Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1884-08-09
LOGAN's DEMOCRACY.
A Specimen OF HIS Fire.Eating Ora.
tory in His Eariy Conssc..
OIL. ,al ional Career


ON 5th of Feb. 1859 John A. Logan
made a tiercely democratic speech in
the house of representatives. The
speech bristlcd with such fierce invec-
tive and such positive declarations that
the memory of the speech has never
grown faint III subsequent political dis
clssions. AS the years have rolled OH
charges have been. made that Cen
in the house before the war.
kind. 1t docs show, however, that
lieved in the rigid enforcement of the
slavery to the territories, and that the
north was, by its encouragement Of re-
pnblicanism, Fastening the breakup of
the Union. In one place in the speech
OF 1859, Logan speaks of John Bro wn
as a "traitor, thief and scOundrel."
The following paragraph from the
speech of that time fairly illustrates its
spirit:
"Sir, are there not hundreds and hun
dreds of fugitive slaves passing through
Ohio and Illinois and the great North
western states who belong to the con-
stituency of those people here repre-
senting the southern states on this side
of the house? Why is it, If you are
good, constitution loving citizens, loyal
to the constitution, if you love the
Union, love the constitution, why is it
that you will not do justice to these
men by taking their fugitives and re-
turning them to their masters as the
constitution and the statutes OF. the
country require? Why. gentlemen, do
you not do it2 Yet you say: 'Oh, we
will take no right from you southern
men that you are entitled to under the
constitution Every fugitive that has
been arrested III Illinois or in any west
ern state-and call Illinois a western
state, for am ashamed longer to call
it northern state-has been made by
democrats. In Illinois the democrats
have all that work to do. You call it
the dirty work of the democratic party
to catch fugitive slaves for the southern
people. We are willing to perform that
dirty work. do not consider it dis
graceful to perform any work, dirty or
not dirty, which is an accordance with
the laws of the land and the cOnstitu-
ton of the country and calculated to
assist men in recovering that which is
their right, guaranteed to them under
the constitution and laws of the land.
What further do these gentlemen of
the north want who are talking here SO
much and boasting in reference to their
constitutional obligatiOns? ask you
to tell me in reference to this Harper's
Ferry foray Of John Brown. In ILL
nOis-iu the state from which came
in Chicago there was sylnpathizing
meeting held in favor OF John Brown,
and ministers of God or pretended
ministers of God attended the meeting
and passed resolutions of sympathy
with that traitor, thief and scOnndrel;
yet no republican representative in that
portion Of the state raised his voice
against such proceedings"
In reply to Haskins in another place
Logan said: GAN have to say in re-
ply is that came here as democrat
and expect to support democrat.
may have differed with gentlemen up
OH this side of the house in reference to
issues that are passed, but God knows
that have differed from the other side
from my childhood, and with that side
l will never affiliate so long as have
breath in my body" Applause.