Year: 1874




His Nashville speech.


Col. Savage and Ex-President johnson,
candidates for the United States Senator
ship, addressed an assemblage Of about
three hundred at the courthouse in Frank
lin, yesterday, Col. Savage opening the dis
cussion at IL o'clock and speaking two
hours.


The Criminal Court was adjourned to
give the gentlemen an opportunity to pre-
sent their views to the people


Col. Savage, at the hour appointed, APP
peared upon the rOStrum and after being
introduced by Mr.. Randall NJ. Ewing in
few appropriate remarks, proceeded to de-
liver his speech to which gratifying atten-
tiOn was given.


He said it was the first time he had the
honor Of meeting the citizens Of William
son; yet he was happy of the opportunity.


He had been raised after Tennessee fash
ion, and while some men were professional
Changers, he was practical one. He then
gave brief account of himself while in the
political and military arenas for the pur-
pose of making himself better acquainted.
He had always been taught TO work, and
was no friend TO idlenesS, and believed he
had as much common sense and common
honesty rs the majority of people. He had
not come there to make false promises and
By artful inSinuatiOns and inuendOes, using
arguments to mislead the people into wrong
and disbursement. The politician who
stood upon the stand and made such mis-
representations was worse than the poll
tician who stole their money. He would
rather support rogue for Office who would
steal one hundred thousand dollars a wear
than to support one of those slippery, slam
my, changeable politicians who says one
thing and means another, for when he steals
money, they could get it back. He then
announced himself as a candidate for the
next highest Office to that of President.
He might not be large enough
in mental stature to fill this station, but
when he compared himself with some 9TH
er men who imagined themselves so large
that their very high heads almost reached
the heavens and kissed their shadows from
one end of the continent to the other, he
was as much above them as one thing on
earth IS above the other. He had many
distinguished competitors, one of whom
would address them after he had finished.
He had learned that this competitor or his
friends had been spreading false reports in
tended for his prejudice in order to cover
up his own misfOrtunes. He referred to
Andrew johnson, who once by eontrivance
or by accident got to be President of the
United States. They had even insinu-
ated that he (Savage) was seeking him,
prosecuting him and seeking to inflict
some bodily harm upon him. There never
was anything more false. He had also
learned that johnson would not speak TO
him on account Of personal differ
ences existing between them. The saddle
was on the wrong horse. 1t was Savage
that would not speak to johnson, but as for
that he would meet him there on the stand
if he dared, and would strip the
lions skin from his shoulders and expose
him to the people. But johnson was not
going to meet him; he would not meet him
even if they were thousand miles in the
wilderness. He would not be in any more
danger then than now, for he would not
harm hair of his head. Those tales of
persecution were all false. His name was
Savage, but he was a gentle Savage. He
wanted JOhnsOn's friends to quit lying on
him. He would not have a drop of his
blood on his hands for the world, and
johnson had too much blood on his skirts
already. HO would willingly meet Mr..
johnson in debate, and promise him that
he would not be harmed, but on the con-
trary he would be recognized as a gentle
man and treated as such. While he (Sav-
age) was fighting battles in Mexico, John
son was drawing his pay at Washington,
wearing fine clothes, but he did not know
whether he cabbaged them or not. Tailors
in those DAYS could cabbage a great deal,
but they had now, he supposed, got honest.
He Savage had never fired a shot
outside of the Democratic camp,
and never expected to. If the de
mOcracy was wrong he was going to stay
with them and die with them He had
rather do that than TO be like Andrew
johnson, for if he should die the Wings,
Democrats, OF even the Black Republicans,
would not bury him. He had said in con-
versing with some Of his Democratic
friends at the August election in 1856, just
before he cast his vote for Mr.. johnson in
the race with Mr.. Meredith p. Gentry, that
he would vote for Mr.. johnson, but that
he would do SO under protest, and told
them at the same time that he believed
johnson to be the greatest demagogue of
the age; that truth and falsehood was all
alike to him, and he predicted then and
Il ere that this man johnson, who claimed
to be a Southern man, would change just
as snre as Judas IscariOt betrayed Christ.
He felt sometimes that he could never for
give the Democratic party for making him
vote for Andrew Johnson


Col. Savage discussed the currency ques-
tion, the State and national debts, the
funding bill and the Civil Rights bill, and
closed his speech as follows:


Gentlemen, what if / were to tell you
that an aspirant for this high office once
desired and was bent on hanging Gen. K.
Z. Lee? Would not some johnson man
say it was false? Yet can prove it by the
swora testimony of Gen. Grant upon his
oath before Congress, and Grant is a good
witness against him, for they were cOnfed-
crates in reducing the South to bondage.
Here is what Grant swears:


Il frequently had to intercede for Gen.
Lee and other officers on the ground that
their parol protected them from arrest and
trial. The President at that time occupied
exactly the reverse grounds, viz: that they
should be tried and punished, and wanted
to know when the time would come when
they should be punished" And Grant
swears this after repeated crOss-examina-
tions. (See McPherson's Handbook, page
299.)


Now this high parsonage who wanted to
hang Gen. Lee, Oftentimes, and in my judg-
ment in very bad taste, refers to the cruci-
fixion of our SayiOr-and while l dislike
alluding to sacred scenes in connection
with politics, hope l may be pardOned for
Carrying your mind back to that greatest OF
crimes, when the sun hid his face, and this
old globe trembled to its foundations, and
ask you to let vOur memories run over the
long catalogue of dark and infamous deeds
that have disgraeed humanity or drenched
the world in blood. Is there any crime
committed or attempted by bad men from
the crucifxion to the present moment so
dark and infamous as the one that Grant
swears he prevented this bad President from
committing.


Appalling thought Andrew johnson
hanging r. E. Lee the man Of this age
before whose honor and bright name the
renown of the Caesars aud BOnaparts-the
Emperors and Kings Of EurOpe-your
Grants and Shemans pale almost into dark
ness-and whose name will now brighten
with time-he has no peer in history but
Washington. One drop of his blood con-
tanned more patriotism, honor and truth
than hundred such bodies as that Of the
man who desired to hang him.


COL. HOUSE INTRODUCES THE EXPIRES


IDENT.


After short lapse of time, ex-President
johnson appeared in the court room and
u-as ;ufroducod m the audianQa Inv g q