The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-18
4 MANLY DEFENSE.
Defying the SANDERS and Asper'
sions of the Stalwarts Against
Louisiana.
Speech Of Hon, ] Floyd King, April "a, 1879

The House being III committee OF the whole
on the state of the Union, and having under
consideration the bill tH. r. No. q making
appropriations for the legislative executive
and iudicial expenses of the government for
fhe fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, and for
other purposes
Mr. King said:
Nh lhniysnn-The member from Michigan
mr. BurrOws). In his remarks to this COM
mttee on April 1s, undertook TO sustain his
charges against the Democratic party by
blackenng the name OF Louisiana 10 effect
this be quoted In part from the majority re-
mort OF the "Teller committee" which he
Supplemented with striking pictures. Of out
rage drawn from his own vivid imagination.
III ID common experience that 1t is easier TO
hatch q foul brood Of falsehood than 1t is TO
destroy 1t when 1t has once flown from its
nest. 1T Ia o useless task TO attempt TO hunt
down all the winged iietions from fertile brains
OF men bent on deception and strife, but /
conceive it to be my duty MOTTO permit false
charges against the State have the honor In
part to represent to 90 unrebuked. When q
member attempts to pass his spurious small
change as the subsidiary coinage OF politics.
must beg leave TO enter my protest.
Sir, / am amazed when ] SEQ member OF
this House undertaking TO base charges
against the citizens of my State upon the
flimsy testimony taken by the majority Of the
be within the knowledge of the member from
Michigan that forty Of the very identical gen
tlemen indicted upon the charges made befoEef
that committee with alleged crimes against
the election laws, confronted by the Rame
witnesses, have been recently tried IN yne eity
ut New Orleans and acquitted. Ik,eir trial
was before jury to the membehTs Of which
the "test" or 'iron-clad" oath had been az
Judges / repeat that thesS wars nrnmntlv
and honorably acquitted. Annthar Ii ~ avar
fifty in number, who indcted and y tried psJ
failed 81 conviction, aid still another lot Of
slxey i nau sleil cass continued until next fall
ahon ,e mae the United States district
We're stanalnT ready for trial
Wno VILE these gentlemen go iDdictedp
WILT icy the red-handed ruffians depicted
ny ~ ~ member from Michigan answer.
eaS.e to the dignity Of this House to charac-
-Sxrize these charges as they deserve.
Sir, who are these gentlemen who have been
and are being thus prosecuted ] can fairly
claim that they are the peers OF any on this
floor. Many OF them are graduates OF the
first universities Of Europe, and Of colleges
and schools Of this country, representatives
OF oil the professions, the heads and members
of some of the most respected families OF this
nation: property owners, they are the true
custodians Of peace They have. 90 far as
the United States has chosen to bring them
to trial, been adjudged guiltless OF crimes by
tribunals whose loyalty and fidility to the
Republican party cannot be questioned by
gentlemen on the other side OF this chamber,
and they are made to suffer simply because
they are Democrats.
This, we are told BY the member from M
chigan, is trick. II, then, 1t be a trick,
league. Mr. Gibson, 1t Ia "a trick "
performed by O Federal jury, q Federal dis
triet attorney, and FedeIal Judges, ell o.
whom were Republicans. A trick, sir! LooA
nj
weeping wives and children, from sisters ant
mothers trembling with grief, these gentle
men were dragged hundreds of miles away
To New Orleans, compelled to pay their owl
expense and the expenses OF their witnesses
to leave their business in ruins and their fam
lilies in distress. They were not tried by thei
peers nor by iuries Of the vicinage, right
guaranteed by the old common law
whose political prejudices were liabl
to bias their Judgment. Why. STR, Il
is further from the scenes of these alleget
outrages TO New Orleans than from this cit!
to New York or Boston. And yet every ont
OF them was acquitted! But what redress
have they against this partisan tyranny, thes,
outrages2 None, sir. but the repeal Of the in
famous laws IN the name Of which they wer
perpetrated. United States marshals, with
In some instances, the basest characters Ii
the State for witnesses. were transported a
heavy governmental expense to New Orlean
from these distant points to confront them
nolitjcal party. and with but few execution
white men and Of high standing, have beef
thus caused an outlay Of many thousands D
dollars, and that tens of thousands have beel
spent by the Department of Justice In thei
prosecution, and the member from Michigan
calls this trick. call 1t a crime; q Grim
against Iibel ty, a crime against Justice.
crime again humanity, a crime against tn
civilization this age.
With but few exceptions, all who wer
indicted under the charges made by the wit
nesses summoned by the majority on tn
Teller committee chose not to appear befor
that committee, but before the Federal courts
there to be confronted by their accusers an
to have their causes legally and finally dis
posed Of. 1t Is notorious that anything
could be proven by most OF the witnesses VIII
appeared at the call OF the majority of tina
committee.
II there has been bloodshed and riot l
Louisiana, charge the responsibility upo
the carpet-bag adventurers and .politica
tramps OF the Republican party, who woul
be far more apt to be the authors OF violence
diHGOr0 and crime than the men Of EuhStauC