CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



167 



by his standing shoulder to shoulder with our 

 brothers and sons in the red track of battle. 



" Now comes another question of prejudice 

 in which I was educated in my youth differ- 

 ently, the rights of the colored man. He has 

 been made, by right or by wrong, but under 

 the forms and with the force of constitutional 

 law, a citizen of the United States. And were 

 he as black as the black diamond, he has an 

 equal right to every privilege with any citizen 

 who is white as an angel. And upon that 

 ground alone can a democratic republic stand. 

 Upon that ground alone is civil and consti- 

 tutional liberty on this continent to be pre- 

 served. And, therefore, I wonder with amaze- 

 ment when I hear it here stated that this bill 

 is intended as a stab to constitutional liberty. 

 "Why, sir, this bill is the very essence of con- 

 stitutional liberty. What does it do ? It sim- 

 ply provides that there shall be an equality of 

 law all over the Union. 



"My friend from Mississippi (Mr. Lamar) 

 says that in Mississippi the white man and the 

 colored man have equal privileges. Be it so. 

 Good for Mississippi. This was so made by a 

 Republican Legislature in which was a colored 

 majority. Bat where is the like law in Ken- 

 tucky, the ' dark and bloody ground ? ' Where 

 is that law in Tennessee ? Where is that law 

 without stopping to enumerate in a major- 

 ity of the Southern States ? But, if it is a good 

 law in Mississippi, why should it not be ex- 

 tended over all the Southern States ? If it is 

 a good law, and iny friend from Mississippi 

 agrees it is a good law and works well there, 

 why should it not be enforced by proper and 

 sufficient penalties to restrain bad men from 

 violating it ? And that is all the bill does. 



" I do not here and now mean to deal with 

 the question of schools, for this reason : There 

 are two kinds of opinion in the Republican 

 party on this question. I myself would legis- 

 late equal privileges to white and black in the 

 schools, if I had the power, first, to legislate, 

 and, secondly, to enforce the legislation. But 

 the difficulty I find in that is, that there is such 

 a degree of prejudice in the South that I am 

 afraid that the public-school system, which 

 has never yet obtained any special hold in the 

 South, will be broken up if we put that pro- 

 vision in the bill. Then comes the provision 

 of the committee that there shall be separate 

 schools wherever schools are supported by 

 taxation. There are some difficulties with an 

 unwilling people in carrying out that pro- 

 vision, and there is an objection to it on the 

 part of the colored people, because they say 

 they desire no legislation which shall estab- 

 lish any class distinction. 



" Then comes the proposition of my friend 

 from Connecticut (Mr. Kellogg) to strike out 

 all relating to schools. I should very much 

 rather have all relating to schools struck Out 

 than have even the committee's provision for 

 mixed schools. I leave this provision with 

 these observations. 



" I must say once for all that I cannot yield 

 and will not yield to a mortal man. I would 

 yield to my friend from Ohio quicker than to 

 any other man. 



" Now, then, what are the objections here 

 made to this bill? The first objection stated 

 on the other side is that this bill establishes 

 social equality. By no means ; by no means. 

 I undertook to show, when up before, how by 

 this law social equality is not touched by the 

 bill. It allows men and women of different 

 colors only to come together in public, in 

 theatres, in stage-coaches and cars, in public 

 houses." 



The Speaker : " The question is on the 

 amendment of the gentleman from Connec- 

 ticut (Mr. Kellogg) which is to strike out 

 from the bill reported by the Judiciary Com- 

 mittee the words which will be read by the 

 Clerk." 



The Clerk read as follows : 



Strike out the following : 



And also all common schools and public institu- 

 tions of learning or benevolence supported in whole 

 or in part by general taxation, and also the institu- 

 tions known as agricultural colleges endowed by the 

 United States. 



Strike out also the following : 



Provided, That if any State or the proper authori- 

 ties in any State, having the control of common 

 schools or other institutions of learning aforesaid, 

 shall establish and maintain separate schools and 

 institutions, giving equal educational advantages in 

 all respects for different classes of persons entitled 

 to attend such schools and institutions, such schools 

 and institutions shall be a sufficient compliance 

 with the provisions of this section so far as they re- 

 late to schools and institutions of learning. 



The question being taken on the amendment 

 of Mr. Kellogg, there were yeas 128, nays 48. 



Mr. Orth called for the yeas and nays. 



Mr. Burrows: "Can the question on this 

 amendment be divided? " 



The Speaker : " It is not divisible." 



The yeas and nays were not ordered. 



The amendment of Mr. Kellogg was agreed to. 



The bill, as amended, was ordered to be en- 

 grossed and read a third time ; and being en- 

 grossed, it was accordingly read the third time. 



The question then recurred on the adoption 

 of Mr. Shank's preamble, as follows : 



Whereas, It is essential to just government that we 

 recognize the equality of all men before the law, and 

 hold it is the duty of government in its dealings with 

 the people to mete out equal aud exact justice to all, 

 of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, reli- 

 gious or political ; and it being the proper object of 

 legislation to enact fundamental principles into law : 

 therefore, etc. 



The question was taken ; and it was decided 

 in the affirmative yeas 218, nays 26, not vot- 

 ing 45. 



The question was on the passage of the bill. 



Mr. Eldredge : " I call for the yeas and nays." 



The yeas and nays were ordered. 



The question was taken; and there were, as 

 follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Albert, Albright, Averill. Barber, 

 Barrere, Bass, Begole, Biery, Bradley, Buffinton, 



