I do not believe in carrying civil service reform to the extent that
you will not allow an officer to resign. I do not believe that that
principle should be insisted upon to that degree that there would only
be two ways left to get out of office--death or suicide. I believe,
other things being equal, any party having any office within its gift
will give that office to the man that really believes in the principles
of that party, and who has worked to give those principles ultimate
victory. That is human nature. The man that plows, the man that sows,
and the man that cultivates, ought to be the man that reaps. But we have
in this country a multitude of little places, a multitude of clerkships
in Washington; and the question is whether on the incoming of a new
administration, these men shall all be turned out. In the first place,
they are on starvation salaries, just barely enough to keep soul and
body together, and respectability on the outside; and if there is a
young man in this audience, I beg of him:
Never accept a clerkship from this Government. Do not live on a little
salary; do not let your mind be narrowed; do not sell all the splendid
possibilities of the future; do not learn to cringe and fawn and crawl.
I would rather have forty acres of land, with a log cabin on it and the
woman I love in the cabin--with a little grassy winding path leading
down to the spring where the water gurgles from the lips of earth
whispering day and night to the white pebbles a perpetual poem--with
holly-hocks growing at the corner of the house, and morning-glories
blooming over the low latched door--with lattice work over the window
so that the sunlight would fall checkered on the dimpled babe in
the cradle, and birds--like songs with wings hovering in the summer
air--than be the clerk of any government on earth.
Now, I say, let us lengthen the term of office--I do not care much how
long--send a man to Congress at least for five years. And it would be a
great blessing if there were not half as many of them sent.
We have too many legislators and too much legislation; too little about
important matters, and too much about unimportant matters. Lengthen the
term of office so that the man can turn his attention to something else
when he gets in besides looking after his re-election. There is another
defect we must remedy in our Constitution, in my judgment, and that is
as to the mode of electing a President. I believe it of the greatest
importance that the Executive should be entirely independent of the
legislative and judicial departments of the country. I do not believe
that Congress should have the right to create a vacancy which it can
fill. I do not believe that the Senate of the United States, or the
lower house of Congress, by a simple objection, should have the right to
deprive any State of its electoral vote. Our Constitution now provides
that the electors chosen in each State shall meet in their respective
States upon a certain day and there cast their votes for President and
Vice-President of the United States. They shall properly certify to the
votes which are cast, and shall transmit lists of them, together with
the proper certificates, to the Vice-President of the United States.
And it is then declared that upon a certain day in the presence of both
houses of Congress, the Vice-President shall open the certificates and
the votes shall then be counted. It does not exactly say who shall count
these votes. It does not in so many words say the Vice-President shall
do it, or may do it, or that both houses of Congress shall do it, or may
do it, or that either house can prevent a count of the votes. It leaves
us in the dark, and, to a certain degree, in blindness. I believe there
is a way, and a very easy way, out of the entire trouble, and it is
this: I do not care whether the electors first meet in their respective
States or not, but I want the Constitution so amended that the electors
of all the States shall meet on a certain day in the city of Washington,
and count the votes themselves; to allow that body to be the judge of
who are electors, to allow it to choose a chairman, and to allow
the person so chosen to declare who is the President, and who is the
Vice-President of the United States. The Executive is then entirely
free and independent of the legislative department of Government. The
Executive is then entirely free from the judicial department, and I tell
you, it is a public calamity to have the ermine of the Supreme Court
of the United States touched or stained by a political suspicion. In
my judgment, this country can never stand such a strain again as it has
now.
Now, my friends, all these questions are upon us and they have to be
settled. We cannot go on as we have been going. We cannot afford to live
as we have lived--one section running against the other. We cannot go
along that way. It must be settled, either peaceably or there must again
be a resort to the boisterous sword of civil war.
The people of the South must stop trampling on the rights of the colored
men. It must not be a crime in any State of this Union to be a lover of
this country. I have seen it stated in several papers lately that it is
the duty of each State to protect its own citizens. Well, I know that.
