The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-05-03
vET0ED!

| rs an ordinary annual message, and ~ conced-
ed, even by some of the Presidents friends, to
be weak and unsatisfactory. The President
"givcs himself away" in the very outstart. He
objects to the passage of the section OF the ar
my bill prohibiting the presence OF U. s. sol
dicrs at the polls on the ground that 1t is use
less, the law rs it stands not permitting them
to he placed there. If such is the fact, then
why veto so important an appropriation bill As
that upon which the very existence OF the army
depends because it contains clause that is
pure surplusagc and harmless The objection
as thus stated is weak to idiocy.
The President contradicts himself again in
the statement that even if he had the power he
would not in any event place troops at the
polls in the states, and yet in the very next
breath he claims that he has such power and
will exercise ii under certain circumstances.
The message is not only selt,contradictory
IN its most important parts, but grossly vlo-
lates good taste and parliamentary etiquette.
1t is largely interlaided with one-slded quota
tions from speeches made in congress against
the clause to which 1t objects, without even re-
ferring to the arguments presented on the op.
posite SIDE Nothing can be more ill-bred and
boorlsh than for the executive in an Official
document to commend, condemn, criticisc or
even refer to the discussions in either house Of
congress OF measures laid before him for APP.
proyal or rejection
p,,, I, 10 Than had taste and 81 breach
of etIuuette--lt is insuting-when the presi-
dent comes to his final and main objection to
the bill on the ground that 1t involves an at
tempt on the part OF congress to coerce the eX-
ecutive Wherein is the coercion? Is there
anything remotely resembling threat cmbod-
led IN any part of the bill laid before him ? He
heartily approves every line of it except sim
gle clause which strikes out of the revised
statutes these hal: dozen words, ito keep the
peace at the polls" and to this clause he makes
the only objection that it is surplusagc and
therefore harmless But newspapers and pol
iticians and speakers in congress have made
threats. that if the President refused to approve
this OBNOXIOUS" section of ihe army bill the
appropriations would be withheld and the ar
my starved out of existence, &c. Suppose such
threats were made, by what sort of decenCy
can the President make them the basis of "a
veto of measure otherwise admitted t. be at
the worst harmessy The business of the
president is to consider the bill before him and
he has no right to consider anything that is
not to he seen on its face. II he is to be gov
erncd in his approval or rejection of bills by
outside brayado or threats, then hardly bill
can come before MIN that is not open to the
same objection, some interested party or luna
tic always being around to threaten to kick or
shoot the president, or post or disgrace him, or
do something else that will be terrible for him,
| if he vctocs pc, bill.
The veto is Just weak and absurd enough to
bring into conspicuous view its main motive
and purpose which is, to retain in the hands
of the party in possession of the executive the
power to control the next presidential election.
If these statutes, permitting the president to
surround the polls with U. s marshals, super
visors and bayonets, are permitted to stand,
every democrat and every republican in the
land knows that the result of the next presl-
dental contest Will be the election ofwhoever
the republicans nominate in 1880. The demo
cratic party can never secure the executive of
this government so long as THESE laws remain
upon the statute books, and the defeat OF the
republican party is equally certain and inevi
table if they are repealed. The struggle on the
part of the republicans is therefore one of life
and death, 1t is this that nerves Iayes-it is
ole weakness and absurdity of his veto mes
sage, and it is that in spite of its bad taste and
worse logic ELECTS for it such an enthusiastic
endorsement on the part ofthe stalwarts.