The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-04-17
BLAISR.s SPEECH.

| VS.. ....M.N.N .. - "... | ...
He Asks Our Junior senator n Queatioi
The Junior Turns Red In the Face
He Asks several Other. Question
showing the PaueIty Of soldiers I'm III
south.
WASHINGTON, April IA AT o'cloc
to-day, the Senate took up the army ar
preparation bill aud Mr.. Blaine opene,
the debate. It was not generally know
that be would speak 80 early in the day
and the galleries were not filed, but III,
moment 1t became known that he wa
speaking there was q rush for the galleries
and in thirty minutes they were filled ant
the doors besieged by impatient crowds.
Ifthere had been any doubt OF the ca
pacity Of Mr.. Blaine to draw an immens,
crowd, it was dispelled to-day. He spok,
from notes, but paid little attention othem
de declared that the Democrats were try
ing to impose q false issue on this countr,
trying to make It appear that the Repub
ltcans were attempting 10 keep themselves
In power by the liberal use Of the bayonet
He held In his hand a statement Of The
number Of soldiers eastof Omaha. Look,
ing toward Bayard and Salisbury, he asked
them how many were In Delaware? They
could not tell. Not one, said Blaine; and,
therefore, the great State Of Delaware Ii
not In danger OF being crushed by the
mailed heel of military power. In West
Virginia how many? Eotone. Yet with.
out the presence Of soldier on the soil OF
his State, Senator Hereford had worked
himself into q perspiration last Friday 10
his speech about the army. Hereford's
face turned red and there was audible
laughter in the galleries as Blaine demol.
tshed his great speech in a few sentences.
Turning to the Virginia Senators, Blaine
asked them how many soldiers were in
their State, and II they were atraid2 He
showed that there was not asoldier in the
State outside Of the artillery training
school at Fortress Monroe. In North
Carolina there are but thirty, South Caro-
lima 100, Georgia twenty-nine, and In Ten.
nessee and Mississippi more. In the
whole South there are LIPS, not quite one
10 q county, and he might have said that
htho-toAthS kIese Hdu peen Otueteu
away to the Indian frontier.
"Why," cried Blaine, mo two Demo.
cratic Senators can 60 into the cloak room
and look each other in the face without
smiling and blushing." He showed that
there were double as many soldiers in New
England as in the South In proportion to
population, yet the people Of that section
did not feel crushed by the mailed heel OF
power, and had nothing to fear at cleo.
tons. "Why," exclaimed Blaine, ad.
vancing towards the Democratic side,
there is not in the whole South one sol.
der to a county, aud nly one to each six.
teen polling places. Each soldier would
have to be divided up into sixteen pieces
to get enough to go -around.m
Hereford attempted TO tell OF having
seen soldiers at the polls in his State in
1870 who, he said, were there for purposes
OF intimidations, which raised derisiye
laughter on the Rebuplicau side.
Williams, Of Kentucky, said that be
had seen soldiers Of the polls. "When,"
cried Blaine. SIN 1885," said Williams
at which Blaine replied that there were
probably a great many in the State at that
time trying TO keep out JEFF. Davis Demo.
Gratis, who attempted to fight In the rebel
army, and vote Kentucky out Of the Union
at the same time.
Senator Logan arose and said that atthe
time mentioned he commanded ~sixty-fve
thousand men in Kentucky; that the
soldiers were not allowed near the polls,
and that the election was as quietand fair
as any held in the State since.
Blaine charged that the political meas.
ure on the Army Bill had not been consid'
cred by the committee, but was matured
by Democratic c~aucuses. and then thrust
into the House, and thence into the Sen
ate. He showed that the country was vir'
tually under the rule Of the Southern
Democracy, they having thirty outof forty
Democratic Senators, and a very large ma,
jority OF the Democratic majority In the
House Of Representatives. AS early as
1865 Alexander H. Stephens had said thai
q united South and their Northern allies
would rule the country. That wa only
thirteen years ago. 1t was true to-day, aud
Stephens was alive to sec the marvellous
fulfllment Of his prophecy.
Referring to q possible veto, he said tina
neither he nor any other man could speak
for the President in this matter, but should
the Executive allow himself to be driven
and coerced by the Democratic majority,
the very dead who had died to perpetuatt
American Nationality would turn over in
their graves. Several times he was ap
plauded, and It was only by threatening L
clear the galleries that the presiding Officer
succeeded in restoring quiet. When HI
concluded, there was a rush to congratu
late him. Zach. Chandler seized him BY
both hands, and shook long and heartily
Garfield, Keller, Updegraf, and other Re
publican Representatives who were pres
ent, congratulated him, and 1t was somt
time before order was restored sufficiently
for Senator Withers to speak in reply.