Suppose that the State does not do it; what then I say? Well, then, say
these people, the Governor of the State has the right to call on the
General Government for assistance. But suppose the Governor will not
call for assistance, what then? Then, they tell us, the Legislature can
do so by a joint resolution. But suppose the Legislature will not do it,
what then? Then, say these people, it is a defect in the Constitution.
In my judgment, that is the absurdest kind of secession. If the State of
Illinois must protect me, if I have no right to call for the protection
of the General Government, all I have to say is that my allegiance must
belong to the Government that protects me. If Illinois protects me, and
the General Government has not the power, then my first allegiance is
due to Illinois; and should Illinois unsheathe the sword of civil war,
I must stand by my State, if that doctrine is true. I say, my first
allegiance is due to the General Government, and not to the State of
Illinois, and if the State of Illinois goes out of the Union, I swear to
you that I will not. What does the General Government propose to give
me in exchange for my allegiance? The General Government has a right to
take my property. The General Government has a right to take my body
in its necessary defence. What does that Government propose to give in
exchange for that right? Protection, or else our Government is a fraud.
Who has a right to call for the protection of the United States? I say,
the citizen who needs it. Can our Government obtain information only
through the official sources? Must our Government wait until the
Government asks the proofs, while the State tramples upon the rights of
the citizens? Must it wait until the Legislature calls for assistance
to help it stop robbing and plundering citizens of the United States? Is
that the doctrine and the idea of the Northern Democratic party? It is
not mine. A Government that will not protect its citizens is a
disgrace to humanity. A Government that waits until a Governor calls--a
Government that cannot hear the cry of the meanest citizen under its
flag when his rights are being trampled upon, even by citizens of a
Southern State--has no right to exist.
It is the duty of the American citizen to see to it that every State
has a Government, not only republican in form, but it is the duty of the
United States to see to it that life, liberty and property are protected
in each State. If they are not protected, it is the duty of the United
States to protect them, if it takes all her military force both upon
land and upon the sea. The people whose Government cannot always hear
the faintest wail of the meanest man beneath its flag have no right to
call themselves a nation. The flag that will not protect its protectors
and defend its defenders is a rag that is not worth the air in which it
waves.
How are we going to do it? Do it by kindness if you can; by conciliation
if you can, but the Government is bound to try every way until it
succeeds. Now, Rutherford B. Hayes was elected President. The Democracy
will say, of course, that he never was elected, but that does not make
any difference. He is President to-day, and all these things are about
him to be settled.
What shall we do? What can we do? There are two Governors in South
Carolina and two Legislatures and not one cent of taxes has been
collected by either. A dual government would seem to be the most
economical in the world. Now, the question for us to decide, the
question to be decided by this administration is, how are we to
ascertain which is the legal Government of the State, and what
department of the Government has a right to ascertain that fact? Must it
be left to Congress? Has the Senate alone the right to determine it?
Can it be left in any way to the Supreme Court, or shall the Executive
decide it himself? I do not say that the Executive has the power to
decide that question for himself. I do not say he has not, but I do not
say he has. The question, so far as Louisiana and South Carolina are
concerned--that question is now in the Senate of the United States.
Governor Kellogg is asking for admission as a Senator from the State
of Louisiana, and the question is to be decided by the Senate first,
whether he is entitled to his seat, and that question of course, rests
upon the one fact--was the Legislature that elected him the legal
Legislature of the State of Louisiana? It seems to me that when that
question is pending in the Senate of the United States the President has
not the right, or at least it would be improper for him to decide it on
his own motion, and say this or that Government is the real and legal
Government of the State of Louisiana. But some mode must be adopted,
some way must be discovered to settle this question, and to settle it
peacefully. We are an enlightened people. Force is the last thing that
civilized men should resort to. As long as courts can be created, as
long as courts of arbitration can be selected, as long as we can reason
and think, and urge all the considerations of humanity upon each other,
there should be no appeal to arms in the United States upon any question
whatever. What should the President do? He could only spare twenty-five
hundred men from the Indian war--that is the same army that has so
long been trampling on the rights of the South, the same army that
the Democratic Congress wished to reduce, and that army of twenty-five
hundred men is all he has to spare to protect American citizens in the
Southern States. Is there any sentiment in the North that would uphold
the Executive in calling for volunteers? Is there any sentiment here
that would respond to a call for twenty, fifty, or a hundred thousand
men? Is there any Congress to pass the necessary act to pay them if
there was?
