Omaha daily bee., 1881-07-14
A LUCKY ESCAPE

Sa1u tnat tne reason why tne ueHo-
Gratis failed to elect a president of the
senate wasbecause they had no chance.
"The republicans agreed to go into an
election if the democrats would elect
Senator Harris. The democrats have
high regard for Senator Harris, and
Senator Harris, who is an unselfish
democrat, refused to accept the Office
thus tendeIed. There was consequent
ly no election"
Thus the country made another
lucky escape.
The elevation of lsham G. Harris
to the presidency of the
United States Senate would
have been an insult to every loyal
American. Among all the ex-rebels,
not excepting even JEFF Davis, this
man Harris is the most infamous. jeff
Davis, Bob Toombs, Judah p. Benja-
min and other fire-eaters, openly pro-
claimed that allegiance to the sover-
cign states was above the allegiance
they owed to the Union. When their
states passed ordinances of secession
they left the United States senate and
buckled on their swords in behalf of
the confedcracy. In 1861, while &C.
cession leaders were organizing armed
resistance to the national authority,
Isham G. Hsrris was governor of
Tennessee.
The confederacy was formed in
February, 1861. The proposition to
sever connection with the union and
join the confederacy was voted down
by the people of Tennessee by over
GO, 900 majority in the same month.
Before the vote was taken Isham Il.
Harris, who was known to be in sym
pathy with tho secession movement,
pledged himself to faithfully abide by
the decision of his state. Instead of
keeping the pledge this infamous
traitor, while protesting loyalty to
the union, was in constant
communion with JEFF Davis, and he
even went so far as to organize and
equip troops in Tennessee for the
confederate armies. 1t was mainly
by his reasonable intripues that Ten
nessee was finally dragged into the
rebellion on the 9Th of June, 1861,
by fraudulent election. Having
plunged his state into bloody and
costly war, Isham G. Harris
showed the white feather and
disgraced his people by his ar
rant cowardice the very first time
a break was made across the Cumber-
land river by the Union army.
Within ten hours after the capture of
Donaldson by General Grant this val
liant governor of thesovereign state of
Tennessee packed all his traps and
precipitately ran away from the state
capital. His cowardly flight from
Nashville urecipitated disgraceful
and ludicrous panic among the people
of that city, and wound up with a
bloody riot.
Harris kept on the run, although
the gunboats of Commodore Foote
and the armies of Grant
and Buell. did not put in
an appearance at Nashville
until one week after Harris had fled
the crpital. During the remainder of
the war Harris kept out of harms
way, and when Richmond had fallen
and Lee had surrendered he struck
out for South America, swearing he
never would again live under the
hated Yankee flag. He did not re-
main down there very long. The
Brazilian slaveplantation was not what
he had expected to find it. Nor
titled, but not repentant, he
returned to Tennessee and in due time
procured a pardon from A. johnson,
whom he had helped to burn in effigy
at the outbreak of the war. In due
time this reconstructed quaker gun
was returned as one of the represen-
,tatives of Tennessee in the national
senate. How any reputable republi-
can could support man with such a
record for the presidency of the SEN
ate passes our comprehension. A
rebel brigadier who fought for his con-
victions is entitled to some
respect, but a poltroon like
Isham G. Harris, who urged
on the fight and then ran away be-
fore he came within range of bullet
is not fit for doorkeeper of any rep
utable legislative body. The coun-
try is to be congratulated on its es-
cape from such an acting president of
the senate.