Morning journal and courier., 1886-06-26
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-.

l Senate took up the Fitz John Porter bill and MT. Logan took the floor in opposition. Mir. Logan opened his speech by objecting to the bill on constitutional point on the ground that Congress had no power to name per son whom the President should appoint to ! an office. He disclaimed any prejudice I against General Porter, but the friends of Porter had placed the case before the coun- try in one-sided manner and on that letters ! had been obtained from distinguished men expressing views of the case favorable to Porter.
 MT. Manderson interposed to suggest-in l line of MT. Logan's argument-the case of President increasing the number of judges, say in New Jersey, in order to reappoint judge who had been impeached and dis missed for cause.
 MT. Logan said that would be case pre- cisely on all fours with this. He did not ex- pect his words would have much weight in the Senate, for he always noticed that when the Senate was determined to do a thing it turned deaf ear to everything else that in- terfered with it's purpose. This not a trial of Fitz John Porter. Porter had been tried and condemned. This was a trial of Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield and of many brave and distinguished officers of the army. Mir. Logan asserted that Porter was the cause of the defeat at first Bull Run be- cause he persuaded General Patterson to re- treat from Winchester with thirty thousand men. In support of this he had read ex-
 tracts from his 0ogan's) book, 'sThe Great
 Conspiracy" He denied that he was pe1se-
 cutting Porter and asserted that he was de-
 lending Lincoln. He said the southern
 Senators knew nothing of the case
 except what they had read and they come
 here and vote without reference to the facts out of sympathy for Porter Every
 man restored by Congress to the army after
 bellion had found Republicans in Congress
 to aid them. The prophecies of a few ears
 ago were coming true. The legislation of
 the war was being reversed every day and
 by Republican votes. MT. Logan enter
 ed into an elaborate analysis of the military
 situation in August, 1862, to show that Fitz
 John Porter had not done his duty and had
 been treacherous to his commanding officer
 and to his country, and went over the
 ground so often before the subject of com
 Ment by opponents of Porter. Respecting
 the darkness of the night MT. Logan had
 never heard of night being so dark that
 the army of the Tennessee under Grant
 would not march.
 MT. Sewell asked MT. Logan whether he could deny that in order to carry out Gene
 ral Pope's order General Porter would have
 to fight twenty-five thousand men.
 General Logan did deny it, saying that all of Longstreet's army except one division was fighting Pope. Porter would have to fight six thousand men.
 MT. Sewell asked if Mr. Logan would go to the country with the statement that the re- port of Generals Schofeld, Terry and Getty was deliberate falsehood.
 MT. Logan expressed his willingness to go before the country with the assertion that the statement of the board was untrue. Not that the gentlemen Intentionally falsihed but their statement was not sustained by the record. He ridiculed the idea of Porter's martydom and said the martyrs were the men who were treacherous to the Union. He read 8 telegram which he said Mcclellan sent to the President on August 29, 1862, at 2:45 p. m. after the battle had been raging about seven hours and after Mcclellan had been ordered time and time again to send Franklin to the aid Of Pope. This telegram among other things said: "One of two courses should be adopt ed: Ito concentrate all available force, to open communication with Pope, 2-to leave Pope to get out of his own scrape." Was not that beautiful telegram for man to send at that hour when 8 battle had been raging for seven hours when he had been repeatedly ordered to send aid to Pope? That was the way Pope was treated. Mir. Logan was justified in saying there was 8 conspiracy against that man not to allow him l to win 8 battle and Fitz John Porter was part of it. MT. Logan had pride in the ar my and before he would drag in the dust the name of Abraham Lincoln for the sake of | this criminal he would let his tongue and his l arm become palsied (applause in the gall l leries) Within the last few days he said a man who above all others ought not to have ] ored bones, the name of the greatest Sec l retary of War that this country l had produced, and they had been ! beslimed and besmirched by the vi1est slan- ! ders. So the men who protected this gov ernment were to be vilifed while if anybody
 stood up to defend the upholders of the Union he is called a prosecutor. The Union men were now the men to be kicked and | enough Republicans were found to vote with | Democrats under the Confederate flag against | their own flag. Any man who wanted to fight | under that flag in this chamber had the right. MT. Logan meant this, of course, only in | political sense-in the sense of @ political 1 fight, but he did mean in that sense. While Republicans here were helping Democrats to | pass bills like this there were bills giving | pitiful little pensions of $5 to $15 month to
 disabled soldiers that were being vetoed by the President For fighting for the flag, for
 standing up in time of war, for being ready | to die that the Union might live, the heavy
 hand of the chief executive fell upon these
 poor soldiers Yet Republican Senators
 were willing to vote to give s3,OOO to
 man who was traitor to ms ms paid literally by the United States they had l only to be treacherous when they should be 1 true. ''If you are true when you might be | treacherous you are vetoed. That" said | MT. Logan, ls strange tnlng to take place
 in this country"
 When Senator Logan finished his speech
 Mr. Teller moved an amendment to appoint General Alfred Pleasanton on the army re-
 tired list. This led to considerable debate,
 after which the amendment was rejected; 19
 to 29.
 MT. Plumb offered an amendment to
 place Mrs. Hunters name the pension
 books at $50 per month; lost, 19 to go.
 MT. Logan offered an amendment to place
 on the retired list every volunteer officer who
 received wounds producing total disability
 lost, IS to 29.
 MT. Blair offered an amendment provid-
 ing that rejected pension claims may be talk
 en to United States courts with the privilege
 of jury trial. This amendment would re-
 lieve Congress of many bills for private re-
 lief. After debate MT. Blair withdrew his l amendment.
 | MT, Logan offered an amendment proYid-