Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-10-07
ANDREW JOHNSON
Tic Addresses Lnrgc Audiesce nj the
Opera House.

From Daily Chronicle, o Q, ,.
According to previous announce
ment, ex-President johnson addressed
a large audience at the Opera House
last night. He spoke nearly two hours
and a half, aud was frequently APP
plauded. His text was that " Almost
all Of our troubles flow from the vio-
lence Of organic law He referred to
his course during the war, and then
proceeded 10 discuss the civil rights
question, going back to TrumbuIPs
civil rights bill. 1t contained, he said,
all the germs Of the present supple
mental civil rights bill. Who from
the South stood up against that? Some
men can come i'm at the eleventh hour
with great Ccldt, and claim credit for
fighting against civil rights, now, but
where did they stand then? If he
were i'm Congress now he would vote
against the civil rights bill, just rs he
vetoed the first one. The supplemental
bill was only the other carried out In
detail. There was no use in mystiiy~
ing the bill with wOrds-it meant Just
what it said, and, unless it is changed,
means mixed schools.
He talked about the attempt to i'm
peach him, and said the court which
tried him was as corrupt as that over
which Pontius Pilot presided. He
thought the men of his own State
ought to have sustained him, but
where was the then representative
from this district?
He spoke in strong terms, denOunc-
ing the idea of war of races, and said
the agitation Of such a question was
all wrong. In his life he had been
complained of by two classes OF men :
The radical rebels and the "rebel
radicals"
He referred at length to the public
debt of the State and of the nation and
thought they couldnOt be paid. Non
payment did not mean reputation.
There had been a State Convention,
which passed resolution to the effect
that the party was not in favor of in
creasing taxes, all Of which was very
pleasant. but platforms were siren
songs. The high taxes were pleasant
for the office holders, but death to the
taxpayers. The talk about cutting
down salaries and dispensing with SUI
pernumerary officers, all meant moth
ing aud was intended only for decep
ton.
He discussed the manner in which
bonds of the State had been issued and
sold, alluding to the funding bonds
about which so much corruption has
been inferred. He would now pay the
bond holder the interest on what the
bonds cost him, and nothing more.
BY the adoption Of such apOlicy ms
that, the interest account on the State
debt would be reduced one half. The
bond holder OughttO he satisfied with
this. Funding means Il permanent
debt, and permanent debt means
slavery. Where is the nation that has
ever paid a national debt except il one
way and that is TO saw they couldn't
paw il. The ey-PrCsident in discuss
ing the question of the Federal debt
made some sharp hits and was en-
Enthusiastically cheered, hnt when it
came to the State debt,
although he made equally MS sharp
hits, we noticed all was silent He
talked about Salary Grabbpr7, Credit
MObiliers, &c, which, SCI we sup
pose must have meant railroad and
penitentiary jobs.
After discussing some other qnes-
tinns he said his name had been men,
toned i'm connection with q seat in the
United States Senate. He had felt
anxious four years ago to go 70 the
Senate, where ne could meet his ac-
cusers and prosecutors face to face. He
thought 10 was due TO him that he
should be allowed thus to meet them.
The legislature met. and the election
came on. \ combination was formed.
A secret ConcIavc-a conspiracy at
midnight, conspired to defeat him and
did defeat him. A man who now holds
a high position in the State, had taken
part in that conspiracy, and had toss
ed mp his hat when he was defeated.