, 1872-10-23

at the close Of the war he had granted terms
alike honorable to the victor and the van
auished be had travelled through the Southern
States, and won golden encomiunls from the
people for the fairness and justness Of his
report as to their condition he had not been
engaged IN the turmoil Of political life; he
had no friends to reward and no enemies to
punish; he had uttered the sentiment to which
Governor Hendricks has SO beautifully alluded,
Let us have peace y he had declared himself
to be in favor Of Civil Service Reform; he found
his own friends in possession of all the political
power OF the country. For twelve years they
had had possession Of the Federal Government,
years OF var, years Of peaco,-absolute pos
session OF the Federal power; possession Of the
State Governments; two-tllirds ma jority in Con-
gress; in the Presidential chair tie man OF their
election; in the Judiciary they found or they
made majority of the Judges. This was their
opportunity
WHAT HAs BEEN THEIR WORK?
Read the speeches that are made to you by
the friends Of General Grant here in the city Of
Chlcago-nade by your own friends and neigh
bors; made by those who come from abroad to
speak to you, and what do they tel! you2 They
tell you ''We promised you peace" but there is
no peacei "we promised you. concord, There
is no concord; eve promised you d restored
Union, there is no reconciliation I'VE PROM
lBed you freedom everywhere, but there can
there must be prescription; fthe South is still
rebelhous,' ha6eds corpus must be suspended;
'the elections must be seperyised;" e the recon-
structod Governments must be maintained;
''the whites are disloya1 and must DO put
down !" the negroes are loyal, aud mustb be put
over them" This is their own statement Of their
SUCCESS; and upon this SUCCESS thus stated by
them, they ask at your hands continuance Of
power. Gentlemen, they state the case fairly !;
they state it truly. This is their clam and their
only claim They have had power; seven years
Of peaceful administration; seven years Of un-
allowed Radica1iBm: four wears Of Gen
sral Grants ADMINISTRATION the Presi-
dent, Congress, and Judiciary; they
they have so beggered the people Of the
there they have 30 despoiled tho owners Of
property and the children Of industry they
have SO upturned the foundations of civil order
and prosperous liberty, that they need tho pow
they need the suspension of the habeas corpus
they need the supervision Of elections, to carry
the Electoral vote Of one single Southern State,
and in order to get this power out Of your
hands, and win your confidence, to have your
bitterness Of hatred and to inaame again
anosss snG 81 ins gran Tsr ecnsrs end
Grant promised to the people Of this
country civil service reform, but # you will read
hs w ft ou ha s 1a
has done more than all others put together to
degrade the public service and debauch the pub
lie morals. General Grant himself has received
lands, moneys, homes, and presents Of value
and he has afterwards appointed those men to
those Offices. / do not say he has done it cor
ruptly; I say. he has done it. [Laughter.1 He
has appointed relatives, and friends, and family
sfo o this 1 coany to e @ g m %
he be has appointed them because @ they wero his lis
relatives. But do say that to common people
like you and me they have no other possible
q ring Of military secretaries, against the law,
and without law, and with 6ycophantic adher-
ents, whose interference with the appointments
to office and pecuniary Jobs is by-word and
scandal to the milton. He has himself admins
tered the high Office with which he was invested
as if it we're hs perRonal property, the reward Of
his industry, the reward OF his exertions, to be
administered for his own personal benefit, as if
his political adversaries and the people at large
had no interest in it whatever.
TIE REIGN OF CORRUPTION.
This conduct upon tho part OF the head Of the
Administration produced everywhere its legiti-
mate results. Corruption peryades every de-
partment of the Government. Defalcations are
as OF Is de
President. Absence from thoir posts OF duty is
the rule among the highest officers of the
Government. Why, gentlemen, before the great
elections in October, the Secretary OF the Treas
nry, the Secretary Of the Nary, the Secretary Of
Attorney General, and FIVE, out Of thu
were engaged in stumping Ohio and
Pennsylvania, and see they are now engaged
in stumping New York and New Jersey. Every
exertion Of every officer in the Government is
called into requistion to re-elect the President;
every department, in it's official duties, is made
to contribute to the same results. Every salary
paid to every official is taxed for the same pur-
pose. Work in the Navy Yard, the mails Of the
county, the supplies Of the army, and those
millions Of dollars which lie in the Treasury to
be used by Mr.. Boutwell, in Wall street, either
by putting them upon the street or withdraw
ing them from It'll say these are al used for
go plain to every man that it is generally be-
ieyed that these exertions among high officials
made for the reelection OF the President pro-
coed from desire to continue in Office, and not
from any conviction either Of political duty or
of personal fidelity.
CABINET STUMP ORATORS.
Now, do not soy that these gentlemen OF the
Cabinet, who are engaged thus IN enlghtonlng
the people, are not sincere in what they say to
the but tha do say t1at saes ss9
they could not hold their offices for one moment.
Well, gentlemen, ....
TIE NECESSARY RESULT
Of all that is also demonstrated. Our constltu-
fNAheAA@t
ment in its worst form, and the Federal Govern
ment is gathering to itself under this system
the powers Of the State, and the President is
gathering to hinself all the powers OF the Fed
eral Government. Now, I am no alar1nist; I
would not exaggerate an evil to you; would
not exaggerate that evil to myself; but every
thoughtful man must see that out Of this seeth-
ing mass of corruption, Generalization, personal
Government, military rings, trading in Office,
there riRes figure, though vague and shadowy
now, but which history tells us is to become .
dire calamity OF the public liberty. It was this
conviction Of universal corruption and the dan
ger to the country consequent upon it, that
STARTLED THE HEART AND CONSCIENCE
OF our people; that produced the Cincinnati
Convention. It was this conviction that COM
PEELED thoughtful men to dwarf their antago-
nism, to forget and give up their past di1reren-
ces. 1t is this conviction that lays at the foun-
dation Of this combination which We are to
sea all over the country, here as we'll
as everywhere else, Of men who
differ in opinion, in this supreme effort which
is made for reconciliation in our country. The
Convention met; it declared that
impartial suffrage and universal amnesty,
equality Of right and equality Of protection to all
classes Of our citizens, self-govornment, subor-
dination of the military to the ci7il-that these
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