The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1871-03-09

VI Vic O444 49, SAAb MACACNC4g Al
any city or town having upward Of twenty
inhabitants" &c. The word
town" must be taken in its popular sense,
and will be construed in this bill as synon-
ymous with township.
It will extend to any rural town or town
ship, and every town having population
of 20, 900 will be covered by this provision. |
These officers can then be appointed in the
great majority of the election precincts of
the United States They will swarm over
and throughout the length and breadth Of
the land, and their name will be legion
They will be an electioneering force such
as was never before organized in any
country on earth; such s no free country
can or ever ought to tolerate But two
of these partisan agents in each election
district in cities and towns having upward
of 10000 inhabitants, are only a small
number of these creatures of the Federal
power authorized by this bill, as we shall
see when we have looked It through, when
we shall consider the other appointments
by the United States Marshals which will
be made, and to which there is no limita-
ton.
. I said the worst is yet to come. By the
eighth section, the Marshal of the United
States is empowered, and it is made his
duty, on application of two citizens of any
such city or town, to appoint SPECIAL
deputies" whose duty it shall be to attend
at all the times and places specified for the
attendance of the Supervisors. The pre-
tense of their appointment Is to preserve
order, keep the peace, and support and
protect the supervisors in the discharge of
their duties. They are to prevent fraudu-
lent registration and fraudulent voting, or
fraudulent conduct on the part of any Of
fcer of election, and Immediately, either
at said registration or polling-place, or
elsewhere, and either before or after regis
tering or voting, to arrest and take into
custody, with or without process, any per-
son who shall commit, or attempt, or offer
to commit any of the acts prohibited by
this act, or the act hereby amended, or
who shall commit any offense against the
laws of the United States.
The power to arrest is also conferred
upon the supervisors. In addition to all
this, the tenth section provides ''that who
ever with or without any authority, power,
or process of any State, Territorial or mu-
nicipal authority" shall in any wise Gin
terfere with or prevent the supervisors of
elections, or either of them, or the marshal,
or his general or special deputies, or either
of them" in any duty required Of them,
cor shall modest, interfere with, remove or
eject from any such place of registration
or poll of election" "any supervisor of
election, the marshal, or has general or
special deputies" or attempt to offer so to
do, or shall refuse or neglect to aid and
assist any supervisor of election, or the
marshal, or any Of his deputies when re-
quired, shall be guilty Of misdemeanor,
and liable to instant arrest with or with
out process, and on conviction thereof,
shall be punished by Imprisonment not less
than one year, nor more than two years,
or by fine not less than 81, 900, nor more
than $3, 900, or by both such fine and i'm
prisonment, and shall pay the cost of pro-
secution.
But to cap the climax of the enormity,
to outrage every sense of honor, prepriety
and decency, to insult and trample upon
all law, and make the liberty of the citizen
delusien, and suffrage a pretense and q
snare, it is provided by the twelfth section
that all these great and little satraps, the
supervisors, the marshal and his deputies,
may, when they shall see fit, summon to
their aid the by-standers, a posse conlitGtlls,
and require the commanding officer of the
nearest United States military or naval
forces to enable them to accomplish the
purposes of their appointment. Yes, sir
the bill requires il; the biggest fool the
marshal shall be able to appoint his deputy
viii be in command of the Army and Navy
of the United States. "And it shall be-
Il use the words of the bill "the duty oi
such commanding officer upon such requi-
sition being made to obey it without de-
lay" There is no alternative, no discre-
ton, no delay The highest and the low
est military or naval commander must
instantly obey the deputy marshals created
under this act. The President of the
United States, the Chief
must be subject to such order The voice
of Congress is the voice of omnipotence.
1t has made the rule, it has established the
regulation. President, generals, heuten-
ant generals, major generals, brigadieI
generals, and all are subject to the COM
mand Of the most insignificant deputy
marshal of the United States. Was there
ever so supremely ridiculous and absurd a
proposition2 This bill not only places the
States, State officers, and all local State
authorities, but the United States, al
United States officers, civil and military
and all the powers of the Federal Govern
ment, under the control and at the dispo
sal of these election officers.
Mr.. Speaker, it may, perhaps, be deemed
undignifed and small to look into the les
ser details of this grand scheme, this granC
electloneering scheme, as l look upon it
this scheme for propping up the waning
fortunes of the Republican party but i
ought to be understood. 1t will do M
harm to look into and count the cost O
this new departure in politics, and see, a
well as We can, about how much of al
elephant" we shall have on our hands
There is to be IN each Judicial Distric
one chief Supervisor of Elections, who !
to furnish all necessary books, blanks
forms, &c, and do and perform a grea
many other duties, with most extravagan
fees for his services, the aggregate of whic
will depend upon the work he will find
do, and which no man can estimate in ad
vance.
As we have already seen, there will b
two Supervisors of Elections in each elec
ton precinct in every City and town {
upward of twenty thousand inhabitants
The marshal will, IN each of these electio
precincts, appoint at least two special d.
, puties and as many more as he shall Sc
fit. Being partisan, and anxious to cal
E ry the elections In favor of his party,
will of course appoint just as many as th
E | eXlgencles OF the case may seem to requlr
He is not limited by the act. 1 estimat
without pretending to entire accurac.
that there will be of supervisors an
marshals, from forty to fifty thousan
throughout the United States. 1t may /
more. These are exclusive of all those wh
may be pressed into service from anon
, the by-standers. at elections. The bi
provides that there shall be allowed an
paid to each and every supervisor Of ele4
; tions, and each and every special deput
! marshal" compensation 'at the rate of fly
. dollars per day" for each and every ds
he shall actually have been on duty NJ
exceeding ten days" Here, then, it wi
: be seen is grand army of electioneerer
of tens OF thousands Of party politician
, and fund of millions Of dollars to be pa
: from the public Treasury for the work
be performed
f Every one ofthese supervisors and Del
. utv Marshals will receive at least fiji
E dollars 1t is of little account that one
f these Supervisors is of different polite:
1 from the other Scarcely any two me
: can be found who are not of somewhl
: different politics; so there will be no diff
8 Guilty in having them all of one part