"One other thing. We, of the south, have surrendered upon all the questions which divided the two sides in that controversy. We have given up the right of the people to secede from the Union; we have given up the right of each state to judge for itself of the infractions of the constitution and the mode of redress; we have given up the right to control our own domestic institutions. We fought for all these, and we lost in that controversy; but no man shall, in my presence, call Jefferson Davis a traitor, without my responding with a stern and emphatic denial."
Senator Vest closed the debate in a few remarks, and the subject- matter was displaced by the regular order. While I regretted this debate, I believed that the speeches made by the Republican Senators properly defined the Rebellion as, first, a conspiracy; second, treason; third, a rebellion subdued by force, finally followed by the most generous treatment of those engaged in the Rebellion that is found in the history of mankind.
During this session there was a very full debate upon the subject of regulating interstate commerce, in which I participated. The contest was between what was known as the Reagan bill, which passed the House of Representatives, and the Senate bill. I expressed the opinion that the Senate bill was better than the Reagan bill, and, although much popular favor had been enlisted from time to time in favor of the Reagan bill, because it grappled with and dealt with the railroad corporations, the Senate bill did more; it not only grappled with them, but laid a broad and deep foundation for an admirable system of railroad law, which should govern all the railroads of the country.
CHAPTER XLVIII. DEDICATION OF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. Resolution of Senator Morrill Providing for Appropriate Dedicatory Ceremonies—I Am Made Chairman of the Commission—Robert C. Winthrop's Letter Stating His Inability to Attend the Exercises—Letters of Regret from General Grant and John G. Whittier—Unfavorable Weather for the Dedication—My Address as Presiding Officer—The President's Acceptance of the Monument for the Nation—Mr. Winthrop's Address Read in the House by John D. Long—Inauguration of the First Democratic President Since Buchanan's Time—Visit to Cincinnati and Address on the Election Frauds—Respects to the Ohio Legislature —A Trip to the West and Southwest—Address on American Independence.
On the 13th of May, 1884, the President approved the following joint resolution, introduced by Mr. Morrill, from the committee on public buildings and grounds:
"Whereas, The shaft of the Washington monument is approaching completion, and it is proper that it should be dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, calculated to perpetuate the fame of the illustrious man who was 'first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen:' Therefore,
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That a commission to consist of five Senators appointed by the president of the Senate, eight Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, three members of the Washington Monument Society, and the United States engineer in charge of the work be, and the same is hereby, created, with full powers to make arrangements for,—
"First. The dedication of the monument to the name and memory of George Washington, by the President of the United States, with appropriate ceremonies.
"Second. A procession from the monument to the capitol, escorted by regular and volunteer corps, the Washington Monument Society, representatives of cities, states, and organizations which have contributed blocks of stone, and such bodies of citizens as may desire to appear.
"Third. An oration in the hall of the House of Representatives, on the twenty-second day of February, anno Domini eighteen hundred and eighty-five, by the Honorable Robert C. Winthrop, who delivered the oration at the laying of the corner stone of the monument in eighteen hundred and forty-eight, with music by the Marine Band.