The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-10-17
Senator Frye on Butler.

From speech made at Worcester Monday night.l
I can't abuse Butler. In,the first place If 1
wished to do SO land do mott would not abuse
him. Why, my friends, the Democratic ora
tors. the Democratic party, during the last 20
years have used up every English vituperative
word that ever was coined in abusing this
same man. [Applauss.l Then there are lots
of things about General Butler that like. 1
know him we'll. In the main question of poll
cy, while he was Republican he and greed.
Why then should abuse him to-day because
he las turned around and become Demo-
crat? 1t is not abuse, either, which will de-
feat General Butler 1t was abuse that made
him governor of this State. know that But
Ter is the issue, the al-exciting, arousing, dis
turbing ISSUE Now, what have l against
General Butler in this conf ct? have SO
much against him that, if I lived in Massachu-
sets and knew that that hand was going to
drop ballot into the box for General Butler,
l would cut it off. [Applause.l General
Butler had suspicion that sonnet hing
was wrong at Tewksbury, mind you, nothing
but a suspicion that something was
wrong. He is criminal lawyer, and suppose
A0 ndu pcOh % phOoCoutA6 OhuOOh VI ehlo CAty
and had seen Mr.. Rice hers deliberately take
out pistsl and shoot my friend, Bates, would
he have instantly hung Mr.. Rice, or put him
in the State prison, and said that he was a
murderer. No, the coroner would have been
summoned, and render ed his decision, the
matter would have been presented to the grand
jury, the eese tried in open court, and then,
after every opportunity had been given the
culprit By the State to defend himself, after
there had been argument and appeal, the pun
ishment might have been justly inflicted. Now
see the care for one man. Butler was aot
prosecuting officer, but he was governor OF this
commonwealth of 100000 people, with his
tory and record uuequalled by any State in
the United States and he suspected something
wrong in Tewksbury. Did he summon a coro-
ner where the honor of this great State was at
tackled? Did he summon a grand jury and a
petit jury? No. Did he summon counsel for
the State? No. He charged at once directly
upon this great State the foulest, gailtiest,
most loathsome, inhuman crimes that ever
were committed by any State or any country in
all the history OF the barbaric and dark ages of
this earth. Did he defend the State? No. He
appeared as voluntary attorney against the
State. Day after day, week after week, he
searched the back alleys and the slums OF this
city for witnesses who should perjure them
selves against the name aud fame of this good
old Commonwealth, and in the mouths OF
tramps and vagrants and harlots, he says he
established the fact that Massachusetts starved
her paupers, that she tanned their skins, that
she killed her little babies WHAT an indict-
lnent against an old State like Massachusetts,,
where the wealth is beyond the wealth of any
other State in the Uuion, $500 to every man,
woman and child The Governor of the
State, to whom you had entrusted its honor,
declared openly, boldly, in the press OF the
whole wide world, that the inf tmous charge
was proven, though he knew that not single
item of the charge was proven, and though II
he had been attorney general, and mad Deen
prosecuting one man, he would not nave &C.
cepted verdict of guilty on such evidence as
he accepted in that case. What mas ne done?
am an outsider, aud want TO tell you how
| Re look at it, Centuries ago there was born in
| Massachusetts, the civilization OF the Bible and
| the public school, Your civilization grew and
| prospered; you and your great orators, your
| great poets, your great historians, your great
| governors A mighty host! You grew proud
| and waxed fat. Sometimes you were super
| clious, and sometimes you were little con-
ceitsd, too You thought you were little bet.
| ter than any OF the rest Of as, aud the most of
us thought you were, too. That was what Mas
sachusetts was year ago-the most magni-
| hcent cornerstone of the whole. There is not
| Why, you know that for 80 years the South has
hates holy water. How long do you suppose il
will be bsfore Senator HoAr hears the last OF
this internal old pamphiet? Every time a
measure comes before the Senate, some South.
ern senator will read an extract from some har-