Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1877-01-24
sHERMAYs rTo BLuYDERs.

''R'f' Hs@f' fs'ff'' ls'f' 80 80 -
torrance and rchashcd his bloody
chasm ora,in Of half decade ago
rry.1u1u.6,~sIsnlpllazEzs .fs~stAzssliuI.I J, !
whether he really knows better: bul
sherman --r-sss'ofir1c-y'- ofir1c-y'- is,r-s,rs'cJ hRr:
drcams Of craftsmanship aud to borrow
something OF its dignity and truth
In his Louisiana haiangue he mad,
but two material mistakes, and they
went to the substance OF his Who'll,
speech. lie pleaded the law in de
icnsc OF his Kellogg Returning Board
and declared that it imposed upon III,
board the duty to reject returns for in
limidation and fraud. So far Mr.
sherman told tho truth but he didn'l
tell the whole tratb, and therein dc
formed the truth itself into ialsehood
He could as well have quoted th,
Scriptures and said, 'thcre is no God,
Tor 20 the Scriptures SAYS Just in tn,
way that hequoted the law Of the Louis
lana Returning Board. But when th,
whole Of the Seriptural sentence l.
given We learn that ''the fool hath sale
in his hcart there is no God;" and
when the whole of the Louisiana law
is given we learn that votes may be
rejected only when the Supervisor o.
the parish sends with the return, a,
part of il, an official statement of the
frauds or intimidallons practiced fol
the consideration OF the board" Under
all other circumstances, the law il i'm
perativo that the board shall compute
and certify the vote as returned With
this plain provision of the law Senator
Sherman is entirely familiar, for he sat
by the side of the suborned board
heard the law presented TO them, saw
them defy 1t and gave their lawless
ness his positive approval. He also
sat by and saw the board refuse from
day to day to fill the vacancy with a
representative Of the opposite party,
as the statute requires in unmistakable
terms, aud be knows that 1t was re.
fused in sheer lawlessness and fraud
and that by reason of such defiance OF
the law under which the board pre-
tended to ac', its whole proceeding,
lack the first attributes OF authority
This simple addition TO the traction Of
truth stated by Senator Sherman, dis
poses Of more than half his whole
speech, and IL he were in an average
debating society ia Ohio, where hi,
rustic neigbbors love the truth for the
truths sake, he would be shamed from
participation in future debates because
of what they would call his moral in
firmities.
One other fact that Senator Shcr
man neglected 10 mention, quite II,
eilectually disposes OF the residue o.
his speech. 1t may bc possible thai
his memory has become treacherous
and that he was ignorant Of the sorry
contradiction he fashioned for himself
His brilliant wave of the bloody shirt
intended to fire the Northern heart
ended with the confession that "crime,
has been committed all over the State
but no one had been punished Die
Mr.. Sherman so far underestimate th,
intelligence OF the American people a,
to assume that they don't know who's,
business it is to punish crime in Louis
iana2 Does be take il for granted
that we are nation OF blind PARTISAN
and idiots? or is he stone-blind will
partisanship or driving toward imbecil
lity himself? Why didn't he tell tn,
Senate who has the absolute powcl
and whose duty il is 10 punish erin,
in Louisiana Why didn't he say
that Governor Kellogg, who furnished
the blottcd and fostering Returning
Board that Sherman defends appoint,
the judges that his laws construct th,
jurics that officers OF his selection ar,
paid TO prosecute offenders and tha
his militia and constabulary, aided b,
Federal troops, have been ever at BIZ
hand 10 give complete effect TO the nd
ministration Of justice? Why didn'
Senator sherman say that he heard th,
abandoned prostitute aud murderess
Eliza Pinkston, give her hired testi
mony to the Returning Board tba
he had embodied her false statement
in grave address TO the natioI
through the Presidents that il ha'
since been proven to be absolute per
Jury; that Senator Howe so publicl,
declared il TO his Senate Republican
committee, and that the Kellogg court
and prosecuting officers and juron
dismissed the complaint of Eliza Pink
ston against those she falsely accused
OF murder, tirncd her os, er,hc ,em
pie Of justice and refused to arraigr
for trial those she had charged will
the most revolving crimes? 1t is true
that there is. no punishment for crime
in Louisiana, but Sherman so porvert
ed this truth as TO strip il OF the cs
scntial attributes of truth, lie accns
cd the helpless opponents of Kellogg
us the party responsibleior lawlcssnesi
in that State; but gave studied false
hood TO the Senate aud the nation By
Withholding the fact that the power
to punish is wholly in the hands Of th,
desperate plundercrs he was so shame
lessly defending. One of two propo
sitons touching Mr.. Sherman must be
acccptedby the readers OF his speech
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