The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-05-08


I'd to know the views of their representa-
lives in regard to the present state of
affairs in Congress, l called last night
upon the several Senators and Represcn-
tatives in the order in which they appear
below, and obtained the following eS-
pressions of opinions. Only the SUBJ
stance of what was said in each instance
is given, as a full report would be too
long for publication:
SENATOR BUTLER
said, in substance, that he thinks the re-
spective measures should now be sepa-
rated, and the President tried Mt once
with the so.called political "riders =
first with that one which is directed to
repeating the section of the Revised
Statutes authorizing the use of troops at
the polls, and then with the others in
"He should have all the
vetoing he wants." If the Republican
members choose to filibuster they must
bear the responsibility of an indefinite
continuance of the session. No action
whatever should be taken in regard to
the appropriation bills until the Presi-
dent has acted upon the political meas
ures. He would be compelled to give
his reasons for vetoing them, and this
would put him on the defensive. When
the American people see him opposing
the majority simply for party purposes,
his course would be bound to recoil upon
him. The issue with him, upon these
riders, should be made as sharp and de-
cisive as possible. If the Northern DEM
ocrats can't whip the fight in such issues
they certainly cannot upon any. Num-
bers of the Republican members have
declared that even they are ready to vote
for the passage of the riders if they are
brought up in separate form. Senator
Butler said in conclusion that this whole
fight ought to have been conducted solely
by the Northern Democrats for reasons
easily understood. The Southern DEM
ocrats have acted in good faith in all that
they have done in the matter, but it was
not their fight.
CONGRESSMAN TILLMAN,
who dropped in at this point, added that,
in his opinion, the best reason in the
world why the Democratic majority
should not stand on their present line is
that the Republicans wish them to do so.
The Southern people ought to have kept
silent and let them fight it out at the
North; the shoe pinches them more
than us, as nearly all of the cities having
over 10000 population are in the North.
Several of the Southern States have not
one. at is their funeral, not ours. "
Hayes and his party have put
themselves on record in favor of the use
of the army at the polls, and we could
not have better issue if we desired one,
or had made it for the purpose. If
Hayes were to yield he would take the
wind out of our sails. We can yield
gracefully; pass the army appropriation
bill and then say with truth and point
ave have done all We could to get rid OF
this tyranny and disgrace, and have
failed, and now, rather than show any
factious spirit, or show the semblance of
one, we will pass the appropriation bill,
and let the people judge between the
two parties" This course would help
the South aud strengthen the Northern
Democracy as well.
CONGRESSMAN o'CoNNoR
said that he regards the situation as a
very embarrassing one. think, said he,
an error WAS committed at the last ses-
sion (of the Forty-ffth Congress) in in
sisting upon the repeal, by way Of a
rider upon the appropriation bills, OF
any more than the jurors test oath, and
the providing a new mode for drawing
Jurors in the U. S. Courts. When I
found that it was to be insisted upon
that the Federal election laws providing
for supervisors, along with the clause for
the repeal of the test oath and the inhi-
bition of the use of the army at the polls,
were to be repealed; l thought that it
would result in the failure of the appro-
priation bills and the necessity for an
extra session. In the Democratic caucus
held upon the reassembling of Congress
there was a strong disposition to intro
duce these repeating measures separately
and submit them to the President for his
approval as separate and independent
enactments. But this course failed be-
cause it had been given out by the Re-
publicans that they were prepared to
take issue with the Democracy at every
step and fight them, point by point, upon
NIL these measures, whether introduced
separately or as riders upon the appro-
priation bills, and with this avowed pur-
pose on their part it was held by promi-
nent leaders of the Democracy who were
familiar with the rules of the House that
there was no course left for them by
which to effect the repeal of the obnox-
ious laws save by putting them on the
appropriation bills as riders, for as inde-
pendent measures the Republicans, un-
der the rules of the House, could fill
buster and stave off final vote indef-
nitely. This resort of the Democracy,
which was thus seen to he indispensable,
has been artfully used by the Republican
party in raising the cry Of Revolution"
its initiation upon the Democ-
racy.
The impression, in the beginning Of
the debate, among a majority of dispas-
sionate and bipartisan persons, was that
the President would not yield to the
clamors of his party, and that, rather
than the appropriations to carry on the
government should fail, he would sign
the bills with the repeating clauses an
nexed, which clauses it was generally
admitted were harmless and not of great
Importance. The character of the de-
bate which has followed has been de-
signed by the Republicans to solidify
partisan sentiment at the North, and
thereby, if possible, build up solid Sec
tional North for the purpose of party
aggrandizement. The leading Republi-
cans of the House announced in the
course of the debate their willingness to
vote for the repeating clauses Of the army
appropriation bill as independent meas
ures, and it is we'll known that there has
been no objection to the repeal of the
Jurors test oath.
To-day we have the veto message of
the President in which he disapproyes OF
the army appropriation bill, not only for
the form and manner in which it has
been presented to him, but he disap-