The New York herald., 1870-05-24
The Fiftoenth Amcndment-A General isicc-
tlen Law from Congress.

tlea Law from Congress.
The bill which has passed the United States
Senate to enforce the fifteenth amendment IS
bill to protect honest voters and to punish per-
jurers, repeaters ballot suffers and forgers In
our political elections. 1t is good bill for
honest men, but bad thing for knaves.
Some general law Of this sort from Congress is
very much needed, and especially for the
restoration of passably honest elections in this
city From all that we have heard Of it our late
election on this island was grim joke, and an
amusing farce to the repeaters from beginning
to end. According to the free and easy sys-
tenn of this election the democracy have only
to say the word to the repeaters, and they can
roll up any majority in this city that may be
called for to carry the State, and we believe
that even honest republicans consented to this
repeating in order to make up a clear case for
Congress-
At all events, 90 notorious is 1t that our
metropolitan elections have fallen into the con-
troll of gangs of repeaters, and so notorious Is
it, too, that our State laws and city ordinances,
Wy 6VhCi a. tVuoCut, uiC utolCSdIu ouN uS""S~
with derision and contempt, that only United
States law and the national authorities in its
enforcement are competent to reach and
remedy this demoralizing state of things. The
New York republicans arc so bewildered by
our elections Of the last three years, and 80
corrupted and demoralized, that they are
powerless to help themselves; while the demo-
Gratis are very naturally satisfied with sys-
tenn which still increases their majorities.
Nor are these election frauds limited to this
city or the democratic party. The party which
has the power and the machinery in this State
or that State, here or elsewhere, no longer
scruples at any means whereby an election
may be carried. Here it happens that the ma
terials, the appliances and the temptations for
fraudulent practices being most abundant,
these practices are more glaringly developed
than anywhere else. 1t is only the old story,
that ''where the carcase is there will the vul-
of spoils are involved thousands of votes may
be manufactured.
A general law Of Congress and the United
States authorities TO enforce it, embracing the
President and the exercise of his power to
call in the army and navy when necessary to
execute the law, will, we believe, be good
thing for the whole country. As for State
sovereignty, that absurdity went down with the
rebellion, and as for State rights, they will not
be damaged or endangered by national law
providing the ways and means for enforcing
the simple rule of honesty in our political cleo
tons. Railroads and telcgraphs, indeed, have
brought the remotest States of the Union so
near TO the common centre, and have so inter
woven all the States with each other that
nothing but the general regulation of our cleo
tons by some uniform law of Congress will
preserve to the people that great power of last
resort which they hold in the elective fran
chisc. AS our cities and States, too, become
more and more densely populated we see that
the necessity of general law for the regula-
ton of our elections more and more increases.
We live in new age of steam and tele-
graphs, a new age of concentration of thought
and Capitalization Of material and moral
forces, and the action Of our national govern
ment must be shaped to meet this new order
of things We are no longer and can be no
more loose confederation of discordant
States, but we are nation of States, the com
mon sovereignty over which lies in the people
and in their representatives in Congress.