The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-03-14
A HEATED DISCUSSION .
Or the Southern Question in the
United States Senate.
SENATOR SHERMAN'S SPEECH

ISENuT0R CHEPM[INic CpCETL
A -A''A' Wv oAAHN"AnN y ~ L' IIeA
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In which Hc Traces tho Course ortl,
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| WASHINGTON, D, G., March l3.-In th
Sonata Mr. Euat;a roforro1 N ,ho tw
.to,omo,,. -. H.. ~ -.
.'"''inen'7 inAue w Mr. aoaf yesteloa
IN reference 10 the Southern States, on
Of them being that in the State OF Louisj
ana and so,ne of the other s,a.es ,he;
,ow. 49, :. , osa, -, " 1.ne. 1' ,,n '"''
,""s 'nauo II d penal ouense pun'ShaDl
by imprisonment in the penitentiary, 70
a white man to associate on terms o
equality with negro. There never hat
been necessity for the State OF Louisi
ana to enact such a preposterous law
The other statement by Mr.. Hoar was t
the effect that there was another law IL
Louisiana which provided for the sale O
aay colored man found for certain time
out OF work and that the former master
should have the preference in the pur
chase. He asked Mr.. Hoar whether he
could find any such law on the statute
books OF Louisiana. He (AIr. Eustisl
knew that the criticism was directed
against tho Democratic Legislature ol
Louisiana Of 1867; but he had never
heard Republican Senator criticise the
Infamous laws enacted in Louisiana by
Republican Legislatures. There was NO
such law, however, as that which Mr..
Hoar had referred TO. r.
Mr.. Hoar said that he had sent for
the document on which his statement
had been made. He might have erred
as to the State In which such laws had
been passed. but he thought not. He
held in his hand. however, a volume OF
the laws Of Mississippi passed in 1906,
aud he read from it in effect that free.
dom, free negroes and mulattoes, who
were found with no lawful employment,
and that all white men assembling with
freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes,
or. usually associating with them on
terms OF equality, should be deemed
vagrants, and should be subject to pun
ishment by fine or imprisonment. The
law, he said, contained the two proyis.
ions to which he had referred, and he
thought that substantially the same law
had been enacted in Louisiana, Mr.,
Hoar admitted that his former statement
about the laws Of Louisiana was incor.
rect,
MI, Sherman then asked Mr.. Eustis
whether he did not know that The
fifteenth amendment never would have
been proposed but for the fact that the
laws Of the Southern States were depriy.
ing the negro OF his rights of citizenshin.
That, lie said, was certainly fact,
Mr.. Eustis replied that it was his hon
est conviction that all the reconstruction
measures. all the extreme lepislation
and constitutional amendments. were
adopted by the Republican party with
the single object OF africanizinp the South
and maintaining political supremacv:
and ho characterized it as "the greatest
crime ever committed against civil;zed
communities"
Mr., Sherman then took mart in the
discussion, which soon became heated
political Controversy. He traced The
course Of the RECOMMENDATION movement
and said that at the close Of the war Il
had not been contemplated, at that time.
to arm the negro with suffrage. But the
laws passed BY some OF the Southern
States had been go unjust to the colored
people and go unjust to white Renubli.
cans in the South, that the people Of the
North became convinced that the object
in the South was to overthrow the re-.
suits Of the war and to deprive the freed
men OF all the rights of citizenship,
Up to that time all the legiglation had
been guided by the one generous feeling
that all the results Of the war should be
blotted out, except the one growing out
Of the abolition of slavery. But When
the time had come it was seen that there
was no way to prevent the emancipation
people e3cept hy arminr them with
suffrage. Congress had reluctantly.
slowly, hut. deliberately adopted that
remedy as the only one ct for the case.
There had been no feeling of passion or
hate about it. He (Mr. Sherman) had
sometimes thought that it might possi.
bly, have been better not to
have adopted the fifteenth amendment
conferring suffrage on the colored
man, because that right had been NULL.
fed and uprootod. The right of suf.
frage did not now exist with colored men
however valuable it might be- to them
The result of the fifteenth Amendment
was, practically, 10 give TO The Southern
States increased Representation in the
House Of Representatives and increased
power in the electoral college, Ifthere
was ANYTHING wrong in the Situation NJ
Southern affairs, the neople Of the Sonth
had brought It on thetnaelyes There
was no feeling OF hate existing in the
North against the South as Intlmated
yesterday by MIR. George. II the eo,,a
riuhts Of ali people in the Sonth % wsrs
secured the people Of the South would
be satisfied. lq4-i. ~
MIR. Butler suggested that tho recon
struction measures and the adontion y
the 18th amendment were not 40 muci
owing to Objectionable lepiulation II
some Of the Goulhern States as to tn,