Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-07-10
LOGAN's DEMOCRACY.
A Specimen of His Fire-Eating orato-
ry in His Early Congressional
Career.

WASHINGTON, June 2O.-Upon the
9TH of February, 1859, John A. Logan
made a iercely Democratic speech in
the House Of Representatives. The
speech bristled with such fierce invec-
tive and such positive declarations that
the memory of the speech has never
grown faint in subsequent political dis
cusslons. AS the years have rolled on
charges have been made that Gen.
Logan made disloyal speeches
in the House before the war. But the
record shows nothing of this kind. 1t
does show, however, that Logan was
an ultra Democrat, who believed IN
the rigid enforcement of the Fugitive
Slave law, the extension of slavery to
the Territories and that the North
was, by Its encouragement of Repub-
Ecanism, fastening the breakup of
the Union. In one place in the speech
of 1859 Logan speaks of John Brown
as "trator, thief and scoundrel."
The following paragraph from the
speech of that time fairly illustrates its
spirit:
"Sir, are there not hundreds and
hundreds of fugitive slaves passing
through Ohio and Illinois and the
great Northwestern States who belong
to the constituency of those people
here representing 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 Constitu.
tion, why is it that you will not do
justice to these men by taking their
masters as the Constitution and the
statutes of the country require? Why,
gentlemen, do you not do it? Yet
you say: On, we will take no right
from you Southern men that you are
entitled to under the Constitution.
Every fugitive that has been arrested
in Illinois or in any Western State
and I call Illinois Western State,
for I am ashamed longer to call it a
Northern State-has been made bv
Democrats. In Illinois the Demo-
Gratis 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
preform that dirty work. I do not
consider it disgraceful to preform any
work, dirty or not dirty, which is in
accordance with the laws of the land
and calculated to assist men in recov
ering that which is their right, guar.
anteed 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 Ferry foray of John Brown
In nlinois-in the State from which ]
come-in Chicago there was sympa.
thizing meeting held in favor of John
Brown, and ministers of God attended
the meeting and passed resolutions OF
sympathy with that traitor, thief and
scoundrel; yet no Republican repre-
sentative in that portion of the State
raised his voice against such proceed
ings."
In reply to Haskins in another place
Logan said: 'All have to say in re-
ply is that I came here as Democrat
and I expect to support Democrat
I may have differed with gentlemen
upon this side of the house in refer
ence to issues that are passed, but Goo
knows that have differed from tht
other side from my childhood, ane
with that side | will never affiliate 81
long as have breath in my body
"Applause."