The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-02-21
FoRrx-FoURrH CONGRESS.

in presenting petitions from citizens of Michigan
favoring sixteenth constitutional amendment con-
ferring the right of suffrage upon women, said that
he hoped that the Committee on Privileges and Elec
tons would take up the subject and report upon il.
When he should become satisfied that majority of
the women of the country were in favor |
of female suffrage, he would vote for it;
but until then he would not. He did not |
think these petitions should be presedted to |
Congress. The Legislatures of States were the |
proper bodies to present them to-. Mr.. Morrill,,
from the Committee on Finance, reported favoraby
on the House Joint resolution declaring that the re-
duction of the tax distilled spirits inexpe- |
dent He also reported substitute for the |
Senate bill 10 provide for commission the sub
ject of the alcohol liquor traffic. Mr.. Burnside,
from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported
with amendments the Senate bill to remove all re-
strictions existing il regard to the enlistment
of coored citizens in any of the United States
army. Mesers. Maxey and CockreI, of the COM
mittee announced that they did not agree with the
majority of the committee in reporting this bill.
Mr.. Thurman presented petitions of citizens of
Ohio in favor of the reconciliation of silver and
the repeal of the Resumption law few bills of
minor importance were introduced, and bill was
passed making the 22d of February a legal holiday
in the District of Columbia, after which considera-
ton was resumed of the Silver bill. Speeches
were made by Mr.. Mcdonald, of Indiana,
and Mr.. Mcpherson, of New Jersey-the former
in favor of and the latter in opposition to the
ure.
HoUsE.-The House went through the ceremony
of formally receiving Carpenters painting of Pres-
dent Lincoln signing the emancipation procama-
tion after which the Military bill was discussed.
The most notable feature of the presentation cere
monies an eloquent eulogium upon Mr.. Lin
coin by Alexander H. Stephens, ex-Vice President
of the Confederacy, in which he confessed that
slavery was q weakness and avowed his constant
conscientious belief in the Union canse He spoke
of Mr.. Lincoln as his friend, and eulogized bis
personal and political virtues with great warmth
and energy.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 13.-SENATE.- Senate
renewed the discussion of the Bland Silver bill.
| Speeches were made by Messrs. Merrimon and
Saunders in favor of the bill, and by Mr. Sargent in
| opposition.
| HeUsE.-The House woke up from the
usual dull routine that has lately charac-
terized its proceedings, and INDUCED in one
of those bitter personal controversies that
were 80 common in years gone by.
Hewitt Of New York. and Aiken, of South Caro-
| lima, were the central figures in the affair. The
| former arose to personal explanation, and de-
Tended himself against the charge of slandering
the South, made by Mr. House, of Tennessee, on
Monday. If there was anything in the language
which he had used which could be construed into any
| slanderiug of the Representatives of the Southern
States he would take back but he insisted that his
motives were to defend the representatives of the
South from the SANDER which had been uttered
| against their good name by the gentleman from
| South Carolina {Aiken), when he declared that
I West Point was an incubus on the country. House
4 rop1eQ TO HeWlCL he SAID ne was man OF nOnOr,
| and always proud to apologize when he had been
1 guilty of mistake. He sorry for what he had
said for he had supposed that Hewitt had reflected
/ upon the South. Aiken then took the floor and &C
/ cused hewitt Of garbling his speech. He (Aiken)
i was not in favor of selling out West Point. He
pointed to it's longtime illustrious graduates be-
4 ginning with JEFF Davis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall
Jackson, and oter noted Generals, and then passed
to the Union side. He had fought them and found
them foemen worthy of his steel, but he had never
met Hewitt there. Then, in his most excited
D1f..
Esau or Benedict Arnold-mark my words-never
produced a who had the Presidency in his
grasp, and" shrieking in whirlwind of passion,
" sold it, sold it, do you hear?" Hewitt, trembling
with agitation retorted The gentleman insinu-
ates that somebody sold out the Presidency. No
! Northern man sold out the Presidency-the
proposition to sell the Presidency was made to
me, and l cGNtemptuously refused it" Excite
ment and SHOUTS of "Narne," Name."] Mr.
