Sharp County record., 1890-05-01
JUDGE Gates SPEECH.
CONTINUED from First psge }

Ol lllNll AGlt'N -NAtiHNhH' II bHlo W vas
not a serious question, such an argu.
ment would be ludicrouS.
Bear in mind that these $4,000
who have been overrun and the sup
preston of whose rights you have
been called upon to weep over here,
are not all negroes; $4,000 Of them
are white men. This, then, is the
si,uatlon: You are asked IN this
House to unseat me upon the ground
that 10000 of my followers, by force
of arms and violence, have driven
away from the polls. have terrorized,
have trampled upon the rights Of
$4,000 American citizens clad with
all the hablllments Of citizenship
and of freedom! Could anything be
more ridiculous?
There is but one spectacle more
humiIlating than the attitude in
which you place these 28,OOO sover>
eignS, and that is the fact that gen
llpmen on this floor would ut
ter or listen to such contemplate
partisan pattfogging where the in,
terests of a nation are concerned
Solomon was a wise man. You will
remember that on one occasion, when
two women came before him each
claiming to be the mother of a cer-
tain child, and he was asked to de>
eide between them, he did not hold
an elaborate investigation, hut, in
his wisdom, he simply took his sword
and held up the child and said: "l
will divide him between you;" where>
upon the woman who was really the
mother of the child demurred and
protested, while the woman who was
not the mother gave her assent read"
lily,
Now, here you have two men
standing before you, each claiming
to be the representative of this dis
trict. | stand here to tell you that |
represent an honest, an INTEL igent, a
brave and manly constituency, who
are engaged in building up their
country and in enforcing the law and
protecting the rights of the people.
/ ask that the election be left intact,
that the voters be allowed to be reps
resented here by the man whom they
have eleted. l ask for their protects
ion. The contestant, on the other
hand, comes here and asks their de>
struction, and says: "They are
thieves, and villains, and scoundrels;
90 there with a torch in your hand;
send your armies to lay waste their
fields and burn their villages and
imprison their citizens; subject them
to all the horrors of martial law"
This gentleman claims to be the
representative Of the people of that
district, and he asks this for his peo-
pie as their representative. Mr..
Speaker, it would create a sensation
if some gentleman on that side of
the House should rise in his seat and
denounce his constituency and say
that five-sixths of them were unmt>
igated rascals and villains; but when
it comes to Southern constituency
it seems that all that man, claiming
a seat here has to do is to stand up
and say: 81 am the representative
of the district; bring mo certificate;
| bring no credentials; | simply
bring with me this bundle of villain
ous perjury, this evidence bought
and suborned; l bring this vitupera-
ton Of my people; these are my
credentials; l come here denouncing
my constituents, deDouncing my fel>
low>cltizens as robbers and villains;
and what better passport could l
have to your esteem and good will,
what higher title to seat in this
Hall?"
Now. Mr.. Speaker, I propose to
read little from the statues of the
United States, the law governing
this proceeding:
Whenever any person intends to contest
an election of any member of the House
Of Repre- sentatlves of the United States he
shall, within thirty days after the result
Of the election shall have been determined
by the officer or board of cauvaSsers au-
thorlzed by law to uetermine the same,
give notice in writing to the member whose
seat he desires TO contest of his intention
to contest the same. and in such notice
shall specify particularly the grounds upon
when he relies i'll the contest.
The next provision to which l call
your attention is this, also part Of
the constitution:
The testimony to be taken by either
party shall be confined 10 the proof or dis
proof of the facts alleged or denied III the
notice and answer to the contest mention
ed in sections los and LOG
Now, with regard to these propo-
sitions of law and in connection
Herewith, | desire to submit one re-
Election. In the township of lnde>
pendence, of the county of Lee, of
which you have heard, the contestant
in his notice of contest, says:
As to the township of Independence, in
! Al,.. nT an NAll r4n VAn ~