The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-09-11

Secttft4 =, HteJeTe w ~ '0 W iQtl tke tlectiOn OF
State officers 1t can ,nO innnder pre-
tence Of regulating Con ll elections, lhsn
II can when no Congress be 10 be flrUtcd.
II follows that any Tegul bf Congressional
elections enacted by Congress nst be SO framed
as TO not interfere wthAthe el0nNOn tf State on.
GERS II II do so interfere, 1t " M1Dconkiitutional.
Upon that stand with a eOHtS iOusneSs of being
In the right that hope lsnQi fesumH Hlpous To
me no legal proposition ever Hppea4ed clearer.
There are two classes OF eleeti0@in lhfs country,
There is an election for Fedeta}h fficers, Repre-.
sentatives and Senators in the ColgTs S. and elec.
tors Of President and Vice President; II the latter
can properly be called Federal officers There is
another class OF elections for the officers OF a !
State and her subdivisions. With the elections
Of this latter class, Congress under Ahe clause Of
the Constitution has no more right 10 interfere
than 1t has To interfere with the elections In.
France. SO far as 1t can interfere at an II Is nm
| der the fifteenth amendment, and that,is simply
to guarantee the light OF men otherwise qualified
| against discriminate on on account race col
| or or previous condition OF seIvtude. But that
| guarantee, have shown, has nothing to DO here
Here the question Is not about objections OF race
color, or previous condition ofseIvitude but IL is
| whether Congress under the pretence Of Tegulat-
ing congressional ctions can in eject regulate
the elections Of State officers too and that In d.
rect violation OF The laws and the rights Of the
States.
III our forefathers in the convention should
nave put clause In the Constitution tina would
| warrant what these laws attempt, they knew that
the whole instrument would be rejected and re-
| lected with scOrn and indignation. Sir, / ask
what 40 these laws enectf Do they not interfere
with the election OF State officers? How is 1t that
| when hundreds upon hundreds of men who
claimed the right 10 vote, and who so far as we
know had the right to vote at the last election
In the city of New York, were arrested by Federal
officers, dragged from the polls before Mr. Com
missioner Davenport, put in q cage, ss many as
the cage would hold, kept there until the elec-
tiOn was over, and Others only ADMITTED to bail
on the condition that they would promise not to
nm thot harr
would surrender their naturalization papers,
papers that he had no more right to take from
them than he had 10 take their goods an d chat
t6ls-When that was DONE WBS that not interieT.
ence with the election of the officers of the State?
Was that simply regulation of the manner of
eIectiDg bers Of Congress? Was Il at not an
Interference with the eleCtien of the members Of
the Legislature of the State who were to be cho.
sen ct that electiOn2 Was It not gu interference
with the election OF one of the judges OF the high
est JUDICIAL tribunal Of that Slate then TO be chO.
senY was is not an interference with the cleo
tion of every State officer who was voted for al
that election Who can deny it? Nobt dy can.
And, sir, will you tell me that Congress under
the power to regulate the manner OF Ell, ctioDs in
the choice of members of Congress, can frame
law In such wise as really to authorize deputy
marshal of the United States to tear the State
judges from their seats and col fine them n pris-
on and stop the election, and that all that is not
interfering with the lights Of the States to hold
their election for State officers according TO their
own laws2 viii you tell me that is al exeTciEe
OF the power to regulate the manner of electpg
members of Congress? No, sir, it will not stand
one moments examination. There are some
things so clear that argument upon the m ONLY
serves to obscure them, and this is one of them
man would be absurd who should argue that
two and two do not make four but he would be
scarcely more absurd than he who should argue
that laws which permit the Interference of which
have spoken, can be sustained under the pro.
visions of the Constitution, authorizing CopPTess
TO regulate the manner Of electing members Of
Congress"
REsUMPTIoN.
But 1t is time for me to pass 10 another theme.
The Republican speakers and Republican press
are Growing Justify about what they call the Re-
sumption of Specie Payments. Behold, say they,
we are on the eve of prosperity; Resumption
brought this about, and we brought about re.
sumption; ergo, you should all support the Re.
publican party. My friends 1t requires no great
powers OF analysis to explode this sopbistry.
In the first place. have we specie payments?