And so the President of the United States appreciated the situation, and
the people of the South came to him and said, "We have had war enough,
we have had trouble enough, our country languishes, we have no trade,
our pockets are empty, something must be done for us, we are utterly and
perfectly disgusted with the leadership of the Democratic party of the
North. Now, will you let us be your friends?" And he had the sense to
say, "Yes." The President took the right hand of the North, and put it
into the right hand of the South and said "Let us be friends. We parted
at the cannon's mouth; we were divided by the edge of the glittering
sword; we must become acquainted again. We are equals. We are all
fellow-citizens. In a Government of the people, by the people and for
the people, there shall not be an outcast class, whether white or
black. To this feast, every child of the Republic shall be invited and
welcomed." It was a grand thing grandly done. If the President succeeds
in his policy, it will be an immense compliment to his brain. If he
fails, it will be an equal compliment to his heart. He has opened the
door; he has advanced; he has extended his hand, he has broken the
silence of hatred with the words of welcome. Actuated by this broad and
catholic spirit he has selected his constitutional advisors, and
allow me to say right here, the President has the right to select his
constitutional advisors to suit himself, and the idea of men endeavoring
to force themselves or others into the Cabinet of the President,
against, as it were, his will, why I would as soon think of circulating
a petition to compel some woman to marry me.
He has gathered around him the men he considers the wisest and the best,
and I say, let us give them a fair chance. I say, let us be honest with
the President of the United States and his Cabinet, and give his policy
a fair and honest chance. In order to show his good faith with the
South he chose as a member of his Cabinet an ex-rebel from Tennessee.
I confess, when I heard of it I did not like it. It did not seem to
be exactly what I had been making all this fuss about. But I thought I
would be honest about it, and I went and called on Mr. Key, and really
he begins already to look a good deal like a Republican. A real honest
looking man. And then I said to myself that he had not done much more
harm than as though he had been a Democrat at the North during those
four years, and had cursed and swore instead of fought about it. And so
I told him "I am glad you are appointed."
And I am. Give him a chance, and so far as the whole Cabinet is
concerned--I have not the time to go over them one by one now, it is
perfectly satisfactory to me. The President made up his mind that to
appoint that man would be to say to the South: "I do not look upon you
as pariahs in this Government. I look upon you as fellow-citizens; I
want you to wipe forever the color line, or the Union line, from the
records of this Government on account of what has been done heretofore."
What are you now? is the only question that should be asked. It was
a strange thing for the President to appoint that man. It was an
experiment. It is an experiment. It has not yet been decided, but I
believe it will simply be a proof of the President's wisdom. I can stand
that experiment taken in connection with the appointment of Frederick
Douglass as Marshal of the District of Columbia. I was glad to see
that man's appointment. He is a good, patient, stern man. He has been
fighting for the liberty of his race, and at the same time for our
liberty. This man has done something for the freedom of my race as well
as his own. This is no time for war. War settles nothing except the mere
question of strength. That is all war ever did settle. You cannot shoot
ideas into a man with a musket, or with cannon into one of those old
Bourbon Democrats of the North. You cannot let prejudices out of a man
with a sword.
This is the time for reason, for discussion, for compromise. This is the
time to repair, to rebuild, to preserve. War destroys. Peace creates.
War is decay and death. Peace is growth and life,--sunlight and air. War
kills men. Peace maintains them. Artillery does not reason; it asserts.
A bayonet has point enough, but no logic. When the sword is drawn,
reason remains in the scabbard. It is not enough to win upon the field
of battle, you must be victor within the realm of thought. There must be
peace between the North and South some time; not a conquered peace, but
a peace that conquers. The question is, can you and I forget the past?
Can we forget everything except the heroic sacrifices of the men who
saved this Government? Can we say to the South, "Let us be brothers"?