Ellsworth want to know who it was that pro-
posed to the gentleman to sell out the Presidency.
Mr.. Hewitt-kf the House desires to have that pOr-
ton of unwriaen history told, will tell it. [Cries
of Let us have it ALL" and great excitementl Mr.
Hewitt after order had been somewhat restored pro-
ceeded to recount the facts connected with propo-
sition made KIM by Col. Pickett {as coming from J.
Ell. Maddox, Special Agent of the Treasury Depart
ment to pay T. Madison Wells, Chairman of the
Returning Board of Louisiana, for giving the count
of the State to Mr.. Tilden all Of which testified
to by Mr.. Hewitt before the committee Of the House
at the last session. "And now" said me- in con-
clusion, asEzthe gentleman from South Carolina
(Aiken) to t6ll me by what right he turns on me
and accuses nae of selling the Presidency q
Aiken renewed his thrusts at Hewitt, charging that
he had boosted that he would rather sell the Presi
dency than spill one drop of blood in defense of
the Democratic party Hewitt denied that he had
ever said this and charged South Carolina with
being false and unchivalrous. Above the din, in a
clear loud, piercing voice, Patterson. of New York
the Oldest man in the House, nearly so, said, How
pleasant it isto see brothers dwell in unity" Lut
trell broke in to intimate to Hewitt and Aiken that
it was but eight miles Us Bladensburg, the
lT1rr.C md md JYhf
proceed to Its business Hewitt maddened by
A1ken's second charge, proceeded to explain
why the libusters did not succeed. He stated that
he had seen Charles Foster and told him that there
would be trouble unless the SoGth could be satisfied
that Hayes honest in his policy of local self
government; that soon after Foster made the
speech in which he declared TRat the flag should
thenceforth wave over States, not over provinces
and that from that hour he (HewittS had
learned thatsthe South satisfied. Stating this,
Hewitt strongly ntimated the belief that the South
ern Democrats had made bargain with the friends
of Hayes tk@t the troops should be withdrawn.
Hewitt had ended his speech only by giving q
challenge te the Louisiana Conservatives and
to the Republican attendants ct the Wornuley
ference. The attempt was made to limit this dis
cussion, but the Republicans led by Ben Butler,
shouted, " Tnisis the best thing that could hap
pen," and the hot talk of Finley, of Ohio the aal-
thor of the oHresoution to investigate the Presi-
dental countahat has been presented, characterized
Wells as koaryheaded old rascal, and arraigned
Secretary Sherman and the visiting statesmen for
their telegrar& of coincidence to anderson "a n
yicted felon.7' This, in turn, brought Gar
i field, Hale, ans ELLIS to their feet Each in turn
4 told the story,of the Wormley conference. Eos
ter indignawtly denied that there was a
i bargain, and Rahemently asserted that he had
4 neither given received any promises from any
i body anywhere. Garfield defended the thirty or
dtforty anti-fGBasters among the Southern men,
and said that if any mortal man anywhere charged
Ntthese Southern gentlemen with bargains that man
\ Lied. He defendet'in similar way the Northern
Republicans, and declared that the troops were
withdrawn matter Of constitutional duty, and
not of policy: butthe did not forget to rebuke the
people of Louisiana for the manner in which they
are treating She Returning Board. He
| charged that the trial was malicious per-
seoution. E. JOAN Ellis, for the South, de-
| sied that there a bargain, and charged
! that whoever said that Louisiana betrayed the
rig hts of Mr. Tden lies in his heartand In his
false throat" These words were intended for Mr..
Hewitt, but subsequently, withdrawn by Mr..
ElhB upon the plea ghat he misunderstood Mr..
Hewitt. The story Of the Wormley conference, as
it was so often told, repeated by Mr Ellis, and
it agreed in every particular with the accounts of
Messrs. Foster, John Young Brown and Others.
This ended the most exciting day of the session.
ana the first Significant SkjlHons to the subject of
the Presidential count ~,