The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-01-04

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in favor of his innocence, and it has become
the opinion of the people of this country
that General Porter is an innocent man.
Now, Mr.. President this is enough. The
records of this country unless corrected, will
send down to his childrens children, and
TO their children for all time,
the deep damnation of their fathers shame.
! 1t was his country struck the cruel blow, and
Congress alone can heal the wound. There
fore, believe it is the duty of the Senate. by
passing this bill, to go so far as they can to-
ward correcting the wrong done General
| Porter
Mr.. Hawley said he intended to vote in ac-
| cordance with the views presented by the
senator from Illinois Mr. Logan and had
risen to deprecate any intimation made by
Mr. Logan in the first part of his speech that
| the Schotield board might possibly have been
Influenced by improper motives and that
questions then likely TO arise concerning
promotion in the army might have had
something to do with their judgment. 'If
! there be an honorable man in the world"
said Hawley, sit is General Terry"
COMING TO VOTE.
Mr.. Hale moved that the bill be indefinite
| ly postponed
Mr.. Sewell called for the yeas and nays, and
the motion was lost by the following vote;
Yeas-Messrs. Aldrich, Blair, Cameron of
Wisconsin. Chileott, Conger, Davis of Illinois,
!
Lapham Logan, Miller of California, Mitchell,
Morrill,, Piatt, Rollins windom-2O.
| Nays-Messrs. Beck, Brown, Cameron of Penn
| sylvania. Coke Davis of West Virginia, Garland,
German, Grooine, Grover Hampton, Harris,
Lamar, Mcpherson, M Malone, Maxey. Morea" ''
! Pendletou, Pugh, Salisbury, Sewe, Slater,
Vance, Voorhees-25.
The following pairs were announced:
Mr.. Allison with Mr.. Baysrd, Mr.. Anthony
with Mr.. Barrow. Mr.. Harrison with Mr.. Cock
rell, Mr.. Plumb with Mr.. Vest. Mr. Mcmillan
with Mr. Ransom. MIR. Ferry with Mr.. Farley,
M Mith saver M WIN NJ NJ Camden, MI Van Wick
Mr.. ingalls, with Mr. Harris.
The bill was then reported to the Senate.
Mr.. Hoar moved to postpone its further
considera ton for week, in order
| give Senators time to examine the
evidence in the case; if he were
compelled to vote now, without
having opportunity to examine the evidence
on this and other points, he should have to
vote against the bill.
Conger said twenty-eight Senators, one
third OF the Senate, were not present to
record their votes and take their share of the
responsibility of this wonderful proceeding,
and he thought the Senate ought
not to act finally on the bill
without their presence. No measure
had been introduced in Congress since he had
been a member whose passage would SO
shock the moral sense of the people of the
North. If Fitz John Porter had shown a
1.-THE of the diligence to get into the army
when it was struggling for existence at Grove
ton that he and his friends were exertng now
to get him back into it, the result might have
been that the contest would have terminated
differently. He (NIr. Conger) would not vote
Tor any Northern man who voted for this bill
no matter how many pensions he obtained for
soldiers, or how many pension arrears acts
he voted for he could not deceive people
But he had no fear that the bill would ever
-3eGome. q lsta%rIt might pass the Senate
now, but it would never pass the House, in
this Congress or the next, because, although
the political friends OF Porter would have a
large majority in the next House. the mem
bers would have heard from the people in
the meantime, and members OF Congress
were sometimes afraid to meet their con-
stituents when they had done some unpopu-
lar thing.
Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania-Andd ema-
gogues always are.
Messrs. Mcpherson and Sewell appealed to
Mr.. Hoar to withdraw his motion to post
pone the bill for a week, but he declined.
Mr. Logan said he had supposed the Senate
would not think of voting to reverse the
action OF the court without taking time to
examine the evidence. He did not ask any
body to read what he had said, but he
thought senators ought to read the evidence
He did not believe there were five senators
who had ever read the record in this case
, The contemptuous manner in which the
facts of the case were treated by
! those determined to force this man
| back into the army and give
him a certificate of good conduct during
the war. was very remarkable and would eX-
cite much inquiry and comment throughout
the country. The unanmity with which
| the Democratic party in the Senate was vot-
ing to restore this man was suggestive of
what was to come in the future. What did
it mean? How would the country under
o,,I - In had lNali
emerged from the smoke of battle waged
against the government of their country,
and came into the Senate, had so far forgot
ten the passions of the past that they would
be ready to examine facts and weigh evidence
before voting on question of this kind but
that appeared to be mistake. The
vote on this bill showed that they were pre-
pared to restore to the army men who had
been false to the government in its struggle
against the rebellion.
Mr. Cockrell said that if any man who had
left the army and gone into the rebellion
ever applied for reinstatement he would
give him notice in advance that he could
not have his vote.
Mr. Logan said he had been speaking, not
of men who had gone INTO the rebellion but
of men who had been dismissed from the
Union army. There were 1l5 officers who
had beer dismissed under sentence like that
pronounced on Fitz John Porter, and, if he
were restored, there was no reason
why they should not be. Continuing
his remarks about prejudice governing the
action of senators on the other side, Mr..
Logan asked Mr.. Brown whether he had
ever read the testimony's in the Porter case.
SENATOR BROWNS ATTITUDE.
Mr. Brown expressed regret that Mr.
Logan should accuse senators who favored
this bill of acting from prejudice, and said
that, as he had been singled out by that sem
ator. he would say few words about his
own action upon questions growing out of
the war. He then referred to
his own conduct in voting to
restore General Grant to his position
OF General OF the army, and to his pride in