The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-12-18
fore the committee they would do so at their

zOO letters complaining OF outrages He
tButler) understood the senator to say in his
speech on Wednesday last that he based his
statements upon newspaper publications. III
| newspaper statements were evidence the
senator from Maine as well as himself (But.
| ler) would have been hung and Quartered
long ago. He did not mean to say that
newspapers did not communicate the truth,
but when correspondents were sent 10 his
country to write down everything about
people and suppress everything good, he
| thought 1t time TO com plain. He fButler)
could go to Maine with a couple of detect.
| ives and make The state stencil in the nos
| trils of the world.
Mr.. Blaine-You have the right to do it
under this resolution.
The amendment of Mr. Butler was reject
ed-yess 80; nays, 30-a strict party vote.
On this vote pairs were announced as fol-
lows: Messrs. Barnum, Butler, Mcdonald
Maxey and Thurman, who would have voted
in the affirmative. They were paired with
Messrs. Chatfee, Sargent, Dorsey, Spencer
and Edmunds who would have voted in the
negative.
The question then being on the amend
ment of Mr.. Blaine, Mr.. Davis of West Vir-
| ginia moved to amend SO as to provide that
the committee or any subcommittee should
SIT with open doors when requested to do SO
by any member of the committee.
Mr. Bayard said so far as this resolution and
its amendments had been acted upon, almost
with unanimity, why should it not con-
tinue? The courts always took testimony
with open doors, and If any investigation
should be made publicly 1t should be that
affecting the character of the whole COM
munity. There was something un-American
in this secret investigation. If the charges
made were true he hoped exposure would
follow, and punishment follow the exposure
III the charges are untrue, he hoped
punishment would fall upon those who
placed them on foot He hoped the senate
would unanimously agree that no such thing
as secret investigation should be held. He
had been on investigation committees in
Mississippi and elsewhere, and men
came before the committee who swore
to Just what they pleased This
should not be party question,
and the vote he had given mad been to pre-
vent it being SUCH. He hoped this investi-
cation would be considered on the principle
that Justice everywhere lays down for the
education of truth.
Mr.. KerDan favored the amendment
Mr.. Merrimon said he had an experience
two years ago on investigating committees
in the south, and he could not
conceive of better plan to
encourage perjury than by having
closed doors He had seen, day after day.
the rankest injustice done to scores of men
who were not there TO defend themselves.
The secret investigations were against the
principles OF eternal justice, and 4 wrong to
the American people.
Mr.. Howe said he had had experience
on investigating committees in louisiana
he had conversed with white and colored
witnesses IN that state who protested that
they dare not testify, and one witness who
appeared before the committee, aud
he was native of the state, was afterwards
killed, and it was said on account of the
testimony which he gave to the committee.
Mr.. Blaine said the senator from Ohio
Thurman, argued that property and lntelll-
gence rule the south. If that was so pso.
pie possessing them would have a thousand
opportunities TO influence the judgment of
the committee where these who were wronged
had one. He was free to say that free
election, in the sense of the constitution,
was never known in the south. There never
was a man in Virginia, Georgia, or Florida,
who dared to come out and vote for Abra-
ham Lincoln.
Mr.. Withers-There were votes cast for
him IN Virginia.
Mr. Blaine COMMUNICABLE 1874 no one
in the south would vote for James G.
Birney.
Mcmillan agreed that this subject mad
been brought to the attention of congress
through the message Of the president
it had not arisen from partisan standpoint. |
Citizens in certrin parts of this country had |
been deprived of the rights of suffrage by
violence, intimidation and outrage, and the |
offenders should be punished.
Mr.. Ransom hoped the senator from Maine
(Blaine) would pardon him, but he did not |
think that the senator used peaceful argu. |
ment when he declared there never had been |
a fair election in the south. If he (RsDsom)
thought proper he could take up that glove |
and persuade any patriot to retire from such |
a position. He would not say it was
calumny upon the history of the southern |
people He would leave it to the calm judg- |
ment of the senator from Maine to correct |
at his leisure. 1t was too late for the senator /
to declare to-day that there had never |
been a fair election in the south. /
He assured the senator that was not |
the way to secure peaceable relations in this |
country. When this resolution came up this
morning motion from an eminent demo /
cratic senator to lay it on the table met with
no response on the democratic side, so deter
mined were the senators on that side that /
there should be free and full investigation.
The democratic senators from the north and
from the south showed then that they /
wanted this investigation. He (Ransom)
now appealed to the senate and the senator
from Maine, was not this opposition to the
amendment mockery? Those who opposed
this amendment must admit one
Of two things, that they could
not protect their witnesses, or their
statements were not to be divulged. /
The senator from Maine had called for the
light of heaven to shine on these transac.
tions Now when the democratic senators
say, "Turn on the light" "Oh. no." says the
senator from Maine, put US in dark room
and draw the curtains" Continuing his
remarks, Mr.. Ransom said: This light
of heaven, the first creation
of the Almighty, is the great
protection of man 1t is the enemy of fraud
and corruption; it is the light which pro
tects our homes. When the evidence taken
by this committee should come to the sem
ate, let 1T come with no SIN upon it; let it
be so broad, so clear that all would have to
agree that remedy or no remedy was
needed, as the case might be-" 1t would not
be best for the senator from Maine, or any
other SENATOR to make an assault upon the
southern people. If there was any thought
that anything could be said which would
provoke recrimination against the north it
was a mistake; the southern people had no
such purpose. Looking toward Mr. Blaine,