The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-07-14
Letter from n Marion County Radi.
ecal-what Shall Do to be Saved?
Editors or the Register /:

! els are trOublel. Our trdulIional eIeHll,
whose NANCY carcass we have so often
| in our imagination, buried, raises again
his Gorgon front to scar our eye-balls
and fight our loyal livers. The Demo
Gratis say they will carry Marion
county, maugre hell and Governor
stevenson. Our three political scaven::
sers-meaning our Board Of Registra-
-Gor-promise to serve us well. What
scavengers dare, they dare. But, alas!
Congress has thrown a dead fly into
our Registration ointment. | almost
repent me Of our long continued assault
upon, and final overthrow Of, State
Rights. The Democrats claim that,
under the recent act OF Congress for
the enforcement Ofthe Fifteenth Amend
ment, il makes little difference to them
whether they are registered or not
that it is only necessary for them to
apply to the proper officers Of the Reg
istration law and establish their right
to he registered, or offer to do 80, and
then, if they shall not be permitted to
register. they will on election day be
allowed to vote, upon simply showing
that they have offered to comply. with
the requirements Of the Registration
law. And this, they say, is the more
practicable in Marion county because
in four of the seven townships they
have majority OF the election officers,
and in these four townships are to be
found nearly all the disfranchised citi-
zens OF the county-some tiiree or four
hundred in number
Nevertheless | find they are organ
izing with q quiet determination to have
every citizen registered who is entitled
to vote under the laws of the State.
They DO not claim that the act Of Con-
gress has eniianchiscd any citizen Of
West Virginia, or that any person shall
he registered who is not qualified
voter under our own laws. They say
that the law of Congress confcrs no new
rightupon white any man: butthntit has
put into their hands remedy by which !
they can compel fair and impartial exc
cution of the registration law. (Forthese
malcontents claim that hitherto that |
law has been abused; and the htSlH- /.
qeacfr having given countenanCe to |,
this claim il the reason Of my now
writing to you.) They also claim that
the decisions of the Boards OF Registra- !
ton are no longer final, but that the |
Supervisors and Inspectors of Election !
not only may, but must, permit the |
citizen to deposit his ballot, who, with !
his affidavit in his hand, shall show
that he has done all that the law re- |,
quircd of him as prerequisite to
qualify and entitle him to vote This !
"a course, would make it necessary for
these officers to determine for them /,
selves whether the citizen proposing to |
vote had the legal qualifications. ln- !
deed, the very question which such q
case would present to the Supervisor and :
Inspectors would be, whether the Reg !
is,rar or Board of Registration had i'm
properly refused TO permit the citizen to /
register " least every such case
would directly involve that very qrIes
ton: and to contend that the previous
decision of the Board OF Registration ,
would bc conclusive upon the Super
visor and Inspectors, or even that it I.
should influence the determination, :
would, confess, be very weak exam (
Tic Of pstiG.s prn"c'pis. 1t would he .
assuming the very point in controversy. /
They Slsim also that the District |
Court of t!lc tnitcd States, being IN I
vested with jurisdiction to indirectly !
enforce the right of tEe citizen to vote, .
by the infiiction Of seyere penalties in
case OF the wrongful deprivation OF that .
right, it follows that the action Of the
Registrars. or the Boards Of Registra- I
ton and oi the Supervisors and lnspec. ,
tors Of Elections, may be reviewed by
that Court in order that, IN proper |!
case, it may impose the penalties pre-
scribed by the act Of Congress; and ,
this not merely in a criminal form, but /
in civil action also, at the suit OF him
who has been wrongfrIIy deprived Of
his vote-the remedies being cumuIa- /
tive.
All these things are against us. We
are filled with alarm and disgust +
had intended to offer Tor the office Of
Sheriff. but will quietly decline, chooe- .
inc rather to let some friend sacrifice .
himseliin my stead We had derived !
some comfort from Governor Stantons !
letter to Bro. Nay, lately published in /
the htslhgcncrr. but our unfeeling enc
mics have deprived us of that: for they /
say that they make no issue with Mr.. ,
Stanton on any question material 10 the |
coming election They accept his
opinions a. faras they 20, but say that !
his letter contains no opinion upon any |
question OF interest to them.
But what especially alarms me are
the expressions have heard Of de- d,
liberate determination on the part of
the Democrats TO cause the arrest OF
every Registrar. every member of the !
Board of Registration, and every Super !
visor and Inspector for the first, and for
every succcding violation Of the law in |
refusing to allow any person to register
or vote who is qualified under the laws
of the State. They even say that
printed forms Of complaints, affidaTits,
warrants, bonds, &c, are now in course
OF preparation, containing appropriate |
blanks, which will he distributed all
over the State, so that all delay in the
arrest and punishment Of our faithful
Registration officers may he avoided
and that there viii be an honest Demo-
cratic Commissioner appointed in each
county. with plenty OF Democratic spe-
cial constables, who will promptly issue
the warrants and make the arrests.
And also that the lawyers are providing
themselves with hundreds OF printed
declarations with the names Of our
Registrars and OF the members oI our
Board of Registration already printed