Wichita eagle., 1889-02-13
UNDER CONSIDERATION.


of all the frauds and miscounts
and outrages of all the legal votes
cast, the contestant had, according to re-
turns Of the election managers, more than
1000 majority He disclaimed any knowl-
edge of the fact concerning Smalls' con-
nonsensical the idea than nine years after
he had been pardoned and after he had
! been returned to congress in the meantime
| the people of his own race would refuse
to vote for him because of
| these facts He Chr. "COPPER"
| ridfculed the evidence upon whlcn tae ma.
| jority relied to substantiate the charge or
| intimidation and commented sarcastlcaiiy
upon the South Carolina Democrats being
over-awed by Republican negroes. Dur
ing his discussion of the case he was IN
terrupted by Mr.. Spinola, Of New York,
who inquired whether the gentleman
would recommend colored man for
cabinet position.
Mr.. Cooper am ready to recommend
any man who is fit for place in the can.
met. am ready to recognize the right OF
| every American citizen, no matter what
may be his color. do not
recommend him on the basis
or yellow but on the basis that he is free,
competent American citizen.
| Mr.. johnson, of Indiana, said that TWEEN
ty-eight years ago the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr O'EerralD and his associates
told the southern people that they could
come up north and whip a half dozen
"Yanks,' at least, before breakfast, and
now they were holding up their hands ana
| crying out to Almighty God to protect
them from few colored men in the south.
In REPUTATION of the charge that SmalIs
had been unpopular in his district, he
quoted from the record to show that
Smalls had received (after the returning
board had robbed him of all the votes they
| had the conscience to rob him of more
votes than had been received by any OF the
southern Republicans. If Brother Smalis
had been robbed what pitiable condition
the other representatives from South Car
DINA must have been in Laughter. He
warned the majority against setting the
precedent advocated by the committee re-
port and served notice on the Democrats
| that the Republicans were here TO stay
until the principle had been established
| that every man, white or black, might
cast an honest vote and have it fairly
| counted.
Mr.. Comas. of Maryland, said that the
manufactures and industries OF white
states would not long tolerate the count
| ing of blacks in representation whereby
one white free trade vote in South Carolina
| availed as much as five white protective
votes in Kansas One white man in the
black states on this floor equalled five
white men in the north in representative
power. Its influence during four years
past had controlled the executive and
| this hall of representatives. The tri-
umphS of our white rule
| did not end with local white government.
The awakening of the moral sense OF this
country TO the necessity OF an honest
| ballot and an honest count and an honest
return of the elections was favorable to
national effort which would include the
north and south, include bribery and IN
| timation alike. Bribery, whether by
Republicans or Democrats, was bribery.
Intimidation, whether of employees
! in northern factories or OF black
peasants in southern cotton helds, was
intimidation. In this time Of peace with
! the public attention now drawn to bribery
and intimidation alike, when purity OF
| election was not a sectional question, the
power in the constitution should be ap-
piled and congress should now by law
make and alter the regulations OF
states north and south by
general federal laws to prevent
! bribery aud intimidation alike and to Sc
! cure an honest count and return Of mem
| bers OF legislatures and in congress. In
the early days of the war the border states
with loyal sentiment dominant in white
sections, turned the tide in favor of the
union SO the border states today where
! the white sections We're the Republican
| stronghOlds, might once more turn the
scale in favor of constitutional laws to
afford the nation pure congressional cleo
tions, free alike from bribery and intlml-
| dation.
Mr.. Cultivate, of Ohio, said that the
position taken by the gentleman on the
other side that the Seventh district OF
South Carolina had been dedicated to the
Republican party because it contained
! more negroes than other districts con-
hot ann Il
can party had proprietary interest in the
vote of the colored man. II that assertion
were true it was an admission that the
| Republicans had elected their president by
| negro votes. 1t was an admission that
| Ohio would be Democratic state were it
not for the negro voters who
had the balance of power IN
the state. AS the admission was
made that the Republican party owed its
ascendancy TO the negro vote OF the north
he suggested that there was a proper Oc-
casion for the Republican party to recog-
niZe that vote and he further suggested
that the gentlemen on the other side unite
in recommending TO President Harrison
Robert Smalls for "a position in his cabl-
net He then analysed the evidence in the
case, commenting upon it and drawing
| from it the deduction the conteStee was
entitled to retain his seat on the hoor.
The contestant, Mr. Smalls, was then
accorded the floor to advocate his own
claim.
He had supposed, he said, that the case
was to be tried upon the evidence taken,
but he found that he was placed upon trial
for an act said to have been committed in
1873 in South Carolina. 1t was true he
had been arrested in 1877 charged By the
Democrats of receiving bride in 1876. He
was as innocent OF that charge as the gen
tleman who now presided over the delib-
erations of the house (Mr. McCreary); he
| was as innocent OF the charge as a babe
unborn He had been convicted and had
appealed to the United States supreme
court and the appeal had been dOcketed.
| Pending the appeal Governor Simpson,
without request from him, directly or in
directly, had granted him pardon. He
had denounced Governor Simpson for
granting pardon pending an appeal to
the supreme court. Governor Simpson
had appointed him captain OF militia for
| meritorious service. The governor would
hardly think that receiving a bride was
"neritorious service. :"
Reviewing the case he commented on the
fact that though in South Carolina every
Judge was Democrat every prosecuting
officer was Democrat. every constable
! was Democrat, not a man had been
brought to court for all this bulldoZing
and intimidation which had been charged.
Let gentlemen on the other side examine
the record and if they came to the couelu-
sion that he had not been honestly and
squarely elected to this house let them be
| honest in their convictions and vote
against him. He would not himself take
up the testimony, because he was not d
LAWYER. and he thanked God sometimes
that he was not. for now he could agree
upon something. [Laughter.l 1t was said
that he was an unpopular man and that
his vote had fallen OFT No vote had fallen
ba of crprriuc II in r.