Sharp County record., 1890-05-01
SnPneA Of Hon. VIM. 4. Cate
In the House CT REPRESENTATIVES
March ), 1890.
An Able Defence OF an Outraged People

w,thout some embarrassment that |
make my appearance to undertake
to address the gentlemen upon this
floor. That embarrassment IS not
diminished by the TACT that l am
called upon to speak with regard to
a matter which, to a great degree,
affects my personal feelings and my
personal rights as a Representative
of my people.
am glad, Mr.. Speaker, that the
provision of the Constitution provld
ING for this investigation upon which
we have already entered and made
progress is that this House shall
Judge of the elections, qualifications
and returns of the members authors
lied to sit upon this floor.
1t is not your province, gentlemen,
it is not your duty under the provls>
ions of this Constitution, which we
have all sworn to support, to elect a
member here to day from the First
Congressional District of the State
of Arkansas; but it is your duty,
brushing aside everything surround
ing this case, everything that is ex>
traneous, laying aside every feeling
of party resentment, prejudice or
pride, every sentiment of possible
party exigencies, past, present, or to
come, and In the light of the facts,
under the law, guided by your con
sciences, to make true dellverance
in this behalf as to whom the people
OF the First District of Arkansas
have by their sufrages sent here to
represent them on this floor.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania
Mr.. Da!zell for whom | have en-
tertalned the kindllest feelings, has
tertained the krn1!iest feelings, has
seen fit to make the inquiry, if a
man confronted by this record who
comes here and does not ask a vim
dication at the hands of this House
is worthy to sit amongst you, Ne,
gentlemen, am not here seeking a
ptrson%l vindicstion { am not lsre
9reading personal denunciation; bat,
gir, am standing here IN the front
of this audience and of the world as
the representative of $4,000 freemen,
and I am here not to ask personal
vindication, as | stated, or to shrink
from personal denunciation; but am
here to ask justice for them and to
fear that wrong and injustice may be
done them Applause on the DEM
ocratic side. That IS all | have to
ask here to-day.
AS to my personal character, Mr..
Speaker, l am willing to leave it to
be judged by those people for whom
| have labored and amongst whom l
have lived for a quarter Of a century.
There my record is known, and |
am judged by my conduct; and If |
stay here l am wiling to be judged
by my conduct on this floor
Now, there is one thing, gentle
men, here nay, more, there are many
things in this record, that are res
markable. l may In the few brief
minutes allotted to me in this discus
sion undertake to review them has,
tily. This is an election contest.
There are pleadlngs in this case as
there are in all other suits at law.
The contention of the contestant in
this case is what? What does the
record disclose, and what are his all
legations?
they are, first, that in the II coun-
ties composing the First District Of
Arkansas, stretching from the State
of Missouri on the north, to the State
of Louisiana on the south; that of
these II counties, IA Of them are
honeycombed with fraud; that they
are an abode of violent, desperate
men, unwhipped Of justice; that five
sixths of the population of that dis
trict are villains, uncoEvlcted possi>
bly,, but charged by him to be ballot
box suffers, murderers, men that
carry arms, violent law-breakers -
five sixths of the entire population
of that district.
The next allegation is that he was
chosen by large majority of these
people as their Representative in the
House.
If gentlemen have arrived at the
conclusion from this evidence that
the first proposition is true, then the
second proposition is not denied. II
1t be true Of the district, that 1t is
one in which fve-sixths of the peo>
pie are miserable law breakers, then
| do not propose to stand here and
advocate their claims ald justify
their shortcomings and their vioa>
tions of the law. But / deny that
it is as he states. l propose briefly
now to state what the district IS that
| represent. As | SAID before this
i -,