Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-04-19
Southern War Claims.

/ For this reason he opposed the bill. We copy
the closing part of his speech, which gives some
idea of the extent and character of southern claims
and the absurdity and wickedness OF asking the
government to pay these demands Of rebels.
| Now let us see what southern friends and
some of our northern ones think OF these claims.
have taken the trouble to look over the matter,
aided by exploration made by the very Intelligent
corIe spondent of the Cincinnati Commercial, land
should not feel II was right TO speak oil this with
cut giving hiR due acknowledge ent,) and have
| found, notwith standing the fact there had been
an Unprecedented number of bills introduced in
this Congress Notwithstanding the fact that near
ly every man here had presented at least two bills
| for the coinage of the silver dollar Of Az IL
grains, laughter, and that every man had pre-
sented a bill for the restoration OF the finances,
or to lend men going out West 81 900 and to issue
800 900, 900 of currency, or some such thing,
laughter; notwithstanding the great pressure of
public business on the House here notwithstand
| ing the fact there have been thnty-hve hundred
| bills presented up to March 9Th Of this session
against twenty thee hundred and sixty 10 the
Forty tLird Congress- found over 10 per cent. of
the bills presented TO be passed upon by this House
were southern claims arising from incidental
damage during the wsr-damage to private prop
erty by the Federal armies.
Three hundred and ninetyeight of those bills
are pending before Congress TO day and they
| amount in the aggregate to the sum OF VI, 3O9,-
600.
| only rihe compared with what is behind. You
all of you know that the law offices OF the South,
republican and democratic are stuffed with these
| things. 1t is matter which you talk about now
by the hundreds of thousands; by and by You will
talk about il by the millions and perhaps by the
| hundreds of ilhons.
Now these things are here in spite of the al
| verse decisions on the part of Congress. They
are here in spite of the general sentiment of the
American people. And the worst thing | find
| n at Of m her
of Congress in the past Congresses, II not III the
present, have been somewhat disposed TO vote Tor
| them. And why 1t reveals to me a worse state
of things than the mere presentation OF these bills
because it shows that there exists III the South
| persistent southern sentiment which not only JUS
/ titles but vi ges on men to present these claims.
| You see they have every motive not to present
| them now. They have congressional election
| before them. They want peace, quletness, har-
mony, Cancellation, general state of salublous-
ness such we have often heard spoken OF in this
House. They want everything quiet aud peace
| iul. And yet the public sentiment is such that
ne-tenth of tue pablo business presented for the
| consideration of this House consists of southern
| claims.
| Now, Just here, il seems to me that we have got
| one plain path of duty before us if wish to
protect the Treasury and the Unied States.
do not speak now OF these large claims | do not
| talk of the claims of -, 900 for the cotton
tax. do not talk about the ~ 100000 year for
| the Mexican war veterans, presented by the very
men who are demanding economy and who are
seeking to cut of a lew thousand dollars from the
| pay of clerks here in Washington.
| Mr. Luttrel-will the gentlemen allow me
| Mr. Reed decline TO be interrupted.
| Mr. Luttrell-Then | will have another oppor-
| tunlty.
| Mr. Reed have no doubt YOU will. Your
| world is very wide. am pursuing a certain line
| of argument my time is very limited, and If
| yield to the gentleman from California, / shall
| have no time for myself.
| Neither do speak of the Texas Pacific Rail-
road the claims OF the Mississippi levees.
| The people of the South have Il right TO demand
some of those things if they choose and take
their chance OF getting them. But | speak of
these small claims which are presented 50 insid-
ously. If this bill once passes, the precedent it
establishes you will find will extend entirely be-
yond it. Talk o. ptecedent- The gentleman
| from Virginia Mr.. Goode) says this will be no
precedent for anything, aud then himself In the
very next paragraph, insists that the payment to
| the Kentucky University, which was under con
tract for rent, and which expressly excluded pay
ment for burned buildings, is precedent for this
claim. That incident IN his speech will illustrate
how innocent cases once got through Congress
| can be twisted into precedeuts.
In other words people may coax you iuto this
| thing by all sorts of argument But when they
once get 1t through you find it is the decision they
| look to, and not the argument The arguments
will be all printed. They will make part OF that
monument pile of eloquence which Congress 10
1
nobody will read them; while the decisions will
be sought for by every claim agent Who loved the
lost cause and good many that did not.
Now want to say word about this whole sub
ject. know that 1t is unk ind TO make any al
| lusions to anything connected with the late war.
listened with great deal OF interest to the very
| eloquent remarks that were made by the gentle
man from Kentucky (Mr. Blackburn the other
| day, and to some parts OF them gave my hearty
approval.
| do believe after the magnificent contest which
shook this entire continent, after millions of men
had been in the field and fought each other face
| to face, il would have been pittul and miserable
close to have had half dozen struggling wrelches
| kicking out their lives on the gsows. had q
| strong sympathy with what the gentleman said As
| to that But the rest of his remarks / protest
| against. He said we this side were always
| bringing up this question of confederate claims
| and of confederates. Now, so far as mere words
are concerned, that may be so. But if the docket
| OF this House is not full OF provocatons to this
kind of discussion, placed there by Southern men,
l do not know such things when see them.
Here is the William and Mary College bill
| How can you discuss il without mentioning the
Confederacy I Then there is the bill IN reference
to soldiers of 1872 with its clause rendering il un-
| necessary to prove loyalty. In all probability that
| clause did not hel hunured men, and vet It was
pushed in here and obliged to be made tue subject
of discussion or the gag-law of suspension of the
rules. And say that the list of bills read to-day
is full OF provocstion TO this identical discussion
| Now | ask gentlemen on the other side If under
| all the circumstances it is too unreasonable to
pect them to cease this constant, persistent attack
| on the United States Treasury and the laws
| which grew out of the war They want peace.
Then why do they not cease TO provoke contro-
versyi
| Now are not all the losses and destruction that
may have happened, under the laws of good sense,
| fairly resting where they ought to rest When a
man undertakes TO enter a rebellion it may be we III
enough to say that his goodness depends upon his
| convictions of right, and when he comes TO the
| day OF Judgment have no doubt that he W i'll be
Judged upon that basis; but no nation can afford
| TO judge on any such principles. The gentlemen
| opposite did not do it themselves. When they
came to report the bill in relation to payments for
postal services rendered 10 the South prior to the
war, they put in that bill exclusion OF those
who had not been loyal to the Coniederacy, and
they did rightly enough.
You gentlemen upon the other side began a war
which resulted In the destruction OF fifty thousand
| killed on the field of battle our side and as
| many more upon youis; and hundreds of thous-
snds of others are now drag ging out miserable
| existence from the effects of the war.
| Now Whatever may be the question of right or
| wrong for any individual the only Justification of
| rebellion is success. The consequences are too
| fearful for men to be allowed to make it the es-
cape of their passions. 1t involves death to mel
and destruction to property. You do not need to
hat IL. g. ~