The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-05-16
EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF HON
THOS. RYAN,
or Kansas. I'm the House OF RePresnt
tives, Saturday, April
go, 1879.


1.-The nSuse being in committee OF the whole
on the State OF the Union, and had under con-
sideration the bill II. r. No p making APP
and judicial expenses OF the government for
the nscai year year ending June 30, 1850, and
for other purposes.
You are wont to amuse yourselves and
weary the country with flaming speeches
against the purity of the presidents title
to his high office. If the people believ-
ed you they would not be likely TO be
different. They do not. They know that
fraud, violence, and outrage reigned SUI
preme at the elections in several of the
states, utterly subvcrtlng the popular
will They know that by criminal agen-
cies the electoral votes of several states
were counted for Mr.. Tilden, which, by
fair expression of legal vote, would
have been given TO Mr.. Hayes. But sup
pose that Mr.. Tilden had seated himself
in the executive chair by a majority of
one, suppose that subsequently it had
been shown by undeniable proof that he
actually bought that one vote; what, in
that case, would have been the proper
title of the chief magistrate of forty-five
millions of people? Could he have been
called their president? No; he would
have been the mere result, the official
you AN outraged people would not under
such circumstances have hurled him
from the chair of Washington? And
yet who shall say the effort would not
have been the occasion of internecine
strifeg And would Mr.. Tilden be a less
atrocious usurper if he had obtained
that one vote by any other unlawful
means? The logic of fraud against the
ballot Is to pervert the popular choice,
and when that is done and repeated
without redress anarchy is sure TO follow.
There is another feature of this dis
cussion which / must not overloolSa.
This extraordinary session has been
made necessary by the refusal of this
house to vote supplies for the army and
the government because the senate
would not approve certain other legisla-
ton. Then you aimed at the coercion
of two coordinate powers. Now you
have but one to bring TO your feet. Then
you sought to usurp the constitutional
prerogatives and functions of two other
branches of the government. Now there
remains hut one To subvert These sup
ply measurs are known as the army ap-
preparation bill and the Legislative, execu-
tive and judicial appropriation bill.
Either of these must be enacted into laws
or the army and the government perish,
unless indeed the patriotic states and
people of this union shall come to the
rescue, and from their respective re-
sources supply the needed funds Hence
it is that your revolutionary attitude has
filled the public mind with alarm
/ would have peace; the north longs
for peace. But when you talk To us of
rcace you at the same time do that which
provokes passion. You tell us that the
north will not suffer the ghost of rebel
lion To go down, and at the same time
you fiaunt i'm our faces the threat that
you will celebrate your advent to power
by eXpunging from the statute-bOOk cv-
cry vestige of our war legislation and
wipe out all that is grand and glorious in
the record of the last eighteen years.
You appeal to us to "let the dead past
bury its dead" and in the same breath
you charge us with all the bloodshed,
sorrow and desolation of the war. You
beg that we will not open anew the
wounds of that conflict, and then com
plain that we shot treason to death
You tell us the war is ended, and then
hurl maledictions upon us because,
as you put it, we would not let you go in
peace. You charge us with reviving the
passions of civil strife, and at the same
time denOunce us as tyrants and despots
because we expelled, in time Ofwar, from
the pulpit clergy for desecrating the
Christian religion by petitioning the
Almighty TO interpose in behalf of
mOnstrous crime for the destruction of
our government. You implore us to
give you peace, and then shake yo ur
fist in our faces and tell us that "rev-
olution has no terrors for you"
"a fragrant and arrogant boast of the
wicked part borne by you in the recent
attempt TO overthrow this government
You offer us peace and reconciliation,
but you demand as the price of it that
you be restored to complete control of
the nation. If you would have lasting
and valuable peace you must in earnest
and patriotic sincerity haul down the
rebel flag and salute the STARS and stripes