St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-10-09
Garfield.
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IN. O. City Item,

| IN. o. City Item.l
! We have hitherto had little to say OF
Garfield for we have taken it as a mat
I ter Of course that no Southern man will
vote for him. Nevertheless, we deem it
| worth while to utilize certain curious
facts which have been placed in uul
I hands concerning Garticld's political
record-not so much with view to
influencing our readers opinion, but
rather to give them some amusing infor
nation about the sort OF n candidate
! Mr.. Garfield is, us the representative of
the Republican party.
| Garfield was the holder of ten shares
of Credit Mobilier stock, which he never
paid for. They were obtained for him
by Cakes Ames in January, 1868; Alnes
paid for them selling the bonds after
wards, receiving cash dividend of 5000.
This left 1929 due to Garfield which he
/ received in cash. Ames swore to these
facts. When the shameful story came
! out, Garfield tried to get Amcs to modify
his testimony and call the dirty transac-
ton loan. AmeS answered i never
| loaned Garfield any money; and he
never asked me to lend him any. He
| knew very well that it was dividend"
| Garfield sold his official influence to
De Golyer and Mcclellan of Chicago
I for S5000-a fact which he confessed
under oath; and made all argument in
favor of their worthless pavement by
which a 100000 job was secured at
So 50 per yard. He rendered himself
thereby liable to fine of $4,000 and
! ten years Imprisonment, and disqualit-
1 cation for ever again holding any office
! of trust under the United States Gov
! crment.
! Garfield uttered the following senti-
ment in regard to the reconstruction
! bill:
/ IF the gentlemen Who report this bill viii
put i'll ii section that all who participated in he
right OF elective franchise, then | will say the
proposition will be just, and one we can stand
! upon as Il matter of principle. Anything is Just
which excludes from privilege and power all
1 those infamous men who participated in re
! belOn.'
Subsequently, the same bill being be-
/ fore the House, Mr.. Garfield asked that
! the previous question be voted down,
that he might move the following
amendment.
IAN persons who voluntarily adhered to Tie
late ilsurrecton, giving aid and comfort to the
| so-calltd Southern Contederary are forever
excluded from holding any office of trust or
I profit under the government of the United
| Statcs.'-Globc, l5t Scss 39til Cong, PIP. 24i5,
! 246::.
Garfield showed his hatred of the South
in manner ,ulrivalled by any of the
| Republican leaders, when he said on
the floor of the House of Congress:
1T is clearly the right of the victorious gov
eminent to indict, try, convict. and hang every
rebel traitor i'll the South for their bloody con
splicy against the Republic. Ibelieve,
sir, the time has come when we must lay the
! heavy hand of military authority upon these
rebel communities and hold them in its grasp. K
/ II give my support to this military bill. 1t
is severe. 1t was written witha steel pen made
and h.h1t hntrn dom,
good service hitherto. All ask is that Con-
| gress shall place civil governments before these
people of the rebel States, and Gordon of
hayonets behind them" See Cong Globe, I'd
Session, 39th Congress, PIP 11o3, 11o4.
Garfield, in 1863, swore the following
oath on taking his seat as q member of
the house
II, James A. Garfield, do solemnly swear that
TO the best OF my knowledge and ability, will
support and defend the constitution of the
United States; that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to the same; that take this OBJ
legation freely, without any mental reserva
ton OF purpose OF evasion
But on the sixth of January, 1864 he
had changed his opinion; for we read
in the Congressional Globe Of 1st cess.
3Sth, p. 215, that he ohO,c:rved a. would
not break the constitution unless it
should become necessary to overleap it's
barriers!"
Nor was this all. At q later date he
said in the course of the debate on Col
fax's resolution to expel Long. of Ohio,
for words" would take all the old
sanctions of the law and the constitu-
ton and fling them to the winds if nee
cssary.n-Globe, list Sess. 3Sth Cong, p.
1904.
Garfield also voted to muzzle the su-
preme Court.
Garfield strove to secure the contisca-
ton of all the lands and personal estates
of the Confcderates, and distribute them
among the Union soldiers. In discuss
ing the C0nfiscaton Act he said:
! "Confiscate their estates, both personal and
real, for life and forever. The war began by
| proclamation and 1t must end by proclamation.
| We can hold the insurgent States in military
! subsection for half a century if need he. I
! want to see in all those States the men who
fought and suffered for the truth ri tillins the
| ground on which they pitched their tents"
We might give much more in illustra-
ton of Mr. Garfeld's estimable charac-
ter. But we have surely given enough
to show how fatal an error the Republi-
can party committed in selecting such
a creature for their candidate to the
presidency,