequence Of Me continuance Of political dis
ab..iiics the governments in the l-tc iusGrrec-
t1nsry States nave fallen iu,1 the hsuis Of iu-
experienced, snl, IN many instances, Of corrupt
/ a!ytnturers, who have pluulerel the people Of
thofe Ssies scArcely less than you in the city Of
New York have been p.GniereJ ~ your former
coge-nmert. In support Of the assertion the
Seu,t.r ius,sncsi Fl1riis, GsorEi. suI Alabama
/ N1w the fac,s in regard % these States show
thst the clntiuus1ce Of disabilities has hSt
nothing 20 90 with the clrruptIuas Of the State
-overnmeuts. Alabama elected democrat
I (Linlsey} Goveruo- in 1870. with nesriy CON-
plete board Of democratic StEtr officers. The
Seu.te, though republican. presided over by
democrat, TIE l5Ter House is democratic, and
three OF iae xix memoeTs Of Congress snd
one Of the Two Uniel States Senators
are Democrats ii the State Government is cor
/ ruqi-snl il IS not more corrupt than thst Of
Illinois Hss wllhiu very recent peTiot-it Ger
tsiuiy y not due 10 the ''c1ltuusnce 0f lisabil
tiles " Ia Georgia aui Florii-, the debts
which the senator referred %, were made By the
State Governments e.ectel in 1865 AMI 1863,
in pursuance of the policy laid down By the re
construction lsvs, OF which Mr. rrumoul wss
former proud 10 be accounted the Suthor
Georgia mas had Democratic Legislature since
I 1870. Whist, then. can the continuance Of
ter Of Governments originally 6xsi three years
szo, OF which h.ve p,ssei INTO Democratic hants
I siuce9
Mr. Trurl5un charged further that ,he recent
/ inyestis.tipg committees we're &" a. organized ~
to be controlled by the friends OF the accused,
/ snI from which every person is carefully ex-
I cluiri who believes ih1t abuses exist ani wants
strict iugestigation - Yet the Sen.tor's CON-
pauion, Schurz, 50 far from being " excluded"
by the Committee Of the Arms lnyesti-
CATION, hss been present at every meet
lug, and has epjoyel unlimite! lib
erty in the examination OF Witnesses anl the
pursuit Of the investigation.
Mr.. Trumbull charged that the smnesty bill
was defeated in Congress by inconsistent
smendmen,s" Il w4s 20 defeated, but the
Amendment to which that result was due, was
the civil rights amendment urged 80 obttinately
by Mr.. Sumner, and carried by single vote.
The Boston .5ipsrtissr notices some sdiitionsl
Misrepresentation, as follows;
Ia dwelling upon the nercensry motive against
anaegty the speaker said that % the debt Of
Alabama WAS less ;hsn Sc 900 900 in 1850. and in
! 1870. or at the presen: time, its contingent and
absolute debt is nearly Si0,000,000. The debt
Of Florida which was but $500, 900 at the CON-
mencement Of the war mas been swollen to Sl5,-
900, 900; that Of Georgia from $4,000. 600 to
S44. 900 OO0." What inference did he intend to
have his hearers draw from thisg Clearly that
all this enormous increase in debt wss due to an
extrsyagaut wastefulness, su1 was proof ihst
Republican administration was failure. Mr.
Trumbull obtained his figures from the report Of
the Ku-Klux committee, and gave then with
substantial correctness, but in such Ysy IS to
give the effect Of fssehOod In 1860 the det ( Of
/ Alsb.ma was S5,939, ,65i 81. In 1868 the re-
constructed government wss established, End
at this time, the true point from which
TO reckon, the debt Eas S7,90f, 1893 o.
In 1872 the debt vas So. BOG. $685.
an increase under the reconstructed govern
ment Of less than a million snd half Of dollars
But the provisional legislature of 1867 had voted
aid TO railroads 10 such extent that If all
should be built there would be liability to the
amount Of seventeen and three-qusrters millions
The reconstructed legislature continued the
zane policy and granted further aid to the smount
of about twelve millions All this is done under
an arrangement by which the State has frs;
lien on the road. and on the first failure to psy
interest on the bonds may at once taken posses-
zion OF the defsulting road. 1t is therefore
true, as Mr.. Trumbull said, that the debt Of
Alabsma vas less than six millions In 1850, and
is now, contingent sod absolute, nearly forty
millions but he did state not that the debt
issued amounted to only twenty-four millions,