The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1876-09-24
THE HERALD
DALLAS. TIE x A s :
SUNDAY MORNING :: SEPTEMl
IN DEFIANCE OF LAW.

The innate cussedness and desperate
lrontery of the Republican party has an
exemplar in one Taft, the attorney
general of the United States,
This mans instructions to the mar
shalls of the various federal courts are
astounding in their open defiance OF
law, and appalling in their tyranny Il
executed. They simply place bayohe''
mt the throats Of Southern men An
cpitome of Tuft's instructions should be
read by our readers again, and rtmcm'cf-
eI for while no trouble is likely to arise
in Texas, there exists volcano IN our
sister State of Louisiana, likely at any
moment TO belch out flame and smoke
and blood. That cpitomc is about AS
follows
"Thnt in order to enforce the fifteenth
amendment, Congress enacted certain
legislation in regard to state elections
and certain other legislation IN regard
to presidential and congressional clcc
tons; that in the recent enforcement
net cases the supreme court OF the uhl'
ted States decided that this legislation
so far as respects State elections was
unconstitutional and void, but 50 far ~
relates to federal elections was valid
and binding and that hence IN cleo
tions for president and congressman IN,
enforcement acts are oiiull force ana all
officers of the United States are bound
to vigorously and faithfully execute
their provisions.
Taft has practiced law too long II
Cincinnati, has too long decided cause
US sworn judicial officer, not to know
and feel that Congress did nat enact sep
arate legislation for State and Fedora
elections and that the Supreme c"ur
tilt not decide that the enforcement act
were unconstitutional onl y as respect
Estate and other local elections bu
that said supreme court d'd decide thos
acts altogether void, and in consequence
as Senator Bayard says, no ,olliccr, clvl
or military, of this government is wal
ranted in attempting to enforce them
The Attorney General $ partisan AM
malicious instructions rest upon TIL
supposition that the Supreme court let
the enforcement acts in tullsvigor .torH
purposes qf tctral elections, when in fac
and in truth, rs Taft well knows, tina
high tribunal has swept from the statut
book every yestige Of this infamous law
The highest constitutional authority II
this republic has declared the law utter
ly and absolutely null and void
and no partisan cunning o
devilsh sophistry OF amy nitonc
general can by mendaciou'
trick breathe into its nostrils the breat
Of life.
Every lawyer who has read this eel,
brated decision rccollects the iorcibl
language of the judge deliv cring til
opinion of the court, in effect tina
while part of the act might he vail
another part was certainly void, and a
it could not separate that which wa
good from that which was bad, it mus
pronounce the whoir act void
That Grants cabinet can, with con
mon decency, support or countenanc
the instructions of an attorney geI
eral so revolutionary, 40 subversivc an
defiant of law, seems almost meredith
TO thinking men, but that cabinet NJ
only does support the instructions, b,
Hayes, and Chandler, and Morton, I'm
Blaine, and Garfield, and Boutwell,, ye
even poor Bristow, give in their asscl
to this iniamy. Can it be wondered {
that Southern people sometimes d
spair ?