Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1861-06-12

ttc0l.O0 Id. d ,lIU0 !! S9P
pressing the combinations withis ne
cottsml ksioa Of shsss .csss 80
Hof Svsr ss disst L esy oe, ~
pscp6F cssss, > sustain the Joo'c'sy
poSer snl thd bssshnls 10 the esscus'os
Of legal processes, il soPpressing illegal
comb; nations obstruCting the laws OF
the Uoited States, yet, IN many In
stapces !, suohea sosrss wouh be- wholly
imprse.icable.
story Il Story, CON. lO4) says: sIn
Ordinary cases, indeed, rss'stapce - the
laws may b pat down By the posss Co
misotus, or the assiseascs Of the com
mon msgistry. But csses may occur,
IN which such resort would DO utter
y vain, and even mischievous." Nor
does the language OF these acts 20 limit
the application OF the military power TO
the mere support Of judicial proceedings,
or the civil authority; on the contrary.
It 10 clear that the la~ ~ set forth IN
the above acts, contsmplates the appli
cation Of military forces, in suppressing
combinations Of too great magnitude 10
be 90 applied with reference to any ju-
dic'al proceeding.
In the first section Of tho above act of
1906, the President 10 authorized Il
call forth the militia TO repsI inUosios.
Will any one pretend that the President,
IN this act, 10 restricted ~ to the manner
Of disposiug or applying such forces to
repel 'nvasionl Every one knows that
III b a restriction would be imincutly
dangerous to the integrity Of the Un'ou
10 the time OF sudden and powerful ~
vasion. Yet, in speaking OF the powers
OF the President, IN this act, to Sepel in
vasi0n, and to suppress insurrec.Ion e
How } says: 1.-THE powers OF the Pies
'dent IN each case is the same" A. ain
the Supreme Court OF New YORK III
John 1907 Gays: "He (the Presl.leut)
and he alone is made tue Judge Of the
number, time aid desiindGon of that
species Of force Che m,Ii,is)." 1t the.
these dec'sions are correct, The suthOri-
ty Of the President, in the aPplicatio"
Of the military forces to accom- lish the
object for which they are called forth, IL
not restricted, but sholly Discretionary
Again, the act, entitled IAN act l.,
further provide for the collection of du-
ties" and passed by Congress on the 81
Of March, 1888, AID also known as the
fierce blIl," provides, that the Presl.
dent shall be, and hereby is, authorized
promptly to employ tssch means
as are authorized and provided il
the cases therein mentioned. by the act
Of the 2slh of February, 1895, aud al-c
by the act of the Sd Of March, 1907
Thus It appears that the "iorce bill"
sligmatized by it's opponents, in the
Senate, as tie "Iloody biH." vested no
greater authority in the President, in
the calling forth, and the manner Of ap-
plying the military power to suppress the
legal combinations of the Gil zens OF
the United States. in South Carolina,
threatening the existence Of the Union,
than is so conferred by the above acts
Also, Daniel Webster, in powerful ar
su,neDt made in the Senate in favor Of
he adoption Of the "lorce BILL" said
that he believed ''an unlawful comblna.
ton threatens the integrity of the Union
that It was the duty OF those, who
arc intrusted with the Government ,c
| sustain the Union and the c. Institution
against whsieyer may e1oanger them
itv. through these laws of Congress, to
call forth the military forces to suppress
illegal combinations, obs,rncting the
laws and threatening the stability of the
Unlou, aud the application of the same,
to the blockading Of har6ors in the pos.
session Ct confeierated insurgents, has
ateudency to supp ess such combinations,
how, we ask, does it appear that such
application or disposition Of the military
force is not jut AS constitutional, AS any
other possible disposition or application
Of the same? There is no magic il
words. The truth is, the Presiden,
beng invested with authority to suppress.
by military power, such combinations,
and the manner Of applying such pow
err being wholly discretionary, i, follows
that its constitutlonality cannot be ques-
toned.
But one further question yet remains
to be answered.: Who is TO Judge OF
happening Of the events, on winch tn.
militia may be called forth, in accord
ance with these laws Of Congress?
The Supreme Court Of the United
States az Whea. y in speaking of the
authority Of the President under the
above acts, say 1--WE are all Of the opin-
on that the authority TO decide when
the ex'gency arises, belongs exclusi, civ
to the President, and that his decision
is conclusive upon all persons" Aud
sga'n fancy, &. J in giving the opinion
OF the Court, e How. y says "By this
act (referrng to the above act o. l795)
the power Of deciding vile her the ex
'gency had arisen upon which the Gov
err ment Of the United States is bound
to interfere, is given to the President"
Thus it is decided by the highest
Judicial tribunal known to our Govern
ment, that the President 10 the sole Judge
as to whether there Is in fact insurrsction
rebellion, or combinations opposing or
Obstrnctlng the laws of the Quilted States
and ievy'ng war against the same, which
the General Government is bound to
suppress.
II Is certain, that at the present great
and momentOus crisis in our national
history, the President has made that
decision. The bombardment Of Fort