The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-04-30
WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL 90. 1879.


i any adequate civil force for this purposI
!. at the place where their enforcement l
0 most necessary, namely, at the place
8 where Congressional elections are held
!. Among the most valuable euaCtments Il
i which l have referred arc those which
+ protect Supervisors Of Federal election
Q In the discharge Of their duties at thl
It polls. II the pending legislation shoult
J, become law there Is no power vested ii
9 any oilicer OF the Government to proteC
i from violence the officers OF the UniteC
Y States engaged in the discharge OF the
8 duties. Their rights and duties under thu
lazy will remain, but the National Govern
a mont will be powerless to. enforce It's owr
8 statutes. The States may employ botl
! military and civil power to keep the peacC
I and enforce the laws at State elections
!. II Is now proposed 10 deny to the 5UniteC
: States even the necessary civil authority
. TO protect national elections. -
No sufficient reason has been given for
: this discrimination In favor Of the State
I and against the national authority, II well
founded objections exist against the present
national election laws all good citiZenl
should unite In their amendment. Laws
i providing Safeguards OF elections
! should be impartial, Just and efficient,
They should itpossible be so non partisan
and lair in their operation that the
minority party out Of power will have no
just grounds to complain. The present
laws have in practice unquestionably con.
duced TO the prevention OF fraud and
violence ut elections in several OF the
States. Members Of different political
J parties have applied for safeguards, which
they furnish. 1t sthe right and duty ofth
National Government to enact and enforce
laws which will secure free and fair Con.
gressional elections .t.t... D.
the RIDER sNlTTEN. ~"
The laws now in force should not be re.
pealed, except iniconnection with the en-
actment Of measures which will better
accomplish that important end Believing
that section Of the bill before me will
weaken, II 1t does not altogether take
away the power OF the National Govern
ment to protect Federal elections by civil
authority, am forced to the conclusion
that 1t ought not to receive my approval
That section is, however, not presented TO
me as q separate and independent mea.
sure, but Is, as has been stated attached
to the bill making the usual annual ap.
preparations for tho support OF the army,
1t makes a vital change in the election
laws Of the country, which is no way con.
nected with the use OF hearmy. It prohibits
under heavy penalitiesa any person engaged
in the civil service Of the United States
from having any force at the place of any
election prepared to preserve order, to
make arrest, to keep the peace, or in any
manner to enforce the laws. This is alto.
gether foreign to the purpose Of. any ap-
preparation bill.
FORMER POLITICAL RIDERS.
The practice Of lacking to the army ap-
preparation bill measures not perth ent
to such bills did not prevail until more
than forty years after the adoption OF the
Constitution. 1t has become common
practice. All parties when in power have
adoptedit. Many abuses and great waste
OF public money have in this way crept
into appropriation bills. The public opin.
ion OF the country is against it. The
States which have recently adopted con.
stitutions have generally provided rene
dy for the evil by enacting that no law
shall contain more than one subject,
which shall be plainly expressed in its
title. The constitutions OF more than half
OF the States contain substantially this
provision. The public welfare will be
promoted in many ways by return to
the early practice OF the Government, and
to the true principle OF legislation, which
requires that every measure shall stand or
fall according to its own merits. II it
were understood that to attach to an ap-
preparation measure irrelevant to the
general object OF thc bill, would imperil
and probably prevent its final passage and
approval, valuable reform in parliamen.
tary practices OF Congress would be &C.
complished.
A GOOD EXCUSE FOR RIDERS THAT DoS'T
HOLD IN THIS CASE.
The best justification that has been OF.
fered for attaching irrelevant riders to an.
preparation bills Is that it is done for con.
venience sake to facilitate the passage OF
measures which are deemed expedient by
all branches of the Government which
participate in legislation. 1t cannot be
claimed that there is any such reason for
attaching this amendment OF the election
law to the army appropriation bill. The
history OF the measure ContradiCts this as.
sertion. A majority OF the House OF Re
personalities in the last Congress was in
favor OF this section OF the bill. It was
known that a majority OF the Sen.
ate was opposed to it, and that as
a separate measure it could not
be adopted. 1t was therefore attach.
ed 10 the army appropriation bill to com.
pei the Senate to assent to it. 1t was said
to the Senate that the army appropriation
bill would not be allowed to pass unless
the proposed amendments Of the election
laws were adopted with it. The Senate
refused to assent to the bill on account of
this irrelevant section, Congress there.
upon adjourned without passing the ap-
preparation bill for the army, and the pres.
ent extra session OF the Forty.sixth Con-
gress became necessary to furnish means
to carry on the Government. The ground
upon which the action OF the House OF
Representatives is defended has been dis.
tinctly stated by many OF its advocates
before the close OF the session OF Con.
gress. The doctrine in question was
stated by one of its ablest defenders as fol.
lows: .a...-
at is our duty to report these. Itisnot
worth while to attempt to repeal except
upon an appropriation bill. The Repub.
lican Senate would not agree nor the Re.
publican President sign the bill for such
a repeal. Whatever objection to legis.
lation upon appropriation bills may be
made In ordinary time does not apply
where free elections and liberty OF citizens
are concerned. We have the power to vote
money. Let us annex the conditions to 1t
and insist on tho redress ofthe grievance"
AN.ENGLIsH EXAMPLE CITED.
By another distinguished member Of the
House twas said: "rhe rightofthe Repre-.
sentatives OF the people to withhold sup.
plies is as old as English liberty. History
records numerous instances where the
Commons, feeling that the people were
oppressed by the laws that the Lords
would not consentto TO repeal by ordinary
methods oflegislation, obtained redress
at last by refusing appropriations unless
accompanied by relief measures. That
question OF the gravest magnitude and