The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-07-05
ADJOURNMENT OF CONGRESS.

q well established usage heretofore, To append
i the appropriations certain conditions undc
= which the money should be expended. Thu!
to the army appropriation bill was appended
, clause prohibiting the further expenditure O
money by using the army at the elections II
) the states; and to the judicial appropriation
bill was appended clause abolishing the su
J pervisors and marshals Of elections and omit
, ing appropriations for their pay; as also
] Iclause abolishing an odious test oath applica
BILE to Jurors IN the southern states, for who's
pay appropriations were made. The scope o
the amendments to both bills was 10 do away
with that system which had been inanguratct
during the worst days of Grantism of control
ling the elections IN the states 80 is to compe
+, republican victories in democratic districts by
the use of the army and horde of electloneer
ing agents and runners in behalf Of the party
Inn power paid out of the national treasury
President Hayes vetoed both bills, and con
gress adjourning without passing them as the
President wanted them, he called an extra ses
sion OF the new congress, in the hope OF 1t,
proving more plant to his bidding.
But the new con gress, being democratic as
well as the old, insisted on attaching the same
amendments to the appropriation bills. 1t in
sisted that the army should be kept away from
the polls: that the odous test oath should be
repealed; ana that the federal government
should not exercise authority over elections
L al. 4
stitutional ground maintained by the old was
assumed by thenew congress- that as the house
of representatives alone could originate money
bills, the representatives of the people had the
right to insis, that grievances should be re.
dressed before appropriations were made to
support the government The repeal of the
odious relics of Grantism were not only insist
ed on because they were wrong, but because
they were also unconstitutional. The election
laws were so, because there is no such thing as
voter of the United States but every man
votes according TO state authority and under
state law, and the federal government has no
| right to interfere 1t is true that congress can
| fix the time and places Of holding elections,
but they are held under the constitution and
laws Of the several states, and as the states have
exercised full power on these subjects there Is
that power. As to the army, it being the Great
ure of congress, it has no authority within a
state except TO suppress instruction or to re-
| pei armed enemies of the United States, and
| thap ppl ba oaIl Of tbn thprifl 10
of the states. All these positions are abundant
ly backed by decisions Of the Supreme Court
of the United States. The republicans made
no attempt to assall them. As Mr.. lIurd, in a
mastery speech on Tuesday put it: "When
we said we wanted to protect the constitution
you cried out Confederate brlgadiersn When
we referred to the arrests in New York under
the election laws you called up Andersonville
prison, When we said the army should not be
used IN the states, you replied: You gentle
men were whipped by that army and now you
do not want to see them at the polls All, with
few exceptions, met the reasoning of the dem.
ocrats in this way"
When, however, the new congress re-enacted
the reforms attempted by the old, they were
again vetoed. The veto power which, as has
so often been stated in the text books, was Civ.
en- to enable the President to correct hasty or
ill.advised legislation, or to protect one depart.
ment of the government from the encroach
ments of the other, but was never intended to
prevent the repeal of bad laws or the enforce
ment of general appropriation bill against
the will of the house which alone has power
to originate revenue bils,-was again wanton.
ly and despotically used TO defeat the will OF
the people as twice expressed by large numer.
ical majorities in the popular branch of con.
gress. The only excuse the president offers for
his vetoes is that 1t takes from him the power
over the army to execute the laws. No part OF
the constitution gives the president any power
over the army, except as directed by congress,
TO execute the laws. He can call on the mill
tia TO enforce the laws in state but the army
is the creature of congress and subject to its
control alone The whole groundwork of the
vctoes thus falls
But the vetoes have been effective neverthc.
icos III uclcutlHP thc VIII Vi Tie people.
Though so much was achieved by the demo,
Gratis rs to forbid the use of the army at the
polls as a police force, the odious bayonet law
of the Grant regime remains unrepealed; and
though no appropriations are made to pay the
marshas and supervisors of elections, the law
creating them is unrepealed, and the party in
power can use them all the same trusting to
future congresses to pay them, or to using, as
is too often done, public money unlawfully for
the purpose.
The outcome OF ii, then, is, that the great
question of free elections is adjourned from the
halls of congress to the forum of the people at
the coming elections. The democrats have
presented the issuefairly, and have enlisted for
the war against these odious relics ofGrantlsm.
The last congress sand that the army should
not be used as posse comitatus, and before
the present congress expires II must take away