Can we? I am willing to do it because, in the first place, it is right,
and in the second place, it will pay if it can be carried out. We have
fought and hated long enough. Our country is prostrate. Labor is in
rags. Energy has empty hands. Industry has empty pockets. The wheels of
the factory are still. In the safe of prudence money lies idle, locked
by the key of fear. Confidence is what we need--confidence in each
other; confidence in our institutions; confidence in our form of
government; in the great future; confidence in law, confidence in
liberty, confidence in progress, and in the grand destiny of the Great
Republic. Now, do not imagine that I think this policy will please
every body. Of course there are men South and North who can never be
conciliated. They are the Implacables in the South--the Bourbons in the
North.
Nothing will ever satisfy them. The Implacables want to own negroes
and whip them; the Bourbons never will be satisfied until they can help
catch one. The Implacables with violent hands drive emigration from
their shores. They are poisoning the springs and sources of prosperity.
They dine on hatred and sup on regret. They mourn over the lost cause
and partake of the communion of revenge. They strike down the liberties
of their fellow-citizens and refuse to enjoy their own. They remember
nothing but wrongs, and they forget nothing but benefits. Their bosoms
are filled with the serpents of hate. No one can compromise with them.
Nothing can change them. They must be left to the softening influence
of time and death. The Bourbons are the allies of the Implacables. A
Bourbon in the majority is an Implacable in the minority. An Implacable
in the minority is a Bourbon. We do not appeal to, but from these men.
But there are in the South thousands of men who have accepted in good
faith the results of the war; men who love and wish to preserve this
nation, men tired of strife--men longing for a real Union based upon
mutual respect and confidence. These men are willing that the colored
man shall be free--willing that he shall vote, and vote for the
Government of his choice--willing that his children shall be
educated--willing that he shall have all the rights of an American
citizen. These men are tired of the Implacables and disgusted with the
Bourbons. These men wish to unite with the patriotic men of the North in
the great work of reestablishing a government of law. For my part, call
me of what party you please, I am willing to join hands with these men,
without regard to race, color or previous condition.
With a knowledge of our wants--with a clear perception of our
difficulties, Rutherford B. Hayes became President.
Nations have been saved by the grandeur of one man. Above all things a
President should be a patriot. Party at best is only a means--the good
of the country, the happiness of the people, the only end.
Now, I appeal to you Democrats here--not a great many, I suppose--do
not oppose this policy because you think it is going to increase the
Republican strength. If it strengthens the Government, no matter whether
it is Republican or Democratic, it is for the common good.
And you Republicans, you who have had all these feelings of patriotism
and glory, I ask you to wait and let this experiment be tried. Do not
prophesy failure for it and then work to fulfill the prophecy. Give the
President a chance. I tell you to-night that he is as good a Republican
as there is in the United States; and I tell you that if this policy is
not responded to by the South, Rutherford B. Hayes will change it,
just as soon and as often as is necessary to accomplish the end. The
President has offered the Southern people the olive branch of peace,
and so far as I am concerned, I implore both the Southern people and
the Northern people to accept it. I extend to you each and all the olive
branch of peace. Fellow-citizens of the South, I beseech you to take it.
By the memory of those who died for naught; by the charred remains of
your remembered homes; by the ashes of your statesman dead; for the sake
of your sons and your daughters and their fair children yet to be,
I implore you to take it with loving and with loyal hands. It will
cultivate your wasted fields. It will rebuild your towns and cities. It
will fill your coffers with gold. It will educate your children. It
will swell the sails of your commerce. It will cause the roses of joy
to clamber and climb over the broken cannon of war. It will flood the
cabins of the freedman with light, and clothe the weak in more than coat
of mail, and wrap the poor and lowly in "measureless content." Take it.
The North will forgive if the South will forget. Take it! The negro
will wipe from the tablet of memory the strokes and scars of two hundred
years, and blur with happy tears the record of his wrongs. Take it! It
will unite our nation. It will make us brothers once again. Take it! And
justice will sit in your courts under the outspread wings of Peace. Take
it! And the brain and lips of the future will be free. Take it! It will
bud and blossom in your hands and fill your land with fragrance and with
joy.