St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-17
and we therefore seek to efface this blot upon
the fair fame of our country.

the fair fame OF our country.
Mr.. CCTCHEoy
opposed the bill. He said congress had no
right to reverse the findings Of a court-mar-
tlaI. Furthermore, he thought the verdict
a just one. He quoted from the evidence
OF gentleman who had heard Porter say
Oh the evening sof Aug. 26, 1862, that he
wsuld not put his corps into battle for
such d fool as Pope" He attributed
Grants change of opinion to magnanimity.
In conclusion Mr.. Cutcheon said:
Though the thousand slain who fell by rea-
son OF Porter's blind prejudice, his unfaith-
1ulnes TO bis country's trust, and his insubor-
olnatlon TO his superiors that the government
had placed over him were 10 come forth from
their resting place on yonder heights of Ar
hngton and file In ghastly procession before
you, and with the strong lips of death pro-
nounce him guilty Of their sacrifice and plead
"trumpet-tongued against the damnation of
their taking Of, this bill would still be
passed. The fiat has gone forth that Porter
must be vindicated. You may pass this bill.
You may affix the stigma of imbecIlity or ma
lignity to the court that tried him. You may
restore him to the rolls of that army made
illustrious by deeds of immortal valor and
purest patriotism. You may elevate him
over the heads of old, gray-haired federal
officers who never swerved from the line of
patriotic devotion and loyal obedience. You
may erase the word guilty where Garfield
wrote it and inscribe in its place the words
mot guilty" Where Lincoln wrote zap
proved" you may wipe out the work and
write over it ''disapproved," but it is
BEYOND YOUR POWER
to yindicate Fitz-John Porter. This is not
the forum. nor are those the voices that have
power TO change the verdict of history. In
the light Of the study ana analysis OF the evil
dence I'm this case, / see as In vision the
events Of that long, sultry August afternoon
the dusty. great columns of the enemy
pressing eagerly down across Porter's front
on the worn out aud exhausted battalions OF
the Union army. / hear the summons OF the
cannon that Longstreet heard calling Porter
TO the glorious fray for the cause or Union,
liberty and law. / see the lines reeling and
wavering with the ever-fuctuating tide of
battle. / hear the shrill, far-reaching yell Of
the enemy as they sweep down on our lines,
aud the old glory of the Union goes down be-
fore the resistless tide. 1t would seem as If
every drop of blood in Porter's veins, every
sentiment of honor, truth and loyalty should
have impelled him with resistless power TO
the field of battle. But no; in listless ease.
careless of the fate of his commander, bis
comrades and his country, he listens to the
receding roar of the conflict and proposes TO
retire 10 Manassas without lifting hand or
foot for their rescue.
At the conclusion of Mr. Cutcheon's re-
marks the house took recess till o'clock.
In the evening the bill was again taken
up and Mr.. Hanback, of Kansas promised
his speech with the declaration that the
Democratic party had never built school
houses and never would. In the 1y-wheel
of progress, it had ever been an air-brake
with pan-electric attachments. 1t was not
strange. therefore, that it would cast a
solid column of votes in favor of one of the
most pronounced failures of the war; The
committee then rose and the house ad-
journed.