The true northerner., 1885-10-15
JOHN sHERmAN's VIEWS.
The Ohio Senator Talks Plainly on
the Suppression of Suffrage
in the South
The Democratic Question of What Are
You Going to Do About It?"
Answered.

lspecch Of Hon. John sherman, Cincinuatil
My friends, there are other questions
of national importance-questions COM
pared to which these that have been
discussing are unimportant, because
that which relates to money and prop
erty and taxes is not to be compared
to these great fundamental principles
of liberty and equal rights upon which
our government is founded. L stated
in the beginning of this campaign, as a
matter of sober fact, that in all the
Southern States, especially in the cot
ton States, the Democratic party of
those States have subverted the rights
of seven millions of colored people, en-
titled by the Constitution and laws to
equal civil and political rights.
General Chalmers says L did not
make it broad enough; that 1 did not
declare that they had disfranchised all
Republicans, whether white or black,
and that men who had served in the
Confederate army were, by the violent
methods which / will mention, deprived
of the elective franchise. L stated that
principle fairly and squarely, and fairly
declared if there was any dispute about
it would prove it by document and tes-
timony as strong as holy writ; would
pile these proofs mountain high, so that
every doubling Thomas in the land
might know that what said was true.
What was the reply given to this by
our Democratic friends? What did
Judge Hoadly say when he was called
upon to face this great indictment of
the Democratic party? He said Sher-
man was waving the bloody shirt" The
only "bloody shirt" waved was the de-
claration l now repeat-that the Dem
ocratic party of the South has disfran-
chised by fraud and violence the whole
population of the Southern States in
effect; and besides that has established
q system of ostracism and terror by
which those colored and white Repub-
ican voters dare not hold their heads
up amongst them. Where was the
"bloody shirt" in that? 1 don't see IT.
But Gov. Hoadly went on, and he
"waved the bloody shirt" He COM
menced by saying that had called at
tention-which had MOTTO the bloody
graves scattered all over the South,
and the rebel prison-pens, which he
graphically described, and all that sort
of thing. He said l tried to call atten-
tion to these things only to avoid dis
cussion of the temperance question.
When meet in argument, if my OPP
ponent don't meet me fairly and square
ly, pull him up to the bull ring and
hold him to the issue if can. / say
now that no Democrat in Hamilton
County dare take issue on this ques-
tion. These people have been deprived
of their rights. And that is not al.
They have not only been deprived OF
their rights, but these men, Democrats
of the South, are now exercising politi-
cal power based upon the six million OF
colored people scattered over the
South. There are thirty-eight mem
bers of Congress and thirty-eight
electoral votes assigned under the
Constitution to these six million of col
ored people in the South; but they
manage matters there so that these col.
ored people have no right to vote.
They're deprived of their votes
and then these Southern Demo
Gratis vote all this vast political
power themselves; and by that
means alone Grover Cleveland is now
President of the United States; and but
for this erroneous crime James CT.
Blaine would now be our President, and
John A. Logan would be our Vice
President. What answer do they make
to this Indictment? "The bloody
shirt And L don't know but the time
is coming, my friends, in this country
when the patriotic people of the North
ern States must wave the "bloody
shirt" / say to you, although my
years are passing away, and look upor
the faces of thousands of bright youne
men, say to you that the Republican
party of the United States will never
submit to the ostracism that is nov
practiced upon these six millions o.
people. And when they ask me "What
will you do about lt?" as Boss Tweed
asked of the local authorities of New
York, say we will find remedy; ant
the time is not far distant when tha
will be found. When we see Jefferson
Davis, the arch-rebel of the country
extolled in the Senate as patriot-ant
was frowned upon with great severity
when denounced him as conspiratol
and traitor-when we see the flag o
our country, under which the boys IL
blue marched to many victories, low
cred In sorrow at the death of Jak.
Thompson when we see Fitzhugh lie,
riding at the head of his Democrat,
cavalcade with the old flag of Gen
Pickett at Gettysburg, and with tn,
saddle and bride of Gen. Lee, march
ing with this rebel cavalcade through
Virginia in order to arouse the rebe
passions of that population; when W,
see men almost without number who
have been rebels representing thii
great Government of ours in various
lands, in Cabinet positions, and hold
ing high carnival IN important Offices
and Union soldiers and widows turned
out to allow these Democratic partisanl
to come in, tell you, my countrymen
the measure of my forbearance has al
most ceased to be virtue. But the,
say, "What are you going to do abou
it?" And the only answer that Gov
Hoadly could give was that of "Wha
are you going to do about it? Yor
have had power in this Government
you did not find remedy, and there
fore no such wrong exists" Well, W,
did have the power, after the war wa
-. - Al