The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-04-09
BALLOTS AND. .BAYONETS.
The Political Issue Clearly and Dis
tinctly Made Up by Congress.
The Action of Monarchical England on the
Question OF Military at the Polls.
TPittsburg Post.l

bill. This Is the sixth section of the bill, as
proposed by the Democrats in Congress:
"That section 2,002 of the Revised Statutes be
amended so as to read as follows: NO military
or naval officer, or other person engaged in
the civil, military, or naval service of the
United States shall order, bring, keep, or have
under his authority control any troops or
armed men at the place where any general or
special election is held in any State, unless
it be necessary to repel the armed enemies OF
the United States.'
"And that section {, ,52S of the Revised Stat
utes be amended so as to read as follows:
LIVERY officer of the army navy, or other
person in the civil, military or naval service
of the United States, who orders, bring. keeps,
or has under his authority or control any
troops or armed men at any place where a
general or special election is held in any State,
unless such force be necessary to repel armed
enemies of the United States, shall be fined
not more than five thousand dollars and suffer
imprisonment at hard labor not less than
three months nor more than five years."
The law as it stands only differs from the
above law, proposed by the Democrats, in the
particular that the existing law contains
after the words "to repel armed enemies of
the United States the additional words "or
to keep the peace at the polls" These latter
words the Democrats propose to strike out
And this makes up the issue, clearly and
distinctly, whether elections in America
shall be free or whether they shall be ruled
by the bayonet.
The statute proposed to be amended was
enacted in 1865, after the close of the war 1t
was enacted as protection of the citizen in
his right OF voting, against military inter.
| ference, and was intended to prohibit the
presence Of troops at the polls; and then, as
| if in irony, the words were added to the
prohibition, except 1t may be necessary to
keep the peace at the polls" This was satire
| of the highest order.
ITO keep the peace at the polls," How
easy it is to have little difficulty or dis.
| turoance at the elections; we have them
| every year. They can be got up to order.
| And the military officer may march up his
| troops to preserve the peace, but where
meanwhile is the voice of the people? A
Louis Napoleon would ask nothing better
| than this law il he desired 10 subvert gov
eminent. Grant, il he should be successful
| in his third term aspirations. may hold the
| presidency for life with such law on the
statute book, as well as control the election
of members OF Congress and United States
/ senators.
Prior to 1865 no one even suggested that
| the Federal Government could erEer State
| with its military power, to keep the peace
at the polls" That duty was left with the
State and local authorities. Was not the
peace maintained, and were not the cleo
tions free and honest? At the close of the
war when this statute was passed men
breathed a military atmosphere, and there
was bitter passion on all sides. Judgment
| was paraly zed and Congress was in no con-
dition to frame wise and Just legislation.
We can do no better service in this con-
nection than by citing the action OF mon
archical England on this question of mill
tary at the polls So long ago as the reign
of George II. statute was used for that
purpose, which was renaciea by pariiAmen::
under Victoria, and reads as follows:
Section 2. And be 1t enacted, That on every
day appointed for the nomination or for the
election or for taking the poll for the election
of n member or members to serve in the Com
mons House Of Parliament. no soldier within
| where such nomination or election shall be
| declared or poll taken, shall be allowed TO go
| out OF the barrack or quarters In which he Is
stationed, unless for the purpose of mounting
or relieving guard, or for giving his vote al
to 90 out for any. such purpose within the
| limits aforesaid shall return to his barrack or
| quarters with ali convenient speed as soon as
his guard shall have been relieved or vote ten
dered.
SEC 8. And be it enacted, That when and
serve in the Commons House of Parliament
shall be appointed to be made, the clerk of the
any new writ for such elections shall, with al
| convenient speed, after making out the same
i writ, give nOtlce InereOI 10 the secretary a.
war, or, in case there shall be no secretary a
war; to the person officiating in hls stead, who
shall, at some convenient time before the day
| appointed for such election, give notice thereo
in writing to the general officer commanding
in each district OF Great Britain, who shall
| thereupon give the necessary orders for enforc
ing the execution of this act in all places un
| der his command.
1t will be seen from the above that when
ever an election for members of Parliament
takes place the soldier must disappear from
/ A. II. r.
day. During the hours of election tn,
, | soldier must be within his barrack. Tha
, there may be no mistake about this the sec
, retary OF state is charged with the duty o
making known through the war Office tina
, an election is to take place in order that tn,
symbol OF force may retire and the majesty
of the people may reign supreme, at leas
for one day, when the right of suffrage i
exercised IN Great Britain.
i Mr. Hewitt, of New York, in introducin.
] at the last session of Congress, the amend
ment to the law on which the Democrats il
t Congress now stand, after referring to tn
! | law of England above cited, said:
They are not in England willing to hav
| the power of the army compounded even TO
a day with the machinery by which civi
9 try, have solemnly enacted that on an cleo
, ton day, ''if it is necessary to keep tn
e peace" the army of the United States ma,
. be marched to the polls. Such q provision
: is at war with every principle for which ou
ancestors contended, and which Is embodie
in the framework of our Government
Every hour that We allow it to remain OF
the statute book is treason to the great mel
4 who achieved liberty for rs, VIII
: found this government OF ours afte
r fighting for the right of representation, VIII
5 imbedded this right into the constitution
a who jealously guarded it from the found,
y ton of the Government until 1860. an
9 whose spirits, il they could speak to us i
!. the sacrifices by which this liberty was q
: cured, and not allow it to be imperiled b
: the insidious use of the military powe
I But all this has been better said by M
David Dudley Field, in an article of hi
: September, 1877, upon this very subject.