Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-09-17
Are the Constitutional Amendments
Threatened

of its party in the coming election may |
be followed by such reconstruction of
the Supreme Court as will enable the |
Democrats to have the Constitutional |
amendments declared invalid and the |
way prepared for payment of the rebels |
for their slaves and for disfranchise- |
ment Of the negroes. But it is worth |
while to ask, Is such scheme intrin-
sically improbableP Is there anything
in the history of the South, or in its
present attitude, which may serve as an
assurance that such an enterprise is at
least unlikelyP In such a matter, in
volving the loss of much that we gained
at a terrible cost in the war, we ought
to give weight to facts and figures, and
not to accept the bare statements of
irresponsible persons. The very same
persons twenty years ago ridiculed the
idea that the Southerners would assail
the Government by force of arms.
The unlikely thing is sometimes the
thing to look for. Nothing, for exam
pie, seemed more unlikely fifteen years
ago than that rebel brigadiers would
now have control of the legislation of
the country.
One of the first facts we encounter
in examining the subject in question is
that the Democratic party, and partic-
ularly the Southern wing of it, has
never given willing assent to the Con-
stitutional amendments. They were
not approved by single Democratic
Legislature, and Democratic Legisla-
lures in some cases repudiated the IA
vorable action of their Republican pre-
decessors upon them. Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, AL
ALBANIA, Texas and Arkansas
voted against the adoption of
| the Fourteenth Amendment, in each
| ing which actuated them found eX-
preston in the North. Multitudes of
/ Northern Democrats hold that the
amendments were not fairly carried.
Our own Mr.. Richard Vaux, for ex-
ample, in a manifesto issued by him
and other Pennsylvania Democrats in
| 1871, declared that the amendments
"were carried by brute force and by
frauds upon the public will so glaring
as to take from their authors all claims
upon our respect; and further, that ut
is farce to maintain that the ratifica-
ton of these so-called radical amend
ments by States, held as they were by
force, could, under the force of military
rule, be the act of free and sovereign
Commonwealth, enabling it to ratify
amendments to the Constitution which
sovereign, free and independent States
only have the power to do" We ask
especial attention to this expression of
opinion. 1t is that of a Northern DEM
ocratic LAWYER, and without doubt it
represents the ground upon which the
validity of the amendments will be at
tackled in the event of a Democratic
victory. Precisely the same opinion is
held by thousands of other Democrats,
North and South, and it is of course
inevitable that a man who sincerely be-
lieves that the amendments were not
fairly carried should have no scruples
in proposing to overthrow them. Upon
this point the Southern people are prac-
tically unit Already they have actu-
ally demonstrated what is their opinion
of the amendments by nullifying them
as matter of fact, so far as they could
do so, by employing force and fraud to
disfranchise negro citizens:
That reorganization of the Supreme
Court in the interests of the Democratic
party is not improbable, is proved salts.
factorily by the circumstance that Mr.
Morgan, of Alabama, introduced into
Conc gress in the last session q bill for in.
creasing the number of Judges of the
Supreme Court to twenty-one. If the
Democrats shall succeed in November
what reason is there for supposing thai
this bill will not be passed. And if il
shall be passed is it not nearly certain
that Democratic President will pack
the Supreme Bench with Democratic
: LAWYERS who will do the bidding o
their party and do it willingly, as Mr.
Vaux would, if he should happen to bC
: one of the chosen ones? When we per
: ceive how far the scheme already i
upon the way to perfection, it is mere
: ly senseless to declare that such
scheme was never dreamed of. Th,
: evidence that the South has always in
= tended to demand payment for it
slaves is positive. In the first place tn
former owners of slaves have filed thei
7 claims in the form of afiidavits in ever,
g State in the South. The Constitution
$ of Maryland, for example, declares tina
: the State shall not give compensation
: for emancipated slaves, but it adds
& "The Assembly shall adopt such meas
: ures as they shall deem expedient
: obtain from the United States compen
u sation for such slaves and to receiv
: and distribute the same equitabl
J to the persons entitled" Thi
: Constitution was adopted ate
the ratification of the amendmeu
4 which forbids such compensation. Th
5 Georgia Convention, called by And
9 johnson in 1860, declared: Acquie!
g cence in the action of the Governmer
: of the United States is not intended
operate as q relinquishment or waive
II or estoppel of such claim for compensi
l. ton of loss sustained by reason of th
D emancipation of his slaves as any cit
/ zen of Georgia may hereafter make.
's In other States similar action has bee
!. taken, and the universal theory in til
VI South is that the Federal Government
. having taken away the slave property
IL ought of right to pay for it, Certain
II ly here are sufficient grounds for ii
e belief that as soon as a packed Supren
D Court shall declare the amendmen
u null and void, the former slave-owne
will be ready to push their claims. An
.s not wait for the action of the Cour
Is Already there are upon file in Congre
4 Southern claims for compensation fl
81 property destroyed, bills for refundir
lc the cotton tax and for similar object
e which amount in the aggregate to d
" mand for 81, ,503, 622, 1856.
IN From these facts, which are unir
'S peachable and beyond the reach of a
gument, it will appear that the fea
A entertained by Republicans of revol
~ tionary measures in the event OF Il
of accession of the Democratic party
al power, are at least not ridiculous.
,e is clear that there are solid reasons I
1e apprehension that the things which a
ct distinctly threatened will actually
an achieved. And Republican newsp
n per which comprehends this fact, al
10 is unwilling that the best OF the frui
10 of the war should be destroyed, simp
" discharges its duty when it direC
n public attention strongly to the promi
ry of Democratic victory and warns t