River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-10-30
THE SOLID SOUTH.
Great Speech Of Secretary Shermln
at His Old Home in
Mansfield.
Some stalwart Statements Strongly
Stated.

=
meeting, felt it my duty, in obedience
to the request of the state committee, 20
attend the great asass meeting at Massil.
Ion this afternoon, and now come before
you, wearied and hoarse, 10 speak of the
political questions of the day.
When | WAS in Ohio in August last,
the chief question in the pending politi-
cal canvass was, whether the resumption
Of specie payments, so long and steadily
struggled for and happily accomplished
by the republican party, should be main
tanned, or whether il should give way TO
certain wild and cratic notions in favor
of irredeemable paper money. Upon this
issue Gen. Ewing was nominated by the
democratic party, in the hope that he
would gain support fram third party
committed to imitation Since then it
would appear that the democratic leaders
seek 10 change the issue. The same old
questions about the rights of the states 10
nullify the laws of tie United States
the same old policy to belittle and de-
grade our national government into
mere cenfederacy of states-are now
thrust forward into prominence 1t is
said that the plan is to abandon General
Ewing to his fate, and 10 discover the af-
filiation of the democratic party with
! portion of tie greenbackers whom they
| sought by General Ewing's nomination
| TO coax into an alliance with the demo-
/ cratic party. Senator Pendleton now says
! that he will do nothing TO disturb specie
| resumption. Senator Thurman says that
| those who charge the democracy with
undoing what has been done on the
financial question, to plunge the country
into career of initiation, do them the
/ greatest injustice. He says they have
| no purpose TO embark on career of wild
| and senseless speculation.
| wish now to call your attention to the
southern question, and its indefinite treat
ment by democratic speakers. | have
| sought in vain, in several published
speeches in this campaign, for distinct
s atement of their position, but do not
find any. Senator Thurman deals IN
| gliiteriDg generalities, and scarcely at
tempts to define what he meant by state
rights. General Ewing, in his Laucas-
ter speech, refers to thrm under TWO
heads-that of "free elections" and that
of Estate rights" Let me read the first
of these:
"The question of free elections has as.
sumed prominence never before given
it, although the statutes out of which it
arises have been long in force, and the
| democracy have heretofore repeatedly at
tempted to repeal them"
Now, it is true that the question of free
and fair elections "has assumed prom
inence never before given it," and this
importance has grown out of the efforts
of the democratic party to defeat free and
fair elections by the grossest fraud and
violence. The case in New York, where
at the presidential election in 1868, more
than $4,000 fraudulent votes we're cast fer
| HnrQtIn Savmnur president Df Tho
United States-sufficient to change the
vote of that state-is now matter of ad
mitted history. Innumerable cases in
the south, of the gressest frauds, accom-.
panied by murder and all sorts of vio-
lence, are shown in great volumes of tes-
timony taken before the congressional
committees. Congress has never attempt
ed to interfere with fraud and violence
committed at state elections. If states al
low the right Of citizens to vote at their
elections 10 be overthrown, it is the bus.
mess of IL state authorities to redress
such injuries. But congress did pass
laws to secure fair elections of senators
and members Of congress. This was
done in pursuance of the plain provision
of the constitution authorizing congress
at any time, my law, to make or altlr the
regulations of state to provide for the
| times, places and manner of holding
elections for senators and representatives.
Under this clause of the constitution the
law was passed slnder which all the
members of the present senate were elect.
ed and has remained unchanged. The
laws providing for the election of mem
bers ofthe house have been, as General
Ewing says, on the statute book a num-
Der sf years. Their validity has never
been disputed ia the courts, though they
have been enforced in many states, north
and south All parties have appealed to
them, and the result, in every case, has
BEN to secure free and fair election.
There may be defects in these laws. The
rates allowed supervisors and deputy
marshals may be, and | think are, too
high ,butno attempt was made to amend
the law
TEE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
did try to repeal these laws, but failed by
the admirable vetoes of President Hayes,
who, while objecting to their repeal, ex-
ressed his Willingness to approve any
suitable amendments that might be pro-
posed. We do not complain of the at
tempt to repeal the law, altogether the
plain purpose was to place the control OF
the election of members of congress in
the hands of the democratic roughs of
New York and rifle clubs of the south.
But, falling to repeal these laws, the dem
ocratic party tried to nullify them. This
is the same ofense as the attempted null
LITIGATION of the revenue laws by South
Carolina in 1888. II is founded upon the
same faulty construction of The constitu-
tion by which secession was justified. 1t
il worse than either state notification or
state secession, because 1t is an attempt,
by members of congress, sN orr officers
of the government, in an unconstitution-
al way TO nullify laws they are sworn to
obey. They refuse to appropriate money
to execute the laws. In this way they
could destroy any department Of the gov
eminent, and entirely revolutioniZe it.
They have already, in refusing TO appro'
prite money to pay the marshals OF the
United States, crippled the courts IN the
collection of internal revenue; and al
ready there has been a dangerous in
crease of offenses against these laws.
| Desperate and lawless men, conscious
that the department is crippled in the ap'
preparation for the enforcement of the
laws, are now openly defyipg our reve-
nue. laws, and l do not see any remedy
unless Congress supplies at once the dc
| ficiency
General Jackson put down notification
once, and the nation rose in its might to
put down secession, which was only null.
LITIGATION by wholesale; and now the very
states and very men who tried secession
| have nulliied tire constitutional amend
ments. Members of congress, who were
sworn to support and main ain the con-
! stitution and the laws, tried by revolu-
tionary means TO nullify the election laws
/ The last doctrine is the worst of the three
Modification was the futile effort of a
| feeble state to defeat the tariff Law. Sc
cession was the abortive effort Of disloy-
al states to rebel against the government;
but this last effort was the act of sworn
agents of the governmental nulllify law
/ upon the statute book which they are as
much bound TO execute as they are bound
% execute any provision of the constitu-
/ ton or the laws for the support ofthe ju
| dicial department of the government.
| They tried to repeal law, and failing in
1 that they tried TO nullify it.
| So much for what are called the cleo
! t:on laws
The secold point stated by Mr. Ewing
| upon the question of state rights is as fol
| lows:
/ II say the great question is whether the
| republic and the state are coordinate
| agencies of the government, each supreme