Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-24

| States. He asserted that whatever crimes
were committed in that section were mainly
the work of the negroes. Senator Hoar
made forcible reply to these assertions.
WASHINGTON, February 2S.-The Sen
ate to-day resumed consideration of the
resolution as to alleged election outrages,
and Mr.. Daniels spoke in opposition to the
resolution. Having alluded to the Demo
cratic charges of bribery in New York dur
ing the recent election, of the purchase oi
voters in Indiana sin blocks of ive," and
of the colonization of aliens in West Vir-
ginia, as we'll as to the contrary charges
made by the Republicans, he asked what a
pandemonium, what terrible suspense.
what paralysis of business would have
followed had not State rights exercised
their conservative and healing sway.
General Harrison's title of President, he
said, which had been sealed and delivered
to him, was not given to him by nation,
or by majority of its people, but by sover-
eign States which had commissioned him as
their Chief Magistrate. State rights, he
said, had held the ladder for General Har-
rison TO ascend the Presidential chair; had
given Senators their prerogatives; and had
lifted the Republican party out of the
Slough of Despond, and over the Hill of
Difficulty, and brought it within sight of
the goal of its desires
VERY FAIR BRIDGE.
It was an old axiom that the traveller
must praise the bridge which carried him
over the stream, and now that the States
rights bridge had carried the Republican
party safely over the turbulent stream of
conflict, it was time for that party to con-
fess that, after all, it was a pretty good
bridge. He had been amazed and astound-
ed when he read Mr.. Hoar's resolution,
gravely requiring the Senate to enter into
an inquiry of the election of members of
the House of Representatives.
If anything more un-American or more
in conflict with the spirit of the American
Constitution could have been suggested, he
was at loss to conjecture what the thing
was. The resolution was revolutionary, as
Senate to usurp the functions of the House
of Representatives. 1t was a resolution to
impeach the character Of a sovereign State
"a resolution which sought to undermine
one of the pillars of the Federal Govern
ment, and to obliterate from the national
flag one of its glittering stars.
No evidence had been reported to the
Senate in support of the resolution-nothing
had been presented but anonymous letters
and petitions of defeated candidates for
Office in Louisiana. The Senator from New
Hampshire, in order to prejudice the judg-
ment of the Senate, and poison the minds
OF the Northern people, had had those
letters and petitions filed in his speech.
ANONYMOUS LETTERS.
The post bag of anonymous letters, he
said, had been emptied on the Senate floor
by the Senator from New Hampshire, and
then another post bag of old and new news
paper scraps had been emptied on it. He
would like to know if the Senate of the
United States was going to do (in the exer-
else of a somewhat judicial function) what
no court would do and what no fair man
would do.
If there was any Republican Senator
listening to him who was ready to speak for
the Committee on Privileges and Elections,
he would like to know from him whether
those newspaper scraps and those anony-
nous letters, and those petitions from de-
feated candidates for office, were the basis
on which that committee had predicated its
indictment of Louisiana? If they were not
the rocks on which the committee had built
its edifce he begged leave, most respectful
ly, to inquire on what the committee did
base it.
He did not wonder that there was not a
Republican Senator to answer the question.
He Mr.. Daniels), had some newspaper ex-
tracts which he would send to the clerk to
have read-not as proof of anything, but as
straws floating on the great wave of public
opinion. 1t would be seen from them that
all the criminals south of Mason and
Dixon's line were not those whose skin was
of the same complexion as that of Repub-
lican Senators.
SOME OTHER oUTRAGEs.
The clerk proceeded to read newspaper
extracts descriptive of negro rio: in Nor
folk, Va, of the shooting of apoliceman by
a negro in Charlottesville and and of another
murder by negro on the Roanoke and Tar
rivers. The clerk was reading an account
of the latter murder when (Mr. Daniels
yielding for that purpose) Mr.. Harris
moved an adjournment. The vote was
taken by yeas and nays, and there were
yeas II, nays %.
Mr.. Daniels dispensed with the further
reading of the newspaper extracts. saying
that he would embody them in the report Of
his speech. He repeated the question, Mr..
Hoar being now in his seat, which he had
asked before, as to what facts had been re-
ported to the Committee on Privileges and
Elections that raised the doubt whether or
not Louisiana was in possession of Repub-
lican form of government.
Mr.. Hoar said there was abundant con-
stitutional authority for the proposed in
vestigation. AS to the specter OF States
rights, sought to be called up; there was no
such question in the resolution. What was
assailed was not local self-government.
ONE FACT AT LEAST.
1t was government generally, which the
Senator from Virginia and his associates
were trying to break down in this country.
That Senator had asked what facts were de-
pended upon in bringing forward the propo-
position. Did not that Senator know that
within six weeks man, who was contesting
a seat in the other House, had been shot
down while he was making his contest? Did
he not know the history of political nffenses
all over certain States in the South? Gen
eral Sheridan had declared some years since
that more Republicans had been murdered
for their political opinions in the State of
Louisiana alone than had fallen in battle
on both sides in the Mexican War
Mr.. Hoar went on to comment on the
smallness of Congressional votes in the
Southern States, and gave figures to show
that, while, two years ago the vote tor dele
gate in disfranchised Dakota was over 140,-
600, the aggregate votes of % Congressional
districts in the South were only SO, 900. 1t
seemed to him that, in those facts alone.
there was reason enough to make the pro-
posed inquiry.
He quoted from Senator Morgan's article |
in the Forum under the heading, "Shall |
Negro Majorities Rule?' 'andasked what that |
question meant. There was no such thing,