The Portland daily press., 1876-08-01
GEN. FUTILE OF IOWA.
Why He Refuses to act longer with
the Democratic Party.
AVERY REMARKABLE SPEECH.

It no longer. and in a speech to his neighbors
at Des Moines, on Thursday night he gave his
reasons in an off-hand talk, which we repro |
duce:
NJ Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Hayes |
and Wheeler Club-when concluded to change
my party, l thought that might be allowed TO
do 1t quietly. 1t was private ACT, ana re-
quired no public announcement, aud there was
no one to whom L was obliged to account Tor
such an action. But as my course has been so
assailed. and have been called SO severely to
may as well embrace this opportu-
nifty to tell both my Democratic and my Repub-
lican friends why have left the old Democ-
racy, and why am here tonight. the act of
my change was private one, but my reasons
for so doing were public ones, and they may be
told, and shall be. [Cheers. l am 40 speaker,
and make no pretensions of being. But can
talk to you as neighbors have been consid-
cred doubtful by many Democrats for nearly
two years Laughter Indeed, l never have
been Democrat, if the issues on which they
are fighting this year are the principles of the
party. [Great applause But nearly two years
ago the course of duty was developed much
When had seen before that which was wrong,
L had continued to hope would be mistakes
that would be mended.
REBEL DEMOCRATS.
Nearly two ye ars ago / was in st. Louis.
Now there is nothing peculiar in simply having
been at st. Louis. But was there also in 1861.
[Cheers. That was just after the first battle
wildly, insanely rebel. 1t was worth mans
life then almost to be seen in the Union uni
form. A Union officer about the hotels, where
congregated the noisest secession elements,
was hooted at and derided and told with
sneers, "Yes you'll go South. and you will
come back as the Union soldiers have just
come back from Bull Run, with your tails
tucked" But, as 1 remember it. none of our
troops from Iowa ever came back in that shape.
Laughter and applause.] That was the feel
ing in ST. Louis in 1861. and this feeling
found there again. in the same spirit and IN
the same places, re.expressed by the very same
men, when was there in 1874. It was then l
heard the news that the Democrats had elected
q majority of the National House, and these
same fellows who swarmed about the hotels,
talking treason and deriding Union soldiers in
1861, were exultant and delirious with joy this
last time. I remarked to gentleman who had
been comrade with me in the war, This
looks like the same set of fellows who were
spouting treason here at the beginning of the
late war; What is it that is exciting them so,
and what ails them?" We asked squad Of
them what it was that made them feel so
good?" 1 heard one OF them say, "We have
got them this time; we can beat them this
time" We asked who they meant by them. !"
They replied, "Well elect the next President;
and then we've got them. Then we'll get pay
for all our property destroyed in the war, and
then wen get pay for our lost slaves. We
have the House overwhelmingly. now, and in
1876, the Centennial year, we can get the Sen
ate and Democratic President. Then we can
appoint our committees to suit ourselves, and
choose our own Southern Claims Committee or
Southern Claims Court, and make good our
losses by the war;" They meant that they
would get pay for all the property destroyed by
the Union army, and pay for all their emanci-
pated slaves
THE.Ex-RFBEL PROGRAMME.
Said one, "Give us:possession of the govern.
ment, and the North will be the rebels next
time" This was the talk, and talk in earnest,
as was the talk of the same men in 1861. They
mean it. They talked it over cody and seriously.
Said they had already an united South, which
would be nearly enough and that their Demo-
cratic allies in the North dare not deny them the
little more, the few more votes, they would
need. This is their idea to-day-to gain, by
legislation, by means of diplomacy and trickery
what they failed to gain by means of force. /
believe it; know it. All their expressions sug-
gest it and their actions prove it. What else
do they mean? Why is it that the State of
Missouri has issued to every former owner of
slaves in tnat State certificate for ST. 900 for
every slave payable when the general govern
ment will pay it? This very thing, the total
amount of the value of the emancipated slaves
is now estimated as part of the State debt Of
Missouri used to think that this was Repub-
lican falsehood, the certificate matter. But it is
an actual fact, and these certificates, and all
certificates or showings of losses sustained
throughout the State are being saved up as
carefully as money, against the day when the
Democracy, and the rebel element ruling it in
the National Government, shall have attained
to power. If Missouri will do this thing, and
bold out this promiset to pay for all emanclpated
slaves, why not all the Southern, all worse
rebel States, do it, and will they not do it?
