The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1878-11-09
-SS-ssI.,ur%T-Fs G:rTEEEa
How |; Gro" =.
Cincinnati ..nrHIl'g

when the Federal Envr,nmnN mo-
we'd into Cincinnati. iu'o IIAmil-
ton County, into ohio. TO take cHAl -
of our elections. the fact WAS iytfli
regarded, or, if it kindird irhj@t,n-
ton for a moment. the wrath MAS
soon forgotten. But We hA>r seen
the same insidiouS and Dangerous, p"N
er creeping into other rll'c> "lri "'i:'l
States. 1t is wanted in Louisa ..tr
1t is wanted in l'hiI;drIp'I1. Il is
desired and will bc used in Nanny at
the Northern States and in all the
Southern States. In addition {, 'h!>.
in tho Southern States, the "ullnyrS
have begun, on paper ard 81 'd-
eral bayonct is to I've inv"| go
President can be made pIi"' ..."uHh
in the hands OF the mart'r, ~ ito
the machines bidding. The nrprar-
ance of the Federal power in '|"c'n
natl to conduct elections was Il little
thing. This city is but u small part
of the country but "takc us the
foxes, the little foxes that spoil the
vines" Tho wrong grows.
There is ono phase of the Federal
interference which has been almost
overlooked, though the Enquirer
promptly called attention to it. 1t is
not claimed that the General Gov
eminent has any authority to inter-
fere with, or take control Of, or >u
pcrvise the elections OF municipal or
State officers. no man prcIcndS that
the Federal Government has power
to appoint supervisors Of elections
for the office of Sheriff, or OF local
Magistrates, or to hire men at from
five dollars to fifty dollars a head, to
vote and clcctionccr for a candidate
for the Dictatorship of an Intirmarv.
BUTT so happens that the elections
of these purely local officers and tho
elections Of member of Congress ale
inscparable. Tho Government at
Washington can not interfere with
the one without interfering with the
purely local elections, and a lawlr~S
and forbidden thing can not be done
in fulness. In Hamilton County.
Ohio, the election of a Sheriff, of ono
Common Pleas Judge, and perhaps
two Common Pleas Judges, the cleo
ton Of the State ticket in Ohio, the
election of Magistrates and other Of
6cers as well as the election of two
members of Congress, were defeated
by the exercise of this lawIcss law.
The statute is to be employed else
where for local purposes, for all hope
of saving the House of Representa-
tives to the Republican patty must
now be abandoned. At the request
Of a few citizens, who are Republican
candidates, the Supervisors and an
unlimited number of Deputy Mar
shals, the latter receiving from s. to
$50 per capita for dong political
work, a to be appointed to carry To-
cal elections. This is the most vii
famous use of the ''machine."
Judge Isaac Caldwell, of Louisville,
has tiuely met the only constitution
al ~ argument my'd in support Of
the scheme of interference. lie says:
at is not, in my OPT: Il lrSti--
mate exercise of the a. clause in
the Constitution wbic., can be claim
ed to support it viz: the power in Con-
gress to make regulation prescribing
the times, places and manner of hot
ding elections for Senator and Re
representatives., since it clearly makes
no regulation for the time, place or
manner of holding tho elections. nor
does it alter the time, place or man
ner prescribed by the State statutes ;
bnt, on the contrary, leaving the
State laws which fully prescribe in
great detail the time, place and man
ner unaItered, the act provides for
the sending to the voting precincts,
under the authority and sway of tho
Federal Government, set of chal
lengers, overseers and spies, whose
coming is u menace and An insult on
the part of the central power to the
lawful OlhCers OF kentucky, whose
duty is to hold an open, free and fair
election"
This point is we'll taken. The law
of 1871 neither makes nor alters re-
gulations as to the times when, places
at which, or manner in which, the
elections shalt he held the only
thing Congress can do IN the prmises.
Still further, the power given to Con-
gress to make or alter the regulations
under 'chich the people Of the States
may conduct elections give no power
to Congress or to the Federal Gov
eminent itself to conduct them.
When this assumption of authority is
spread over all the country the pco-
pie will begin to understand it. That
the unconstitutional statute will b.
used sweepingly is now evident