The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-12-25
SPEECH OF JAMES G. BLAINE.
VIOLATION OF SUFFRAGE Rlenrs.

VIOLATION or SUFFRAGE RiGHTs.
On motion of Mr.. Hsmlin, the
Senate proceeded to The considera-
ton of the resolution submitted by
Mr.. Blaine 10 regard 10 ipquiring az
to Whether al the recent elections
the constitutional rights of American
citiz ns were violated, e5c
Mr. Blaine proceeded to address
the SeGate, aad said:
Mn. PRESIDENT: The pending res
olulioa was offered by me with .
tWo-.old purpose il view: First, To
place on record, in definite and
uthen.ic form, he frauds ead out
RACES by which some recent SECTIONS
were carried BY toe Democratic par
ty in the Southern Ststes: Second,
To fad if there be any method by
which a repetition Of these crimes
against a free ballot may be pre-.
vented
The newspaper IS the channel
through which the people of the
! United States are informed ef cur
rent events, and the accounts given
in the press represent the elections
in some Of the Southern States to
have been accompanied by violence; !;
in rot few eases reaching The de-
stTuction of life; to have been con-
tFolled by threats that swed anG in
undated largeseless Of voters; to
have been manipulated by fraud Of
the most shameless and shameful
description Indeed in South Care
olina there seems ID have been no
election at all in any proper sense of
the term. There was instead Sc
ries Of ssirmIshes over the State in
which the polling places were re
garded as forts to be captured by
one party and held against he 9th
er, and when this could net be done
with convenience, frauds in the count
aud ,issue-bsllUt devices were re-
sorted to in order to efectuallY de-
stroy the voice Of tae majority
These, in brief, are the accounts Civ
en- in the non-partisan press, Of the
disgrsceful outrages that attended
the recent elections, and, so far as l
have seen, these statements are with
out serious contradiction. Ii is bat
just and fair 10 sll parties, however,
that en- impartial Investigation Of
these facts shall be made by a COM
mittee Of the Senate, proceeding un-
der the authority Of the Law end rep
resentiog the power Ct the nation.
Hence my resolution.
Bot We do not need investigation
to establish certain facts already Of
official record. We know that one
hundred aud six Representatives IL
Congress were recently chosen 10 tie
States fjrmerly slave holdi8g, snd
that the Democrats elected one hua-
dred aud one CT possibly one bun
dFed aud two, and the Republicans
four or possibly Eve We kapw that
thirty-fse Of these Representatives,
were assigned 20 TIE SouiheFn States
by reason of ibe colored p,pulauoa,
ard the entire political power thus
founded on The numbers Of the color
ed people has been seiz.d snd op
proprissed 10 The sggraad.zsuleDi Of
ils own strength By the Demoerstic
party Il ibe South
THE ISSUE THCs RAISED
before The country, NJ. Presidsai, Is
not one Of mere sentiment fJr ;he
rights CT the neere---inough FAR dis
tant be the day when the rights Of
any American citizen. however black
or however poor. shall form the mere
duet Of tie balance u any con,ro-
versy; ncr is the issue one that in-
wolves the waving u The bloody
shirt" 10 quote The sl.Guent vernecp-
lar of Demccfatic yiiupersti1u; nor
sill further il the issue as BoS pre-
sented only question Of the equali-
" Of the black voter Of the Souih
with the white voter Of the South.
The issue, Mr. President, has taken
q far wider range One Of porten-
tous msgnitade-and that Is, wheth-
er the white voter Of the North shall
be equal TO the white voter CT the
South in shaping The policy aDd Gx-
Ing the destiny of this country; or
whether, To pot il still more boldly,
the white man who fought in the
Union army shall have as weighty
and influential vote in the Govern
uient of the Republic as the white
man who fought in The rauks ef the
rebel army. The one fought to up
hold, the other to destroy, the Union
of the States, and to-day be who
fought to destroy is far more impor-
tant factor 10 the Government Of the
nation than be who fought to uphold
lit.
Let me illustrate my meaning by
comparing groups of S;stes Of the
same Representative strength North
and South. Take the States of
South Carolina, Mississippi aud
Louisiana. They send seventeen