The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-10-17

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Oar Noveuber EleetIen 10 tho Ctty-ehaM
the law or ssthe Roxahs'' Control Ifr
The presence Of detachment Of United
States marines at one Of the polling places in
Philadelphia in the recent election in that city,
In the enforcement OF the right Of colored,
citizens to vote, has raised fierce outcry
against the proceeding from several Of tho
democratic journals Of this city. They
denounce it as ''the suppression OF the free
dom Of elections by the bayonet," as an
aggression of despotlsm, and the new laws OF
Congress on the subject authoriziag suoh
interferences az radical outrages, uncousti-
tutional acts and intolerable usurpations Of
power, to be resisted in this city even to the
extremity Of an appeal to arms. II 1t is given,
out to infame ssthe fierce democracie' that 'sini
New York ten thousand men will be placed al
the polls If need be, each with . badge Of
Deputy United States Marshal on his breast
and with slx-shooter in his pocket, aud 1
that s'if these will not secure . radical
victory, then the whole available force Of the /,
United States Army" win be brought into J.
reputation, ito keep voters from the poils.'a
But then, these despetic radicals are warned.
that their ten thousand deputy msrshals, each
with his fully loaded six-shooter, win be oon- !
fronted by at least one hundred and 6fty
thousand young, vigorous, brave and resoluts
citizens, Jealous Of their rights and determined
to maintain them at all hazards. y.
Another reckless democratic trumpeter Of
the same warlike proclivities issues the same
warning. and says that ''our city has fierce
love for the freedom Of its elective franchise"
and that cit will shed red blood before 1t sur
renders it," And SO they 60. But all such
beIlicose trumpetings as these, 1t may be said.
are only the harmless claptrap Of political
campaign, and that they mean nothing moro
than the stale repettions that four liberties
are in danger" and that american freemen
must be prepared to vindicate their rights at
any sacrifice" and the usual electioneering
fustian Of that sort. But in this case it ID
feared that these new election laws OF Con-
gress, If acquiesced in by the democracy Of
this city, may put in jeopardy the magnificent
sum of twenty-five millions of corporation
spoils and plumber, in the danger of the loss
Of the State from the reduction OF the city's
majority, proved, during the last three years,
under full local control of our elections, in
the voting, in the counting and in the official
returns, to be equal to cover any adverse OUT
side majority from the State at large.
We know that the greedy politicians Of both
parties have not the weakness to stick at
trifes in their struggles for the spoiIs and plum
der; that with them the end justifies the means,
and that everything is fish that comes into
their net" We know that as between the party
in power and the outside party the difference
in corrupt appliances is only the difference in
the facilities and means possessed for corrup-
ton by the one party over the other. In this
impartial view we think ii cannot be honestly
disputed that during the last three or fouy
years the democracy Of this city, in their ex-
traordinary means and facilities for corruption,
have too much reduced our city elections to a
mockery and farce in the voting, the count
ing and the official returns. The test of the
census--not only OF Shapes census, but Of
any census-applied to the official vote recorded
ofnumerous election districts of the metropo4
lis will prove this fact. In the funny voting
of May last so notorious was the impunity
accorded to repeaters and ballot suffers, and
all their confederates, that the election excited
ganza. 1t was such an amusing exhibition Of
the perfect freedom of the elective franchise
that Lord Dundreary himself would have pro-
nounced it the best joke Of the season, and
would have given his valet double kick in
the exnberance Of his delight. But there Is also
a serious neral to this business-a dark side
to the pictnre-which challenges our attention.
II may be reduced TO this simple proposition: -
Let our elections elsewhere, as they have been
Of late years in this city, be controlled by
fraudulent voters aud false returns for even
year or two, and we have an end Of popular
sovereignty and popular government. Our
whole political system falls into the hands OF
a conspiracy Of ambitious and scheming dcma-
gogues, in the shape of plundering oligarohy.
Hence it is that no honest voter DESTROYS Of
to offer against these seasonable election laws
of Congress. The cry that they are uncon-
stitutional is simply absurd. The authority
in the constitution for them is clear, ex-
pressed, comprehensive. 1t covers the whole
ground, and il the power has not heretoforo
been exercised it is because the intervention
of Congress has not heretofore been necessary.
Great cities, however, are the centres OF great
abuses and demoralizations, as they are Of
great things in the general advancement Of
mankind. With the growth of these great
centres of our population and trade we have
thus experienced in many things the insufIi-
cheney Of our State and local authorities and
the necessity for Congressional action cover
ing the whole Union. These new Congress