Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1867-08-01
GEO. B. GOODLANDER, Proprieto

In other words, an officer or soldier oil
the army is thus transformed into a
civil officer. He may be made Gov
ernor, a legislator, or Judge. How.
ever unfit he may deem himself for
such civil duties, he must obey the
order The officer of the army must,
if detailed, 20 upon the Supreme bench
of the State with the same prompt
obedience as if he were detailed to 90
upon a court martial. The soldier, il
detailed to act as a justice of the peace
must obey as quickly as if he were
detailed for picket duty. What is the
character Of such military-civil Off
cerY This bill declares that he shall
perform the duties of the civil Office
to which he is detailed 1t is clear
however, that he does not lose his
position in the military service. He
is still an officer or soldier of the
army. He is still subject to the rules
and regulations which govern it, and
must yield due Difference, respect, and
obedience towards his superiors. The
clear intent of this section is, that The
officer or soldier detailed to fill a civil
Office must execute its duties according
to the laws of the State. If he is
appointed a Governor of a State he is
to execute the duties as provided by
the laws of that State, and for the
time being his military character is
to be suspended in his new civil capa-
city. If he is appointed u State
Treasurer he must at once assume
the custody and disbursement of the
funds of tho State, and must perform
these duties precisely according 10
the laws of the State, for he is entrust-
ed with no other official duty or other
official power Holding the Office OF
treasurer, and entrusted with funds,
it happens that he is required by the
State laws to enter into bond with
security, and to take an oath of office
yet from the beginning of the bill to
the end there is no provision for any
bond or oath of office, or for any sin
gle qualification required under tho
State law, such as residence, citizen.
ship, or anything else. The only oath
is that provided for in the ninth Sec
tion, by the terms of which every one
detailed or appointed to any civil
Office in the State is required "to take
and to subscribe the oath of Office
prescribed by law for the officers OF
the United States" Thus an officer
of the army of the United States,
detailed to FL a civil Office in one OF
these States, gives no official bond
and takes no official oath for the per-
formance of his new duties, but as a
civil officer of the State only takes
the same oath which he had already
taken as a military officer Of the Uni
ted States. lie is at last military
officer performing civil duties, and the
authority under which he acts is Fed
eral authority only, and the inevitable
result is that the Federal Government,
by the agency of its own sworn Off
GERS, in effect assumes the civil gov
ernment Of the State.
A Asingular contradiction is apparent
here. Congress declares these local
State governments to be illegal gov
ernments, and then provides that the
illegal governments shall be carried
on by Federal officers, who are to per-
form the very duties imposed en- its
own officers by this illegal State au-
thority. 1t certainly would be a
novel spectacle if Congress should
attempt to carry on legal State gov
ernment by the agency of its officers.
1t is yet more strange that Congress
attempts to sustain and carry on an
illegal State government by the same
Federal agency.
In this connection, ! must call attcn-
ton TO the tenth and eleventh sections
of the bill, which provide that none
of the officers or appointees of these
military commanders "shall be bound
in their action by any opinion OF any
civil officer of the United States, and
that all the provisions of the act shall
be construed literally, to the end that
all the intents thereof may be fully
and perfectly carried out" 1t seems
Congress supposed that this bill might
require construction, and they fix,
the rule TO be applied But
where is the construction TO come
from? Certainly no ono can be more
in want of instruction than a soldier
or an officer Of the army detailed for
a civil service, perhaps the most i'm
portant in State, with the duties of
which he is altogether unfamiliar.
This bill says he shall not be bound
in his action by the opinion Of any
civil officer of the United States.
The duties of the Office are altogeth-
er civil, but when be asks for an opin-
ion he can only ask the opinion of
another military officer, who perhaps
as little of his duties as
be does himself; and as TO his "ac-
Iion," he is answerable to the military
and the military authority
alone. Strictly, no opinion Of any
,ivil officer, other than a judge, has
binding force; but these military ap-
pointees would not be bound even by
! judicial opinion. They might very
well say, even when their action is in
conflict with the Supreme Court Of
he United States, "that court is com
posed of civil officers Of the United
States, and VIC are not bound to con-
orm our action TO any opinion Of any
iuch authority" This bill, and the
Icts to which it is supplementary, are /
III founded upon the assumption that
hese ten communities are not States,
md that their existing governments
re not legal. Throughout the legis- |
A. Id