The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-06-06

| declare that we would abide the action
of Congress, would accept whomever the
Congress found to be elected, and that If
the two houses should fail to agree as to
which of the returns from any State from
which there were bona fde duplicate re-
turns should be received, whereby the
vote of the State was lost, and no cleo
ton by the electors should thus result,
he would then abide and maintain the
choice of the House of Representatives,
the body authorized by the Constitution
to elect the President where there is no
election by the Electoral College. In
stead of doing this we drifted along un.
til at last the Republicans, hewing all
the while to the line, had got us where
we were ready to accept the Electoral
Commission. Having accepted 1T, OF
course we were bound tOsubmit to its re-
suits. but we ought at least to be allowed
to show-if such was the fact-that the
returns upon which the commission
passed were procured by fraud. l admit
that the Presidency is not worth civil
war, but have not believed there was
any danger of such war. The gener.
alton who charged up the heights of
Fredericksburg and defended the works
at Petersburg will not 90 lightly into an
other civil struggle. We must get years
further on before that will happen. re-
member after the election remarkiDg to
General Mcdowell that a great mine
ought to be exploded by spark, to
which he answered, "Yes, if the train be
inaammable, but this time the powder is
wet" He was right, There never was
danger of a civil war. The whole thing
was, as l think, a gigantic game, in which
we held the cards and the Republicans
bluffed us. Years hence, when it is re.
membered that we needed only one elec-
toral vote and that your side could not
get on without every one of the remain
ing seventeen; that we had 100000 popu-
lar majority; that our majorities were
around the capital, yours in New Eng
land, the Northwest and Pacific coast;
that the moral sense Of the country was
that our man was elected and yours not;
that you had nothing on your side but
the control of an army of which 10000
men could not be got together, the pri-
Yates mostly in sympathy with us, and
commanded by officers educated to un'
derstand the supremacy of the civil over
the military authority-ottiCers " ho, ex-
cepting the leaders, Grant Sherman and
Sheridan, could, l believe, never have
been generally used to resist the decla.
ration of the House of Representatives
Il am told this will appear certainly
whenever the secret correspondence of
the War Department is reyealed) and
that you were laden down with the care
Of the national credit, the first shock to
which would have arrayed against you
all the moneyed institutions in the Coun
try; that under such conditions, | say,
your leaders Contrived and were able to
carry through the capture of all these
seventeen votes, will be regarded as one
of the greatest political performances of
history, l admit the success Of the Re.
publican leaders. Having lain down
when the law was on ouI side and when
we ought to have stood up it is not for
us now to stand up as long as the law re.
mains against us. But you will ask
whether if there be no danger to public
order from legal proceedings there may
not be from action by Congress- No, no
more than from the action of the courts.
Congress represents the people of the
country, but does not march before them;
it expresses but does not anticipate their
will. Should fraud connected with the
electoral count appear so gross and pal
pable that you and all honorable men
should unite in denouncing it, Congress
might then take action. But if 30, what
Congress might do, being the result of
the action of men of all parties of
the great body of the people, not of a
party, would be effected quietly, certain
iy and without violence or disturbance.
In saying this l do not mean that ex-
pect the investigation to be followed by
either legal or Congressional action
What, if anything, should be done be-
cause of the inquiry mus depend upon
the results of the inquiry. But do mean
that whatever action, if any, should fol-
low the investigation, such action can
neither disturb the order nor the pros
perity of the country. This cry of wolf
when there is no wolf, this effort to make
it appear that there is danger to peace or
order from this investigation, is Re-
publican pretense, like the "bloody-
shirt" justification of Carpet-bag govern
ment; like the "publiC danger" excuse
advanced for the enforcement of Du-
rells infamous order and the protection
of the Returning Board by bayonets
like the cry set up after the election to
prevent any agitation and to secure SUBJ
mission. We must have a very sorry
sort of popular government if Congress
cannot even inquire into frauds in the
choice of the Executive without endan-
gering the peace and prosperity of the
country.
What, then, you ask, is the purpose of
investigations Ianswer, to ascertain the
facts, so that if frauds be established, a
repetition of such frauds may be preven
ted, and if not, to clear up the general
belief throughout the country that there
were such frauds. 1t is true that not ev-
cry allegation of wrong is to be inquired
into by Congress, but when large por-
ton, is not large majority of the peo-
pie, believe that the last Presidential
election was secured by organized fraud,
surely an inquiry to ascertain the facts
ought to be had. The feeling amongst
Luduy 4sCpuDlLCdlb dAlCl bAlO OlOCGlOu Wdo
that while we bad been cheated in the
returns, we had bull.dozed the negroes
as badly, so that the accounts of wrong
were about equal. This belief in the
bull-dozing of the negro was based main
ly upon the fact that in certain districts
in the South which usually gave Repub-
lican majorities, there was not returned
that year single Republican vote. Now
the people of the North have never un-
derstood that this condition of things
was fraudulently prepared by the Re-
publicans. They ought to understand
that, and beyond that they ought to un-
derstand that there never was anything
so dangerous to free government as a
returning board. A delegation of per-
sons vested with discretionary power to
revise the votes cast become thus the
body that elect. So long as they exer.
else their functions under the protection