The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-10-21
BLAINE'S RECONSTRUCTION

llb ubuhl llr liAbFs n - -
BLAINE'S RECONSTRUCTION
INACCURATE STATE
MENT OF THE HISTORY
OF the Most NefarIOuS and Infa-
nous Legislation Known 10
the English spenhi ing
People.
Mr.. Blaine, in his speech in Phi,a-
delphia recently, said: One OF the
honorable speakers who preceded me
referred to the question which In
many OF our preceding years has been
debated as the Southern question, and
which / grieve to say the X publican
party has been somewhat shamed out
of the discussion Of by unworthy in
fluences. beg to present one or two
ideas upon that question. / do it the
more readily because l am here as the
guest OF the young Republicans, and
want to speak of some facts that au-
tedate their experience. One OF the
most common accusations is that the
Repub lean party got 10 more taan 1t
deserved for forcing negro suffrage on
the Sonth. Now l stand here 10 deny,
and call all men beyond 30 Yeas OF
age to at est what say, and special
ly call uton my friend with whom !
served years in Congress Judge Kelly
to attet the accuracy OF my narrative,
When the Rspub lean party ap-
preached the question OF recon-
struction there was not one man
in 10000 that then thought
of forcing suffrage upon the colored
men OF the South. They practically
said you have very large number OF
men without education suddenly made
free; they need education, they need
experience, they need training, and
we will readmit you into the Union
and leave that QUESTION for you to
solve by yourself. And in that spirit
snd to that end We submitted to the
States the fourteenth amendment to
the Constitulion. i think am cor
rect 10 saying that we voted to briog
Tennessee in upon telegraphic inf)r-
nation. That reconstruction bill said
that hereafter, instead OF being c.ti-
zens OF the United States because we
are citiz sns OF some individual State,
we shall be citizens OF the United
States, and In virtue of that fact be
citizens OF any State in which we may
choose to reside. In the next place
we paid, here is a great debt incurred
in saving the Union, aud we ought
not 10 leave that debt sui ject to the
adverse mej -rity in Congress. And,
therefore, lis eaCrednesH, and lis obli-
CATION to pay Il was incorporated in
the amendment. And beyond that
we said here are thousands and tens
OF thousands OF men who have been
abused and bleeding, and tens OF
thousands OF others who went down
to death, and their widows and or
| phans must be taken care Of, and the
obligation to pay pensions was en-
bodied in that amendment. And this
was also embodisd: That the active
men in the Iebsllion should not be
permitted to participate officially in
the government OF the United States
until their disabilities were removed
by a two-thirds vote. A provision was
put in: "You shall regulate your own
suffrage" but on this condition, that ii
you exclude any number of men from
the right to vote you shall cut down
your representation In Congress In
the same proportion IS you carry on
that exclusion. We said to the South
you shall come in under these term7.
We no longer submit to the old rule
which Fl at made Chattels OF men and
then said three fifths of these chattels
shall be represented In Congress,
TIE rebels, their hands still
dripping in the blood of
Union men, said we shall not be- con-
teut with the old three-fiIths repre-
sentstion. We want to exclude the
colored men altogether from partiCi-
patton In suffrage and we want to
count them 10 our representation, and
thus get the whole hve-tifths of
our representation. 1t was then that
the Republican party said to the white
men OF the South, If you will 90 with
Us to reconstruct the Union all will DO
we'll. If you reject those terms we
will call upon the whole body Of peo.
PIE in the South, aud the loyal co'ored
man, who in the judgment Of the Re-
publican Congress wss better voter
than any reconstructed rebel who
would not consent TO any form OF gov
eminent. Applause We forced that
issue; under that reconstruction act
they came in, hut as soon ss they got
possession they trampled on every.
thing to which they had sgreed, and
said, you can endow these men with
suffrage, but we will show you that
they cannot exercise 1t, and
flom that time TO this they have
put thirty.five fraudulent Repre-.
sentStives in almost every Con
gress since they got control, Al
first they said We will not have any
colored representatives here, No,
they didn't say that at all they said
eve won't have no niggers here
then they said: 1--WE won't have any
white men that come from the North,
50 that the carpetbaggers all had u
leave. In three of the )uthern States
the majority Of population is on the
part OF the colored vote, and in many
districts of the rest the coloIed mar
largely outvotes them II he were
allowed to vote. was rash enough
faw weeks ago, in public speech II
Maine, to point out that the Northern
workingman was already, and would
be still more, day after day and yea
after year, thrown into competition
and flo lded with 10000 of coloreC
men in the South; the competition
sgaiust white labor WAS going TO bI
ruiuous.
Railroad Consolidation.