Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-09-21
TIE REALITY OF THE SOUTHERN
CLAIMS.

are being engineered by the syndicate of
agents heretofore referred to in these col
umns, are all drawn with special view to
evade the prohibitions of the Fourteenth
Amendment, and while this attempt at
evasion will assuredly not prove sue
cessful so long as the Administration Is
Republican, it is equally certain that 1t
would be accepted were the Democrats IN
power. Reliance on the constitutional
amendments as a bar to the Southern
claims is no doubt what the Democratic
press wishes to cultivate among Repubh-
cans but in view of the fact that the
Democratic party has already commenced
proceedings looking to the abrogation or
notification of these amendments, this
pretense is too thin. The EIanainer is
perfectly aware that bill has been in
troduced to the House providing for the
addition of twelve Judges to the United
States Supreme Court, and that other bills
have been introduced abolishing the Court
of Claims and transferring its jurisdiction
to Superior Courts which are given such
powers as would qualify them TO pass upon
all manner OF Southern claims. Should
the Democrats come into power they would
at once proceed to alter the constitution
of the United States Supreme Court in the
manner proposed, and when this was done,
and twelve Democratic Judges had been
placed on the bench, it would be in order
to secure decision of the Court declar-
ing the Fourteenth Amendment not le-
gally ratified. The proof that Southern
claims are regarded as good by the holders
of them, in the event of Democratic sue
cess is not far to seek. Here, for EXAM
pie, is a paragraph from a late issue of the
Charleston West Virginia. Leader, Dem
ocratic paper: "There are intelligent
"men in Kanawha county who have
"made carefully prepared lists of
"their slaves, which are treated
"with as much care as if they were Gov
eminent bonds. They sag these amend
"mentS toere illegally passed, that non
"p1rtiSdR Supreme Court aCouLd so
g hold and that so soon as the Democratic
party comes into poaCer, IRE aciH hare this
"kind of Court" That strikes us as
pertinent rejoinder to the Examiners
insincere rant about the Democratic re-
spect for the constitutional amendme nts
OF course, we understand thoroughly that
| it is the special business of the Northern
Democratic press to affect loyalty and a
conservatism it does not really feel, since
that press knows very well that the Demo
cratic prospects cannot be advanced at the
North by telling the truth about the inten-
tions of the party. But the Southern
Democratic press has different clientage
to suit, and as it finds that the most out
spoken declarations o. an intent to" get
" even" with the North please its readers
best, it is led to make statements which do
not harmonic at all with the smooth and
plausible pretenses of it's Northern friends.
As, however, the Southern element is
the dominant one in the Democratic party,
the country must seek the real purposes OF
the organization from the former. The
| Fourteenth Amendment, as we have shown,
| is already doomed in the estimation of the
Southern Democrats, and they look for
ward with confidence, not only to securing
the payment of other claims to an i'm
mense amount, but also to obtaining COM
pensation for their emancipated Slaves
/ Secretary Sherman said in his Cincinnati
speech that there were claims waiting to
be presented which would bankrupt the
Treasury. Numbers of these claims have
already been presented and rejected, but
they are not abandoned. In regard to a
large proportion of these claims it would
not be necessary to get the Fourteenth
Amendment out of the way. An Act of
Congress would open the doors of
the Treasury to them, and already
not less than fifteen such bills have been
introduced, and it is significant fact that
every one of them avoids constitutional
objections. The claims and the bills pro-
viding for their consideration are lying dor
mant just now. Those who prepared them
have found from experience that it is use
less to present or urge them while a Re-
publican Administration is in power. But
let Hancock be elected, and the syndicate
which put him forward at Cincinnati would
very soon come to the front with its work,
and General Hancock's letter Of acceptance
would prove feeble defense against their
assaults. The amount of the Southern
claims held for presentation when the
time comes is in round numbers -, $780,
000, 900, and this is exclusive of all de
mands for slave property. The great
syndicate of claim agents at Wash
in ton stands ready to press these demands
at the first opportunity, and to put in
ready been constructed for that purpose.
1t will therefore not do for the Examiner,
or any other Democratic journal, to mag
inc that it has effectually answered the
statements of the Republican press in this
connection, by talking about the constitu-
tional amendments. The possibility that
Democratic Supreme Court might nullify
these amendments is brought home very
clearly to even the lowest intelligence by
the fact that a bill to reorganize the Su-
preme Court in the interest of precisely
such course has already been introduced
to Congress. The plain truth is that with
the Democracy in power there would be
no bar to Southern claims, and this is so
obvious that all sensible men must per-
ceive the vital necessity of keeping the
Democracy out of power.
fnE TAX LEVY AND THE NEW CON-
HUTTON.
When the new Constitution was under
discussion one of the staple assertions of
its advocates was that it would lower the
rate of taxation. This, it was argued,
would be the result OF compelling all to