The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1888-02-05
THE HOUSE ADJOURNS WITHOUT
REACHING A VOTE.
Two Democrats Speak For the Con.
testee.
Bourke Cochran, OF New York, Airs His
EIoquence and His Devotion TO this
Country and Its Flag.

WASHINGTON, February 4.-Mr. Cum
| ther, of Wisconsin, presented the petit
| ton of $500 residents of the District of
Columbia against the enactment of pro-
| hibitory laws for the District. Referred.
THE LowERY-wHITE CASE.
The House then resumed the consider
alton of the Lowery- White contested
election case.
Mr.. Moore, of Texas, a majority mem
| Der of the Committee ON Elections. spoke
briefly in support of the majority resolu-
ton, and contended that the contestee
had failed utterly to make proof of his
naturalization.
Mr.. O'Farrell, of Virginia, took the
same ground.
FOR THE CoNTEsTEE.
Mr. RoweIl of Illinois, presented the case
of the contestee and argued that he had
completely proved his citizenship. He
cited various decisions of the Supreme
Court and other United States Courts to
the effect that certificate of naturaliza-
ton was against all the world, a iudg
ment of citizenship and could not be in
validated by the failure of clerk to
perform his ministerial duty. There
were 80, 900 men III Chicago to-day ex-
actly in the same position as White. The
| records were burned, their papers were
burned, their witnesses were dead. More
than one member of the House, more
than a hundred men occupying positions
were in precisely the same position. and
yet gentlemen said that it was dangerous
to invoke parole evidence. Why men
were hanged on parole evidence. Was
the popular willF
1t was said that that contestee was un-
| worthy of belief on account of some ut
| terances upon the street. ''Why," said
he, eff we all had the brand of liar put
on our brows because we sometimes make
mistakes in what we say on the stump,
| how many of us, who talk at all, would
| go out of the House with the word liar
written across our foreheads? Laughter
and applause.l
| BoURKE COCKRAN'S SPEECH.
Mr.. Cochran, of New York Demo
craft, was yielded fifteen minutes by
| Rowell, and as he rose in the centre aisle
| to speak for the contestee he was watch
| ed by every eye and intently listened to.
| He said that in discussing question of
general public policy, one that involved
. 81,
| was not bound by the technical rules
| which were prescribed for the regula-
| tion of disputes between citizens when
compelled to submit their differences tC
the tribunals organized for the purpose
of settling them. The House was ON a
| broader basis. 1t had to inquire whether
the people of the Twelfth Indiana Dis
triot had lawfully expressed their choice
The question wSss whether White was
eligible to the seat to which he had un
doubtedly been elected. He Cochran
did not believe that there was any fail
question of law before the House. Ht
did not regard the record as anything
but proof of judgment. Judgment was
an act of court, which stood Independent
of anything the clerk might do. In thi!
case there was no record of what tn
court had done, and the House was driver
to an inquiry into facts. White stoo
before the House upon his oath declar
ing that in 1865 he went before the cour
in Allen County, Indiana, accompanie
by witnesses, and complied with all tn
provisions of the law, and that the cei
him. Holding the views he (Cocbrar
did, there was nothing left for him to d,
eide but whether he would believe til
sworn statement of member of til
House, corroborated by a characte
against which not one word had bee
uttered in this debate. Applause, Ne
on the Democratic side claimed to rel
resent popular sovereignty in the fulle'
meaning of the word. They elaine
that to their party belonged the misSio
of extending the power of the people ;
the ballot box. So far as the people
the Twelfth Indiana District could speaI
they had declared their wish, their vii
u their command, that White should
their representative. Applause. Again
this command of the people the Cor
mittee ON Elections had advanced
number of circumstances which it W;
said, tended to impeach the accuracy
White. He believed that White w
naturalized in Indiana or that he h;
committed perjury. He was a lawf
member of the House of Representativ
or his place was at the bar of Grimm
st court on the charge of perjury. ]
must look to the character of the l,1. ),
upon whose statement he proposed
base his action. This man came befo
the House with thirty years of honorat
life to give weight to his statement,
came here with a history which W
=. part of the history of his country.
had held important offices, he had
charged the duties of citizenship. he b
} shed his blood for his country Eapplaus
and his (Cockran'sl voice would not c,
vote which would make the wounds
received IN honorable service bic
afresh by reason of the ingrs
tude of his associates. Appiaus
1t would rather be his pride, as
hoped it would be in his power, to cas-
vote to show that he who risked his
in defense of this land merited a rev;
which served him like an armor.