Arizona weekly citizen., 1884-03-22

| A S--Cu. Iuo BhlterleS were
 crowded. There was unusual interest.
 Mir. Henderson, of Nebraska, spoke at
 length, eloquently, earnestly. In the
 course of his speech he said the case
 agaIust Porter must be strong when
 Abraham Lincoln, who had the kindest heart that ever beat In human breast.
 said, "l tell you Porter is guilty aud
 ought to Do shot' As he sat down there
 was an outburst Of applause. Senator
 Logan followed with a lengthy argu-
 ment He said the case ought to be considered fairly and impartially. He
 said:
 On one side of the chamber We find a solid vote in favor of the bill, and. wish-
 out desiring to CT ticise the vote of any
 one, hope l may be pardoned for mak-
 Ing this remark: It IS perfectly natural
 That those who engaged In tue rebellion | against the government. when they fail
 f suecess and hav- themselves been
 pardosed, should, without an examina- ton of the evidence, sylJpathiZe with
 those who were dismisseS eSfrom the ser vice of the United States during the
 war. Because" they say, i've have 1 been forgiven, and therefore will forgive | everybody else, no matter whether crim- | inais or not That sympathy, let me | say, ought not 10 go to the extent of violating the great principle that under | lies the very structure Of armies, their | discipline and organization.
 The Senator then reviewed at length ! the military aspects Of the case. and the ! gravity of the crime of disobedience of orders by any officer. He cOntended l that Porter never intended to obey the
 orders sent him by General Pope. ''I | charge" cried the speaker, "I charge | and defy contradiction, that Fitz-JOhn | Porter was the cause of the loss of the
 first iattle of Bull Run, and that he re- | fused to fight in the second" Applause
 in the galleries.l
 He claimed it was ridiculous for
 Senator's to defend Porter for not
 marching because It was night. He
 said:
 I moved IO,O00 men at night, I moved them in the rain, where ,Se had to feel | our way. I crossed the Mis7issippj river l at daylight, marched 2 ra les. fought | battle that day, and, | believed, saved 1T. l Take the marches At the winding up of the WAT; take the marches of Sherid n, | of Crook; take the marches of inc fifth | corps that Fitz John r. rter commauded | and dId not command to fight at the | second battle of Bull Run. That corps, | after Porter was dismissed. marched
 five days and five nights necessarily, anu | fought night and day, and yet the l Senator would excnsa this man because
 ne did not try 70 obey Gn order to march | because 1t was night.
 Mir. Logan cited the famous night
 marches of anclent history and asked il
 an American soldier would aimi. that
 he could not do what foreigners had ione.
 "In the name o. heaven" be said, and all that Is made, will Americans claim they cannot perform that which other men can do: If tue American Senate can excuse an American officer from l marching nine miles on hard road. ii | will do that hich will bring the flush | 50 the cheek of every soldier. 1 am | charged with following this man. iol l low Do man: I have had my honest con | vlchors, and by my cOnvlcllOLs l will | stand. 1T l was the only man Tn tue | country to def nd the name of Lincoln. | Garfield and Pope, and of the officers
 who condemned this man Porter, solitary
 and alone would I stand here IL | defense Of right against the man who l tried 10 destroy the reputation of these
 men in order to build up one he does
 not deserve for himself. Reference has
 been made to the letter General Grant
 wrote on the case. I served with Grant three years. I went into the army almost at the same time he did. 1 have knOwG
 hIm a great many years. l would not say one word that would depr,ve him Of
 the great reputation he has justly won
 before the American people. But, as a
 lawyer, l do not think General jrant
 can be styled first-class. The point ir
 this letter was that Porter was guilty 1T
 there was battle on the 29th Of August"
 He contended there was battle on
 that day and quoted from the rep, r.s of the Confederate commanders to supp rt his position. At this point Mr. Sewel
 interrupted Mir. Logan with The remark that he dld not deny there WAS fi.hting on that day-one isolated brigade was ID action. To this the Senator answered:
 "Yes, one isCiated brigade commanded by Porter did not fight g. all. There
 was nothing in evidence showing that Porter gave an order tO engage Iu the battle or in a sklrmish that day. 10 claim that man must not fight because he expects to be whipped is something new ia military science. | nave learned that is the idea Of some gentlemen siuce l came to tuis senate chamber, tut never learned it duri-g my little experI- l egce in tine army"
 The Senator then went iato the details i of the engagement ot the 29th of August | He turned to the Democratic side and | said:
 "0t course 1t will have no effect, but l say to you that your action in tue mat 1 ter will prevent the people from having | confidence that you would administer | the affairs of this government fairly | This does not mean Eitz John Porter alone. It means breaking down of the ! barrier b tween the loyal meu aud | those who failed so far as the officers of the army are concerned. It means the opening Of the d or of the retired list to men who will follow in Porter's wake The people do not believe in your com ing here to regulate matters arising out of the war. I am talking truth, as the people will speak it to you hereafter Let not your feelings go that far. If they do, tell you more years tban you think will pass over your heads before you have the confidence of the Ameri- can people. My friends on this side of the chamber turning to the republicans who support the bill are entitled to their views. I do not wish you to change , unless you so desire. I say you open l the doors of danger If you pass this