The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-10-11
In the concluding portion of the recent Address

In the concluding portion of the recent Address
of the Reform Central Committee to the public,
there occurs the following passage:
a1 o,usion fellow citizens we earnestly recommend
Won 70 organze in different wards in support of the
Reform ticket TO consecrae the whole day Of election to
canntry select large and reliable body of cti
zens whose duty it shall be to remain polls give
lawful aid every honest voter without regard to his
party his religion, or his place of BIRTH to challenge
every illegal voter to that every casts his
is entitled to do to note carefully whether the po
lice and other officers their whole duty and to prose
cute every violation of the law which may occur"
The reasonableness and propriety of the sugges-
tons contained in the foregoing extract are so OBJ
vious, that we have not been surprised to learn
that, in many of the wards of the city, the recon-
mendations of the Committee have been followed
Citizens have been found ready and willing ssto
''consecrate the whole day of election to the SER
vice of their country, and freely volunteering for
the honorable duty of remaining at the polls, for
the purpose Of giving lawful aid to voters-chal-
longing votes that are illegal-and noting the de-
linquencies, any, of the authorities and the po-
lice. Should fraud and violence seek to stife the
expression of the popular will, the testimony of
such body of witnesses will be invaluable as
tending to establish the fact, and meet any future
demand for illegal proof Nor can it be doubted
that the continued attendance at the polls,
throughout the day of election, of a large
number of decent and respectable men,
WILL of itself, go far towards preventing
such result-and therefore, the larger the at
tendance the better. The police will be more
certain to do their duty, if they know that the
eyes of their fellow-citizens upon them; and
voters will derive protection and confidence from
the presence and sympathy of their neighbors and
friends. In every point of view, therefore, we
think the suggestion of the Committee good
one; and it was with regret that we read, in the
papers in which it was published, the following
sentence in the circular of the MAYOR:
SIN order to prevent undue crowding at the polls ci
zens are respectfully requested when they have deposited
their votes to retire from the ground.n
We regret, we repeat, that in the amplitude of
his powers, the MAYOR should not have hit upon
some other and better expedient for prevent
ing 'undue crowding" at the polls than
the removal of the only check which he can have
upon the conduct of his officers, as well as their
most efectua support in case of riot and disorder
We remember, however, that in his recent cad
fdress," Mr.. SWAMI put the following question
to the public relative to the powers of himself and
his police: can
SIS there any power which they can exert to prevent
effectually undue crowdng polls on the day of
election-an evil old the charter of YOUR city-when
than three thousand persons are required to cast
their votes between O'Clock and sunset single pre-
cinct?r ...
We thought the question then, and we
think it nova singular one Beyond
all doubt, the MAYOR and the police have
the power, and are under an obligation to use
Tito prevent undue crowding at the polls"
Crowding they may not be altogether able to pre-
vent-but ''undue crowding" they both can and
ought to-and that 'effectually" To compel citi-
zens-''when they have deposited their svotes, to
"retire from the ground" would indeed, be, be-
yond the scope of the MAYORS authority, and
therefore, the suggestion to that effect, which we
have quoted from his Circular, is properly put in
the form of request. Compliance with that re-
quest-at least to the full extent desired by the
MAyoR-we have shown to be inadvisabe. Are
there no other means within the MAYORS power
not only to recommend but to enforce, which
might be equally efficacious for the purpose? We
think there are. For once, we will concede to him
wider range of authority than he is disposed to
claim. By 'undue crowding' we presume him
lDterereS
with the free exercise of the right of suffrage,
and consequently tends to q breach of the
peace. Nothing short of this can properly
be said to be f'undue," and this it is
clearly the MAYORS duty to prevent That his
powers are adequate for the purpose, no man can
doubt. What binders him. for example from re-
quiring--not requesting merely-the voters at
each polling-place to form line queue, and to
observe this order until their votes are deposited
or from constructing wooden barriers at the polls
and compelling voters to enter on one side and
withdraw on the other? Either of these methods
might prove sufficient "to prevent undue crowd
'ing''-what binders the MAYOR from trying them?
Nolaw, certainly or ordinance of the city, that we
wot of 1t is as clearly within his option to
adopt them, as to direct the police, Ito keep free
"and unobstructed access to the polls open to
"voters." There is no man in the community
whose opinion is worth considering who would
not sustain the MAYOR in any legitimate effort to
preserve the public peace-to facilitate the process
of voting-and to ensure the fairness of the cleo
uon There is no difference, in principle or effect
between "crowding" a voter away from the
polls, and driving him away, and it is as
much the Mayors duty to prevent the one
species of outrage, as the other In short, we
believe the MAYORS powers to be ample for the
purpose of providing for the preservation of the
peace, and the protection of voters, and we can
recall the time when he thought so too In his
correspondence with Governor L1GoN, prior to the
November election, in 1857, Mr.. SWAMI said
THE powers of the Mayor believed to be ample
he has his resort in of emergency the posse
mil yvh Hka fha
placed by the law under his controls
Nor was his estimate on that occasion of his
duty at all inferior to this he has given of his
power. He said
1t will be his duty to his best endeavors to see
tat every citizen protected in his constitutional rights
and that the peace of the city is preserved by every
means at his disposal =
The view which the MAYOR took of his powers
and his obligations then, ought to be conclusive
on him now. We do not ask him to do more
than he has heretofore protested himself both able
and willing to do. He cannot now, except at his
own peril, venture to do less