The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-10-26
JAMES G.. BLAINE.
Speech Of the Maine Statesman
in New York.
COnvicIing Arrangement of the
Democratic Party.
Splendid Picture of the Doings of the
House of Representatives.


and we reached the army, and those of yol
who have attended the Democratic meeting
this year or read Democratic newspapers
neither Of which / can commend as q yer,
profitable occupation, must have seen hoV
alarmingly we are in danger OF being overruI
in this country by military despotism
daughter Your liberties are imperiled il
New York by reason of an enormous
standing army that is kept up. Think of it
We have got thirty eight States and six Terri
tories and Alaska un0rganized; we have got
$4,000 miles Of ocean coast; we have got As,
100000 of people. and we are absolutely hav-
ing all our liberties imperiled by standing
army of 5000 men laughter, while your city
alone needs 5000 policemen to protect Its
citizens When the war was over we had more
than /, ZOO, 900 men enrolled. They we're mus
tered out, and many of them are doubtless
here tonight. Then came up the question,
What shall be the established number of men
in arms? and it WAS fixed by the act of 1866 at
25, 900 men. When Congress came to legislate
on that question we found a great change of cir
cumetances in this country. Four millions of
people who had been slaves had seen made
free, and 200, 600 of these people had served in
the ranks of the Union army, and had served
faithfully. know it is somewhat the mode in
certain circles to sheer at these colored de-
tenders, but say, on the authority of the best
Generals of the United States army, that they
were good soldiers that they did their duty
like men that they fought and bled and many
of them died, offering the last sacrifice which
humanity can to any cause. Why Gen. Har-
rison, the gallant son of Indiana [applause],
said the other day that one of the handsomest
foot-races he ever saw in his life was at the
battle of Franklin, when Hoods army was de-
feated and the colored brigade starred after a
rebel brigade, and he said he thought he never
saw men run as fast as that colored brigade
did but they didn't overtake the rebels. [Great
laughter I say these men had earned the
right to wear the uniform of the United States !;
vet this Congress, on the discussion of the
Appropriation bill, put in clause disbanding
the colored regiment and driving them out Of
the service.
Another clause Of the Army bill of 1856
forbade that any man who had served III the
Confederate army, ana had been an enrolled
traitor to his country, should ever be an officer
in the United States army and there is now
on the calendar of the House Of Representa-
tives bill to repeal that clause and so we see
that the spirit of Congress is to drive out the
coored man from the army of the United
States, where he served faithfully and
to bring back to it the Confederate soldier,
who did his best to destroy it. And that legis-
latio1 was also defeated but it was defeated
by the Senate of the United States. might
go on and give you details upon almost all of
these appropriation bills in which the spirit
seemed to be to legislate against the nationality
Of this country.
I will give you one more, We came to the
Consular and Diplomatic bill. The pay of the
Consul of the United States is more than reim-
bursed by the fees collected by him. The fees
of the Consuls in excess of their salaries are
more than 5000, 900; and yet when they came
to legislate on this little bill, which involved
very small outlay for the whole force, they
struck off forty-two places where we have
hitherto had COnsulates, and ordered that no
Coneulates should thereafter be maintained
there. And they did it upon the ground that
although all taken together largely more than
paid their expenses, yet at those particular
points the fees did not quite amount to the
salaries. And yet at those very points you
would find the French flag, the English flag,
the German flag. the Italian and Russian flags,
and even the little Gags of Belgium and Hol-
land, but no American flag, and the American
flag was hauled down under their orders at
forty-tw places where it had hitherto been
fying-was hauled down on the ground that
it cost few thousand dollars to keep it flying.
Now the Republican party, think may say,
both within their own country, where they
fought for the preservation of the flag ever the
territory, and in all the countries OF the globe,
take the distinct ground that where the Ameri-
can flag has once been raised it shall never be
hauled down. [Applause.] And I undertake
to say that if the next Congress is Republican.
as believe it will be. and certainly will be if
New York does its full duty, one OF it's acts will
be to restore the American flag to the places
where they have ordered it to be taken down.
SOUTHERN WAR CLAIMS.
But the one sore subject, the one subject
which find is irritating above all others to the
average Democratic mind, is the Southern
rebel war claims and if it is allowable to create
lit tie profanity, you can easily have it by just
mentioning them to the Democrat and then
hear him shout [laughter]E then hear. him ap-
ply adj ectives and oaths. the mildest OF which
is ''Iiar," with a prefix. The Republicans,
they say, are going around absolutely falsify-
ing and lying, and they will quote the consti-
tuition of the United States to you and say,
6 Just look there the constitution absolutely
forbids this the Republicans are lying through
the length and breadth of the land The con-
situation forbids it, say the Democrats. The
third clause of the Fourteenth amendment to
the constitution does forbid the payment of
the rebel debt, that is, the debt of the rebel
Government and it also forblds the payment
for any slave that was emancpated under the
Thirteenth amendment. Now, / think can
argue and show that both these Institutions can
be got around and evaded; but don't choose
to do that For the sake of argument admit
in its broadcast sense, far any Democrat
will claim it, that these classes of claims are
barred and cannot be paid. Grant now al
that is in the constitution, those classes OF
admission have not touched the eggshell OF
the controversy, because the class of claims
about which we are legislating has nothing
whatever to do with the payment for negro
slaves prohibited by the Thirteenth amend
men1.
And on the basis of those claims there are
now pending in the House OF Representatives
of the United States 143 bills, besides genera
law which hold in my hand, and of which this
is precisely facslmile-a general law of which
will read to you one paragraph. and the para
graph | will read will to any intelligent MIND
show that under. its operation tile treasury O.
the United States can be bankrupted in si1
months. Now the bill pending to day in th'
House of Representatives before tho Judiciar.
Committee, where it was referred last Febru
ary, and whence it has not been reported back
reads thus: "That the Secretary of War il
! hereby authorized to allow reasonable com
pensation to all citizens OF the United States.
Mark you, ''an citizens" Not all loyal citi
zens Heretofore and generally we have beef
paying only the claims that loyal men hav
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