The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-02-06

u i II. Is LIZ " AvAoAA - ~
have ended for any injury which may
have been done while the war was going
on. The argument goes as well against
loyal people as disloyal. The war was
not against individuals. The war was
against the belligerent party, the South,
and the difficulty is, although there may
be men, there may be women, there may
be children who have claims which we
feel ought to be paid, yet when we open
the door for the payment of such claims
it is impossible for the Republic to de-
termine between the good and the bad,
and while we are attempting to do what
will be solitary case Of good we throw
open the door to evil which bids fair, if
we take bills introduced into this House
as earnest of what is to come, to hasten
the hour when bankruptcy shall come
upon the Government by reason Of the
payment of claimants under the guise OF
LOYALTY. This is the proper outcome,
perhaps, of the Southern Claims Com
mission. That Commission Railways re.
garded as an evil. That Commission /
always regarded as political expedient
for the purpose of building up party in
the South in accord with the Administra-
ton. Instead of being a judicial court,
it was political court. Instead of being
8 court where justice was done, it was q
court that spread fraud and perjury all
over the land.
foThe loyal men of the South are so
few that the evil that will be done by
leaving them out is nothing in COMPARE
son with the great evil that will be done
if we open the door and allow the $l7,-
100000 for claims upon our calendar to
be passed and appropriations made for
the benefit of men on the plea that they
were loyal people of the South. / have
here time and again heard a threat
thrown to Che Democracy upon this side
of the House which ], have thought for o
long time needed an answer, and it came
from Mississippi. / have heard it said
here upon the floor of the House that
unless the Democracy of the North is
more liberal, that unless they would open
their hands and give out money more
layishly from the treasury, the solid
South would soon 60 over to the other
side. I say, as one Of the representatives
of the Democracy of the North, that if
there are any men in the South who pro-
pose to belong to the Democratic party
simply for the reason that the doors of
the treasury are to be opened to them,
the sooner they so over the better for
them, the, better for our party; and when
the people Of this country see and feel,
as they are beginning to do, that they
can trust the interests of the country with
the Democratic party of the North and
South. then we can make recruits in the
Northern States that will fill up our
ranks to the maximum. We have no
need of that class of gentlemen that we
can only hold to party allegiance by
golden ties, by giving them the promise
Of everything which they may ask out of
the treasury"
, The remarks of Mr.. Bragg were re-
piled to by Mr.. Ellis, of Louisiana, who
frankly said:
"Upon the general features Of this bill
I do not know that I desire to say any
thing now. What I am about to say is
called forth by that portion of the extra
ordinary speech of the gentleman from
Wisconsin tMr. Bragg in which he
alluded to certain 'taunts' made by
Southern members in reference to money
now in the Treasury, collected illegally
and unconstitutionally; aye, and he
might have well said with the robbers
hand. In the course of my speech upon
he Mississippi Levee bill did allude to
the fact that $S6,000,000 were in the
Treasury of the United States, collected
without the semblance of law or justice
from the impoverished South.
"Now I agree with the member from
Wisconsin (Mr. Bragg that the percent
age of loyalty in the Southern States
during the war was great deal less than
one per cent. undertake to say that
the Southern man who was born there,
who was reared there, and who was iden-
tilted with the Southern people, could
only have been loyal when he entered
the Confederate army and did his full
duty as a soldier in the armies of the
South. Such men were the only loyal
men in the South. They were loyal to
their country; they were loyal to their
God; they were loyal to, the noblest and
highest and holiest emotions that ever
the human heart.
GAS regards the claims which are for
ever being urged by loyal claimants,
and known as war claims, let me say that
/ for one am willing, here and now, to
vote for a constitutional amendment
which shall close the books and forever
settle the accounts between these loyal
men and the Government. do not
sickle for their allowance or urge their
payment. Some few of them are just, no
doubt, and ought TO- be paid. l know,
of few cases of this charac-
ter (: but in order to achieve peace, in
order to silence the tongue OF slander, IN
order to ease the hearts and minds OF the
people Of the North who are jealous lest
some rebel be paid, am willing to end
all this matter by a constitutional amend
uent tor5tdIing forever the puyment OF
suery claiu growing out of the war"
The remarks of Mr.. Bragg were in the
worst possible taste, but there is some e1-
cuse for his reproaches in the mass of
claims presented by Southern members,
and in the frankness with which they
ego for the old iag-and an appropria-
ton" Mr.. Potter is quiet, conserya-
tive Democrat of the highest character.
Louisiana hardly has more active rep
resentative than Mr.. Ellis. When these
three members agree, it is pretty safe to
assume that the presentation of war
claims is a waste Of time and money, as
we'll as damaging to the Democratic par
ty.-Charlcston Ne,0s and Courier.
New Rendering Of an Old Song.
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