The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-23

teenth amendment, setting your freedom in the
constitution and the fourteenth amendment
| and the fifteenth, that gave you the right
/ to vote, and l don't know whether we could
get another through or not-whether we
could get enough States to vote for It,
L am sorry some of my Democratic friends
| are not here to pledge the next Democratic Leg
lslature OF Indiana to do it If 1t is necessary
Loud laughter. But perhaps as colored
! friend OF mine said the other night when 1 was
taking to him, and he was making some objec-
| lions to Democrats having part in this meet
ing IF they were very mad about the decision
OF the Supreme Court in reference to the civil
rights bill, they had better go and get up their
| own meeting" Laughter and appause.l Now,
! as nave sald the question for cQnsi Iteration
Will De whether the oommon-law right belong
Ing to you as citizen viii not really give you
all the cfv1lrghts bill does. If it will not, and
your rlgnts are infrlnged upon, and your free
uom as citizens IN any way is inGerferred with,
then the question will be whether we can get
another amendment through, and you will find
the Republican party ready to do it, loud ap-
plause.] And if we cannot get it through by an
amendment to the constitution of the United
States, then the question will be whether the
states VIII not enact statute that will secure
IL to you. Y on have these things to think about.
Now my fellOw-citiZens, have tried TO eX-
plain TO you what was involved in this decision
20 make IL seem to you as it seems TO me. not so
serious as many of you think not SO w1de-reach-
ing In its effects; that you still protected
by the amendment against any unfrendly State
legislation, aud the gradual disappearance of
these old prejudices nave made some of this
legislation unnecessary, and if some still remains
and others who have been you friends
TO do the utmost to bring it about. lApplause.]
1hese things regulate themselves a great deal.
remember the time when a colored man or
woman could not enter a street car in the city of
Washington, but have seen with my own eyes,
since have been there senator of the United
States rise from his seat in crowded street car
and give it to d coiored woman,
Major J. W. Gordon was called for, and made
brief speech.
MAJOR GoRDoNs REMARKS.
He thought he saw in Senator Harrison's ar
gumen5 ample ground upon which all could
plant themselves, and that if any of the rights
OF the colored man are abridged in the State
courts they may still find redress by taking them
up to the Supreme Court OF the United States.
The Major said that he had not come to make
speech himself, but rather to listen to those
great men. Thomas A. Hendricks, Joseph E. Nc
Donald and William III. English, who had done
so much for the colored man in the last thirty
years those grand apostles of freedom who had
accomplished the emancipation of the black
man, and ike Moses, led HIM out of Egypt, out
OF the land OF bondage, across the Red sea, and
held up the braZen serpent before him in the
wilderness. II came here" said the Major, "to
hear those modest statesmen and patriots say
gave you the franchise, 1 gave you all your
rights, and gave your children equal OPP
pOrtunity with white children for education
in the public schools" He recalled to mind that
MIR. English once said, aft every tree in Kansas
was slave, and every twig lash to whip them
nome, would vote Kansas in" and that Mr..
Hendricks had opposed the rights of the negro
In every State and national measure Continu-
ing his vein, he said: 81 fancy you will spit upon
the graves of Sumner, Greeley and Giddings,
and say, Come, Hendricks. darling of liberty
and to Mcdonald, You're little heavy, but
L Will dandle you GU my knee But, no; you will
not be so deceived. When it comes TO that this
will be the devils world and not Gods world.
But, as l said, did not come here to speak If
had, should remind you of what Hendricks
said of colored soldiers. Think said he of the
disgrace, the infany of calling black men to
HVhT no haf or .louo
to speak, hut TO pay my respects to these great
apostles of liberty in the Democratic party.
Perhaps you will give them a star to shine in
their crown of glory. If you do, 1t will be the
dog star"
Mr.. PEBBLES REMARKS.
Mr.. Peelle was greeted heartily as he came
forward He said he was no stranger to audi
enees of cOlored men, and few if any in this
county had addressed them oftener than he had.
He said that we need not hastily conclude that
the civirights bill conferred any rights to the
people not already otherwise secured to them or
by its abrogation that any of those rights had
been lost. The remedy for any wrongs is rele-
gated to the State courts where it was for the
white man before and where it is for both the
colored man and the white man to-day. He
thought no one need fear any harm to the rights
or liberties of the colored man to come from the
action of the Supreme Court of the United States
composed as it was of pure jurists and upright
judges.
General Coburn was next called for, and
spoke briefly but warmly his view of the case
being entirely different from that of the proceed
ing speakers.
GENERAL coBURN's SPEECH.
The General was introduced one of the con-
gressmen who had voted for the civilrights bill.
He said that the act was not made for the terri
tory north of the Ohio river, but that bloody
and benighted territory south of the Ohio-for
u m.
Carolina. for all the Southern States where the
Ku-klux, those deadly night-riders, once flour
ished and terrorized colored men, and where
the men still live who made that bill necessity.
He felt sad thinking over those things and that,
perhaps the necessity for the law was not yet
wholly past But the decision has been made,
and we must submit to it like men, though no
Sneaker soe He feared that the Sa"" c .oI
ored man, with the strong
Of the government Withdrawn from
him would again suffer. He would suffer
by neglect as the State would stand still and
not protect him, she does the white citizen, by
her laws. He thought that decision would bear
review, and said the lawyers should take it up
and see if it will bear a humane construction of
the law. To say that the common law will pro-
tect the citizen, black white, is true north of
the OHIO, but what kind of a common-right law
would a colored man have in Kentucky, Tonnes
see, Georgia, or South Carolina2 Could a col
ored man and his wife ride in Pullman
there? Would they feed in dining-room or he
driven into kitchen, and sent above to the
gods gallery at the theater2 And if he tries to
assert his common-law right in the Southern
States the case is decided against him before it's
merits are heard He could say, with Mr.. Peele.
if nothing can be done with this constitu-
tional amendment, if it isn't long enough
and broad enough, in Gods name let us have
one that will be. He said he had been through
the Southern States with committees, and while
black men here were secure in their rights,
there were great sections in this country where
the black man needs protection and where he
must have IT,
Mr.. Enos B. Reed read poem called '"rhe
Freedmans Plant"
Elder Sweres then made speech full of apt
illustrations and neat points, but totally uDre-
portable He is an inimitable story teller, and
kept the house in r0ars of laughter. He gave
some cold facts. however, that had little merr-
ment in them, describing hotel accommodations
for colored people in the South, and black and
white divisions at southern depOts and on South