Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-05-10

.es the few instances where men
known az Democrats
we're selected being no exception to
this rule, for they were appointed
on condition that they would be
converted and lCOrk for the Repub-
lican party. And they have worked
well tile Republicans in Congress
have been challenged again and
again to demonstrate a case wherein
their Intervention has been put iii
behalf of Democratic rights or i'm /
Illustration of Republican corrup-
ton. Ithas been one-sided through
out. Democrats have been insulted |
and assaulted by drunken Super
visors at the polls and driven by |
them from the registration offices
voters by thousands have been inn
prisoned on the eve of elections or
deprived of their voting papers, and
after the election was over
either discharged without a trial, or
if trial has been had, dismissed
with scarcely the attempt to sub
stantiate a pretext for the imprison-
ment.
If these things can be done at all,
there is no limit to the extent to
which they can be done, and it is
manifest that if the present Congress
permits the laws to remain on the
statute they will be carried out to
whatever extent may be necessary
in order to restore the control of
Congress to the Republican Presi-
dent ut the next election. The i'm
punity for former delinquencies, the
passive submission of Congress to
the overriding will of the President
and his advisers will encourage
them to a more daring assertion of
these Ubiquitous powers. They have
been sufficient once to override the
will of the people; Grant through
their instrumentality established his
successor in office, and Hayes will
unquestiOnabIy do the same if al
lowed to WELD the same powers.
The reactionary revolution by which
under the forms of law the elective
mode of government has been prac-
tically set aside will have been con-
firmed and strengthened by inn
purity and submission, and the
appointing power will be seen to be
vested in the President debating
his candidates at the polls through
his Supervisors and Marshals,
backed by the whole available force
of the United States Army.
This, then, is the emergency; is
it or is it not sufficient to evoke and
justify the extreme powers cOnfided
to Congress for the express purpose
of curbing usurpation on the part of
the Executive? The Executive has
put forward its extreme powers; TO
maintain its usurped prerogative it
has done a thing unprecedented in
the annals of the Presidential veto /;
it has vetoed q repeating act against
which no shadow of constitutional
objection is raised or can be raised,
and if prerogative is to be thus
stretched, can there be any excuse
for Congress should it shrink from
! putting in force the constitutional
means confided to it for the express
purpose of resisting such encrOach-
ments. We grant that public incon-
venience and public disorder must
arise from this mode of asserting the
rights of representative government
against the encrOachments of pre-
rogative and admit therefore that it
ought never to be resorted to except
i'm extreme easeS-but we think we
have established the existence of
such an extremity. We admit that
the responsibilities incurred are very
heavy, but contend that these re-
spOnsibilities attach to those who
refuse to pass an appropriation be-
cause it is accompanied with such a
claim for redress. Not that we quar-
rel with the Democratic caucus for
declining the responsibility Of per-
sistently refusing to pass the apprO-
priation separate from the repeating
clause. This policy was no doubt
forced upon the party by the poten-
cy of the fact that the very small
majority enjoyed by the party would
be imperilled by the detection of
members who have not the courage
of the situation. Be it so, but then
this ought to have been known be-
fore the rider was attached to the
bill and to have prevented its at
tachment. Had the two been at
first offered separately it could only
have been said that Congress had
not thought it eXpedient to assert
its money power in behalf of its leg
islatiOn; but the two having been
sent up to the White House united,
and then after the veto separation
having been allowed, Congress pre-
sents the appearance of first putting
forth its money power and then
formally abdicating it. In the one
case the power would have been
simply reserved; in the other il
seems to be finally renowned. There
is no meaning in the association OF
the appropriation and correspond
ing legislation unless it had been
intended to maintain them insep-
arabic.
! Our contemporary lin differing
from whom we do so with profound
respect) says we have a fine position
to go with to the election in 1880
and so we have, but we have left il
in the power of the Federal EXecu.
tive to stifie the voice of the people
at that election by the united efforts
of its office-hOlders, its Supervisors
and Marshals, and, as last resort
of its soldiers.
If further evidence is needed Of
! II n 1. a