Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1870-06-01

.. .. lllG IullGu FNldlGH w bulNl IL AOL A4ohE
our institutions the envy OF mankind
Would not all the thrones of Europe
crumble into dust in admiration of this
most excellent and harmonious mode
We have of providing for the election of
officers and providing for the settle
nieRf0f contest 9nf SCI ilg % e success |
ftH Candidates 81 tlIeIE eh8ils. No, Mr.. |
Preident, it will not do.
( I say with the entire respect for mYt
[ friends of the Judiciary Committee who
/ have reported this bill-and it is no af-
+ fectatiOn when I say that-that I ami
lost in amazement that such 4 crude
piece of work ever came from their
hands. | know that committee; I have
sat.with them too often, I have discuss
hed with them in the cOmnittee-rOOm
and in the Senate too often, not to
know their learning, not to know their
ability, and must confess that I can
/ hardly conceive how itwas possible thai
such bib rs this ever came from tiIe'I
] bands nfas aijle aeoInmittee, IS that.
! But that is not all. This applies tOi
every officer of the States; nay, more, to
/ every officer of the United States. Now
( I want to put it to the committee: here
/ is an election for President of the Unit
/ Cd Stafe andAIrsT Al receives a ma
jOrity of the ELECTORAL votes, 1t IS said
] anu MI. y ~ WIN II uGlCdLtU1 StlHo llAe4bl
/ in the State of New York there were sol
many men not allowed to vote whoi
were entitled to vote under the fifteenth
amendment, and ftheir votes had beelld
cast for him then he would have had
the electoral vote of the State of New
York and would have been elected Pres
ident of the United States. Now, Sena-
tors, how do YOU sUppOse that question
d is to BE tried2 Before B dishiet Judge
of the United States Just think of
such question being brought before a
district Judge of the United States-the
question who is elected President of the
United States! That is it if your bill Isl
to be, taken according % its wording;
/, that Is It If 1T is to be taken according to
its plain language, that the title to the
office of the President of the United
States or the title, Mr.. President by
which YOU sit in that chair, is to be tried
! State + = ~ &SSES ~
I think I have said enough about the
fifth section. hope that the Senate4by
/ its HldHdanllLs will strike that out. Now
let us come to the sixth section: as|
That the district courts of the United
States, within their respective districts
shall have, exclusively of the
courts of the several States, cOgnizanCe
of all crimes and offenses committed
against the provisions of this act, and
also, concuTently with the circuit courts
Of the United States, of all causes, civil
and criminal, arising, under this
act, except as is otherwise provided
in the fifth section hereof s.l..a'-. --
The district courts of the United
States are to have exclusive jurisdiction,
/ of crimes and Offenses gprOEided for by
this act. The first thing to which I ask
The attention of them is this: that there
is not one single crime Orotfense prOvid-
ed for by the laws of the States. Ha
man is Improperly refused his vote by a
judge of election who acts willfully and
corTuptly in so doing, not simply COM
mitting an error OfiUdgment, but acting.
willfull and cOrruptly, land if he does
not act willfUlly and cOrruptly he ought
not to be punished, ) in every State of
this Union with whose laws I am aGr
quainted, that judge is liable to punish
ment; and in the same way men who
Il hinder OF prevent persons from exercis-
ing their franchise are also under the
State laws liable to punishment in the
State courts by Indictment or such pros
ecution as the State laws afford.
Now, sir, what is here meant? You
have provided for precisely the same
vide against, and then you propose to
take away from the State courts the
right to punish Offenses and vest that
power solely in the district courts of the
United States. ask you, as a practical
matter, which system is most likely to
enforce the laws, that of indictments in.
the State courts, courts sitting in every
, county in. GYerF State, With grand juries
in every county larniliaf with the facts,
or this system of punishment in the dis
trict courts of the United States, when
in most of the States there is but one
district court sitting in one place, and in
only one plaee, and in only one Of them
are there three, and in the other States
i there are but two. 'i7 -.-
Does not every one see That When you
want to enforce this fifteenth amend
ment your safest way is to leave it to
,kthe State lava. Do you not see that for
one Indictment that would be fOundzun-
der this bill in the United States district
court. there would be likely to be twenty
A in the State scUUrts2 Do you not see
that in the district cOurt.Of the United
States there Scarcely ever would be an
indictment unless it were to crafty
some malice on to extOTt black mail from
the party who was prosecuted? That is
the effect of it, Your law will give rise
to persecution it will give rise to the
4 levy OF black mall it viii subject Of
4 fieeFs Of lection t0st8e most ihtOlerable
persecution. All that it will do. twill
tend to drive decent, respectable, and re-
spOnsible men from accepting the office
Of judge of elections, all that it will do;
but so far as enforcing the rights of VO-
ters is concerned to the State which are
4 administered in every county, Of the
Estate. lUlHSiHliT GFHSU
AS a practical measure, then, nothing
could be worse than this. AS a measure
Of persecution, Of leVying black mail, OF
giving $500 to the inROrmer, as a measure
Of pains, penalties, and persecution,
| could be conceived more effective.
.- Them sir, comes. section seven and
| section seven is D beaIitifu SECTION, TOO
+ As If conscious that this BILL might not
haYe-efiect If left to the people, know
| ing that obnoxious laws defeat them
| selves, because the people will not exc
cute them, here is 4 seventh section that
makes it the direct interest, as we'll as
| the duty, of a whole host of Federal Of
ficials to arrest people who may violate
this law, arrest judges 0feleotIOn, arrest
registrars. Why, sir, under this you
may defeat q registry IN any State you
please. Let us see what Is necessary to
be done. Here is a registration law in a
State; a registrar is taking the registra-
ton; lie refuses TO register a b. His de-
cisiOn may be as honest as one ever was
in the world, the most honest in the
world. Under this act; il that man or
some Of these Federal officers, made
common intOrmels, shall go before q
commissioner of the United States aud
swear oltt warrant against him, that
man is tOlbe taken away from his Office
4 of registration Hnd'b6 committed TO the
! cOmmOn prison unless he be able to give |
bail. He is TO be sent TO the place Of,
| trial, which may be one or two Hundred
miles distantG and the whole registra-
ton Of his county may be broken up
under the provisions of this act. Any
one can see at once what q handle that
would give if you want to defeat regis
| tration In q county where yotn Oppuzl
nents are largely in the majority, and
thereby prevent a valid election in that
county, All you haYG 10 DO is 10 get lp
some charge like this, arrest the regis
trar, and take him away to prison, and
send him or one p two hundred miles
for trial.
That is not all You may stop an
election; right in the midst uf the cleo
ton and send them to prison and stop
the election altogether. That is this bill;
that is cafefuilY considered bill which J
| the Senatof having il in charge wants US !
te pass before tho sun shall set. The sun
will never have set on q worse piece of
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