Do any of your debtors pay you in specie unless
the debt be FIVE dollars or less Do the banks
pay their creditors in specie Try and see if they
do Collect as many bank bills as you can and
assort them. Out of $4,000, you will have probs.
bly, not over 5000 on the National Banks of Co.
lumbus. The remaining 1880 are of banks scat,
tered all over the Republic. To present them RE
the banks that issued them, would require you to
travel thousands of miles and incur hundreds Of
dollars of expense. To present them at the Trea-
sury Department in Washington would cost less,
but yet would be onerous and expensive So
you abandon the idea Of doing either. But you
have 5000 of Columbus bills. You present them
at the banks and demand specie. Do you get it2
Not unless the banks see fit to give 1t to you Our
Columbus banks are very accommodating, and
,o,- hal {,,
would oblige you by giving you specie for their
5000 Of their notes. But they are not obliged TO
do so, and were you to present five or ten thous.
and dollars of their bills for redemption. thew
would not do so. They would pay you In the
much derided greenback. Then what would Won
do with the greenbscks, II you wanted specie for
them? Present them to any Federal officer In
Columbus for redemption? If you did he would
smile al your ignorance, and politely tell YOU
that the Government does not redeem greenb backs
in Columbus that II you want specie for them
you must carry or send them to the city of New
York and present them to the Assistant Treasury
of the United States. Well, you can't afford to
incur that trouble expense aud loss, and so you
conclude to keep your gre nbacks. Why, what
does the Secretary Of the Treasury tell us In the
| speeches that he is delivering through the coun-
try, in order to Illustrate suppose the honesty
| Of the Presidents civil service rules? Does he
| tell us that the Government is redeemlng green
| backs in speciei Far from 1t. He tells us that
/
| redemption. Orr so'called specie payments,
therefore, are no specie payments at all. Neither
| individuals, banks, nor the Government make
payments in specie. Paper money, when un-
doubtedly good, is so much more convenient
than specie that 1t keeps specie out Of circulation
except small change. In England and France
there is veritable specie payment Debs OF large
as well as small amount are often paid in specie
But in those countries there are no small notes,
and hence large proportion Of the money in
circulation is specie. In our country we have
small notes Of both the Government and the
banks, and hence we have no specie in circua-
tion worth mentioning except our subsidiary
coins Of half dollars aud less.
But, while we have no specie payments, accu-
rately speaking, admit that our paper money
has been brought to a par with specie. OF the
sacrifices suffered by the people in order to bring
this result about, of the shrinkage Of all values
the paralysis of all industries, the thousands Of
| laborers thrown out Of employment, the bank
ruptcies amounting to hundreds Of millions Of
dollars / shall not speak tonight II there 10
any one here who thinks that we have not paid
very dearly for the whistle will not to hight,
attempt to disturb his belief. But when the Sec.
retary Of the Treasury perambustes the country,
bOasting Of the achievement Of bringing green
backs to par with coin, II Is not improper to
point out to him the graveyards through which
| we have passed In our aTeaIy msrch 10 this
result. And when he claims that this cnnsump-
tion was brought about by the Resumption Act,
and his execution OF 1t, 1t is emnently proper to
show him how bsseless is his claim, how hollow
Is his preEensiOD.
| Tbere are various causes that have operated
to bring our paper money to par with specie,
and among them the Resumption Act Is the
| least Had that act never been passed, and had
| Congress authorized what the Secretary OF the
Treasury. without authority OF law, now permits,
the receipt of gTeenOacks in payment of customs
duties. they would have been 81 par with specie
year at least before the time fixed for Iesump-
ti0n by the Resumption Act. When that act was
before the Senate, | moved an amendment pro-
vidiDg for the receipt Of greenbaeks In payment
Of customs duties. The Republicans voted IL
down. said that 1t was worth more than all the
provisions in the act. My opinion was treated
with silent contempt; for the bill had been con-
Cocted in caucus and the Republican Senators
would not debate 1t. Times has proved that my
| Judgment was correct With all the machinery
| Of the Resumption Act, and Its cost 10 the peO-
pie the Secretary Of the Treasury found himself
COnpelled 70 TeCelYe. in nlAin Violation of law