The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1879-11-13
HIS LAST WORDS.

Ihe lamented Zachariah Chandler addresse
an immense political meeting in McCormic
Hall, Chicago, on the evening preceding hi
death. The brave old man spoke with unusua
power and eloquence, and his burning word
were received by his vast audience with enthu
slastlc demonstrations Of applause p It is &C
knowledged by the Chicago press that thes,
farewell words of the great Senator had M
small influence in rolling up the big Republics,
majority, beneath which the Democratic patty
In Chicago, was buried out Of sight three
days after its delivery. We reproduce that
portion of Mr.. Chambers address which treats
of national politics:
But we have a matter under consideration
tonight of vastly more Importance than all the
financial questions that can be presented to
you, and that is: Are you or are you not ma
ton? We had supposed for generations that
we were a nation. In 1857 treason raised its
head upon the floors of Congress. They said
Do this, or we will destroy your Government .
&C Fail to do that, and we will destroy your Gov
| eminent" One of them repeated this threat
to old Ben Wade, ana he Strengthened himself
up and said: Don't delay it on my account :"
this treason. Arms were sent to the South
| Ammunition and accouterments followed: the
navy was scattered; the credit of the Govern
ment, whose 6-per-cent. bonds in 1857 sold for
l22, was so utterly Frustrated and debased that
in February, 1S62-four years afterwards
bonds payable principal and interest in gold,
bearing 6 per cent, were sold for So cents on
the dollar, and no buyers for the whole
amount. Careful preparations were, made
! for the overthrow OF your Government, and
when Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office
as President of these United States there WAS
nothing to protect the national life. Yet with
all these dlscouragements staring us in the face
the Republican party undertook to save your
/ Government. We raised your credit; we Gre
ated navies, raised armies, fought battles, car
rled on the war to a successful issue, and,
/ finally, when the rebellion surrendered at Ap-
| pomattox they surrendered to Government
| They admitted that they had submitted their
heresy to the arbitrament of arms and had been
defeated, and they surrendered to the Govern
ment of the United States of America. They
made no claims against this Government, for
they had none. In the very ordinance of seees-
sion which they signed they had pledged them
selves, their fortunes, and their sacred honors
| to the overthrow of this Government, and when
they failed to do it they lost all that they had
pledged. They asked as boon that their mis-
cradle lives might be spared to them.
| They had forfeited all their property-we
! giveit back to them. We found them naked
and we clothed them They were without the
| rights of citizenship, and we restored to them
those rights. We took them to our bosoms as
brethren, believing that they had repented of
their sins. We killed for them the fatted calf
and invited them to the feast, and they gravely
informed us that they had always owned that
animal, and were not thank full for the invitation.
By the laws of war, and by the laws of nations,
they were bound to pay every dollar Of the ex-'
pense incurred in putting down that rebellion.
But we forgave them that debt, and to-day you
are being taxed heavily to pay the interest on
the debt that they ought to have paid. Such
magnanimity as was exhibited by this nation to
these rebels has never been Witnessed on the
earth since God made it, and, in my humble
! judgment, it will never be witnessed again
! Mistakes we undoubtedly made-errors we
committed-but, in my judgment, the greatest
mistake we made and the greatest error we
committed was in not hanging enough of these
rebels to make treason forever odious. To-day
in Congress the men have changed, but not the
measures. Twenty years ago they said, "Do
this or fail to do that, and we will shoot your
Government to death" Now I find these
paroled rebels who have never been released
from their parole of honor to obey the laws,
saying. "Do this, obey our will, or we will
! starve your Government to death" If am to
die, would rather be shot TO death with mus
|
they are just IS rebellious now as they were
twenty years agO-there is not a particle of diff
! ference. l know them better than any other
| living mortal man. have summered and win
tered with them. These rebels to-day have
thirty-six members on the floor of the House of
| Representatives without one single constituent.
and in violation of law those thirty-six members
represent 900, people lately slaves, who are
! as absolutely disfranchised as if they lived in
another sphere, through shot-guns, and whips
and tissue ballots, for the law expressly says
| wherever race Or class is disfranchised they
shall not be represented upon the floor Of the
/ House. And these thirty-six members thus
elected constitute three times the whole of
their majority upon the floor. This is not
only violation of law, but it is an outrage
upon all the loyal men Of the United States.
| 1t ought not to be. It must not be. And it
shall not be. Twelve members of the Senate
more than their whole majority-occupy their
seats upon the floor by fraud and violence; and
am saying no more to you than I said to those
rebel Generals. With majorities thus obtained
! by fraud and violence in both houses, they
dared to dictate terms to the loyal men of these
! United States. With MAJ orities thus obtained
they dared to arraign the loyal men of these
| United States, and say they want honest elec-
TONS They aremortally afraid of bayonets at the
polls. We offered them a law fOrbidding any
man to come within two miles of a polling
place with arms Of any description, and they
promptly voted it down, for they wanted their
kuklux. They were not afraid of Kuklux. but
of soldiers In all the Northern States there is
less than one soldier to county There is
about wo-thirds of soldier to county, and,
of course, about two-thirds of musket
Wouldn't this great county Of Cook tremble if
1t saw two-thirds of soldier with two-thirds of
musket approaching? Butthey-the South
are afraid of inspectors. Why? The law Gre
ating inspectors is imperative that one must be
Democrat and the other a Republican They
have no power whatever except to certify that
the election is honest and fair. The inspectors
can't arrest. The Marshals, under the order
of a court, can arrest criminals; therefore, they
said: sWe will have no Marshals" When we
| told them we could not have courts without
Marshals, they said eve don'twant Marshals
at al" And they don't. Marshals interfere with
their smoonshiners"-th mon who distill
whisky in the mountains of North and South
Carolina and Georgia land they don't want any
courts, because the courts interfere with their
Kuklux at the polls. 1t is false assumption
on their part. What they want is not free
elections, but free fraud at elections. They
have got a solid South by fraud and violence.
Give them emission to perpetrate the same
kind Of fraud and violence in New York city
and Cincinnati, and New York and Ohio, with
the solid South, will give the Presidency and
/ hxfr nd x1:o o%l,o,,