THE CONFEDERATE HOUSE.
har 20 Hno I
could not do less than halt for further develop,
ments, watching suspiciously every development
made thereafter which 1 could see had ten
dency. toward drawing the Democracy North
and South nearer together, union which,
could see would put the old rebel element at the
head of and virtually in control of the party.
Applause Events have eliminated rapidly
since then, and had not long to wait to see the
whole programme. The Democratic House
soon gave me light enough. [Cheers.
the question: tHaye you left the Democratic
partyY' have. [Great applause And l am
often asked now: SIS it SO? Will you vote for
Hayes and Wheeler" 1t is so; and 1 will work
for them as well as vote for them. Renewed
applause.] My Democratic friends ask me for
my reasons There plenty of them, and all
of them cannot be told in these few remarks.
And it is not necessary to tell all. First let me
say that my abandonment of Democracy was
not caused, as has been charged by the press of
tudb parry, DoCduS6 VI bu6 CuTT6uCy OF GarlH
questions. have no objection to those planks
in the st. Louis platform. But my reasons are,
as have already indicated, aud will now state
further
The Democrats who press me for my reasons
may know them. On the road the other day 1
met an old Democratic friend-one of the Van
Buren, County Democrats, whom Dave Slew
ard, il his screed in the paper the other day,
said neverihad any faith in my Democracy after
INVENT into the war. [Applause.l Quite ex-
citedly he wanted to know if it was true. the
report that had really left the Democratic
party. I answered, SIT is fact" He asked
the reasons for it, told him they were quite
plenty and sufficient, and as we had plenty of
time would tell him some of them. Some
thing OF what have already stated here was
first said, and then said that the first thing
didn't like in the Democratic House was the
appointment of Fitzhugh, the Sergeant at
Arms of the Confederate Congress, as the
doorkeeper of the House, and the displace-
ment OF Union soldIers-many of them Grip
pied in the WARMTH the ex-members of the
rebel army. [Great applause he wanted to
know II they didn't have right to do this.
L answered that they had, but that also had a
right to disapproVe and denounce it. Another
thing didn't like was Ben Hills rebel speech,
and its bold utterances of treason. and didn't
like the rebel yell in response to it, all over the
South, for l had heard that yell before, and
knew what it meant. [Great cheers They
tell me-the Democrats-that am scared" of
Den Hill. don tnlnk am. don't think
l was scared of" any of the Hills when met
them inNthe South; do not remember that L
was. [Great cheering.l Then told my friend
how worse than all Of the mean, bad and un-
blushing acts of the Democratic House, L es-
teemed as infamous the act of appointing to
the clerkship of the leading committee of the
House, the man Hambleton, who named his
son John Wilkes Booth, after the assassin of
President Lincoln. Immense cheering This
outrageous act, in trucking to the rebel ele-
ment, the Northern Democrats dare not disown,
and for all l know this man is still the clerk Of
that committee. The little child SO dishonored
by his name and the significance of it, had the
good sense to die. [Applause.1
That speech of Ben HilPs, and the record
that the Democratic party has made in regard
to it, would have been enough of itself to send
any man who cares for his country out of all
fellowship with it and the party in whose name
and by one of its lea ding members it was made.
Hill in that speech defended Andersonville and
the atrocious treatment of Union prisoners in
the Southern prison bells. Could 1 endorse
that and still remember my own comrades who
suffered in them more than death and hell?
Can any party succeed who even tacity indors-
es sentiments like these?
Why, old Jake Thompson, encouraged by the
defiance of Ben Hill in his speech, went down
to Washington few months ago and like a
braggart demanded investigation, pompousy
saying that he would waive the legal point of
time. He went down there blowing and ,ot