The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-05-03
$3.50. FRO.
The Army Bill 10 Congress
j. without his Approval.
, l'l'().
His Reasons for Doing So-An Attempt to Coerce
the Executive Charged upon tie House
and Senate.

The President returned the army bill to
the House ON Tuesday mo,nin. without
his signature
lie states that his reasons for refusing
to sign the bill are based on the fact that
the sixth section of the bill embraces leg
iSlation which is very Objectionable. In
the first place. it forbids the use of troops
to keep the peace at the polls. This pro-
vision the President declares to he unnec-
essary and uncalled for at this time. In
June. 1873. Congress passed an act for
bidding the. use of United States troops as
posse comitatus except i'll cases where
such use is expressly authorized by law.
Since the passage of that act no one pre-
tends that troops have been near the polls
at an election. or that he has any fears
soldiers will be used to influence elections
There is no purpose on the part of the
Executive to make such use of troops.
even if the law of June. 1873. did not eff
tcctually prohibit it. The pretcnse. there
lore, that there is any occasion at the pre-
sent time for legislation Of this kind has
no foundation III fact.
In the second place. the effect of the
section is to prevent the use of force by
civil officers of the law to preserve peace
or to enforce the laws of the United States
at the polls on election day. This. in the
estimation of the President. is the most
Objectionable feature of bill
lie argues that the election laws are
constitutional and necessary. and that
they have been properly enacted. There
is, he says, no serious complaint against
the execution of them. If these laws
need to be changed Congress has the pow
ct to amend them. That is not what Con
gress proposes to do in this bill. 1t seeks
to deprive the Executive of the power to
enforce the laws which, so far as this bill
is concerned. are allowed to remain upon
the statue book. That is proceeding of
which the President says he will not APP
prove.
If Congress wishes to amend or repeal
the election laws, let it put the improved
enactment into the same bill in which it
proposes to wipe out the old law, so that
the country may see that. while the pre-
sent safeguards that have wisely been
thrown about the ballot-box are removed
others equally effective are enacted in
their place. Ifohiection is made to the
present mode of appointing United States
MarshalS to serve at the polls on election
day. or if the present law is considered to
be partisan in this regard. let Congress
change it.and cause the appointment of
marshals to be made by the same machin-
cry that is now provided for the appoint
ment of supervisors of election. No OBJ
lection would probably he made to such
a change in the law. But the army bill
proposes no such amendment as this. 1t
leaves the election laws exactly as they
are, bat makes them i'll effect null and
void. by taking away from the Executive
all power to enforce them.
The President also objects to the bill
on the ground that it is eXtrancous mat
ter attached to an appropriation bill. for
the purpose of cocrcing the Executive into
approval of 4 measure from which he is
expected to withhold his approval. He
also argues that to refuse to appropriate
money for the support of the army. as Il
rctalatory measure. would he to divert
money which has already been raised by
taxation from its legitimate purpose. The
President also calls attention to the fact
that ~ States have already condemned
this method of procuring legislation by
forbidding their Legislatures to incorpo-
rate eNtraneouS matter in their appropri-
alton bills.