The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-06-13
SENATOR VANCE ON THE SITUATION.

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We feel We cannot do justice to our read
ers in withholding from them tho veri
admirable speech Of Senator vapce deliy.
cred with temper in his own ini.nitable way
Hence We make the following extract con.
tanning the pith of the Senator's remarks:
~ ~ f'u*pGi - - 80 -
Coming briefly TO the real questions I
ask why should the law authorizing the
military TO be used at the polls not bo
repealed, and why should the law authoris.
Ing Federal supervision also not be "a.
pealcd / take it to DO individually %.
tablished, without further argument. tba.
the whole subject relating to the elective
franchise Is placed by the constitution nm.
der the control of the States, and all that
the Federal government can do is to see
that the States, as such, do not discrimi.
nate against any on account of race, color.
or previous condition Of servitude. This ia
the whole duty and power of Congress. as
declared by the Supreme Court When
any Republican Senator has ventured for
one moment to abandon the line of inflam.
matory appeal to tho sectional feeling of
the country, the excuses given for the
retention Of this law upon the statute book
arc illogical almost to puerility.
Ono Senator gravely urges that it should
not be repealed because the great bulk of
the army Is in the distant West, only some
few hundreds being east of the Rocky
Mountains. He tells MS in the course of
his enumeration that there are only about
thirty in the State of North Carolina, and
asks the senators from that State if they
are afraid Of that number of soldiers. Pas.
sing over the obvious fact that within thir.
ty days 10000 could be sent there if de-
sired, answer that We dO fear them. be-
cause they represent the power of the
United States government aud tho cnmity
OF the Republican party which Yields that
power; VIC fear them as the Hollander fears
the FIRST small leak in the dykes which bear
back the waves of the ocean from deluging
the meadows Of his homestead; we fear
them as~the physician fears the first speck
OF gangrene in the system of his patient;
we fear them as tao sailor fears the piling
up OF the storm clouds upon the horizon,
knowing that their deceptive beauty covers
the fierce desolation of the tempest; we
fear them as the shepherd Of the mountain
fears for his lambs at even the fitting of
shadox athwart his path, for hc knows it
to be the shadow Of the eagle. the remorse.
less tyrant Of tn, air we fear them as Char.
lemagno feared the rude wooden ships of
the Morse Vikings on their first appearance
in the seas of his empire we fear them as
oil patriotic Romans feared the crossing of
the Rubicon by Caesar, the passage of which
with arms in his hands marked him as tho
enemy Of Roman liberty. "a
Even an Wa fear md hol;nra thok ,-L~,
an Americaa crosses the Rubioon of bis
constitutional powers and appears OF the
place Of choosing our rulers, armed either
with the sword or with illegal powers of
arrest, he thereby proclaims himself the
enemy Of tho liberties of our people. A
fagrant illustration ofthe justice of this fear
is to be found in the various orders of tho
War Department directing the concentra.
tion Of troops 10 the States of South Caro-.
lima, Florida and Louisiana on the occasion
of the election Of 1876. The excuse that
these soldiers we're not intended to Interfere
with elections or to be placed at the polls.
but only to be sufficiently near to keen the
peace, is not sustained by tho facts of that
reign of military violence, nor will It be IL
triod again. 1 quote from an order dated
headquarters Department of the South, Co.
!umbia, South Carolina, October 8. 1876.
issued by General Ruger:
SHOULD the barracks or camp in any
case % 30 far from the placs of voting that
prompt assistance could not on occasion
arising be rendered the civil Off cers, the
commanding officer will so place his com.
maud, or . sufficient part thereof, that
such assistance, if required, may be
promptly given. No troops, however, will
bs placed actually at any poll Of election,
except upon requirement. to that effect by
Me psarshal or lis deputy"
So it seems that the discretion as to
whether the law should be violated or not
was vested in a deputy marshal In fact,
they were SO illegally disposed and used in
a hundred instances. The President, as
appears by the order of General Townsend
to general Emory, dated October 27, 1874,
seemed anxious to have the troops placed
at the polls without the appearance Of doing
so. In that order ho propounds physical
problem or conundrum to General Emory,
WHICH chat officer had to givo up. He
says: g.
aCannot points be selected near polls
where atesnpts 70 overawe voters, likely 10
result in riots, may be made, and troops sta
toned there n day or two beforehand II
would not DO desirable TO have soldiers at or
too nedr tho polls, asaH appearance of nsil