The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-04-15
SENATE.

hHk ~ AhetE "VEAs
wAsmNaroS, April l2.
SENATE.
Various memorials and bills were Il
troduCed and appropriately referre
Among them the following:
By Mr.. Vance: TO amend so much oi Il
civil appropriation act oflS79. as provide
for the pay Of mail contractors in Soutl
ern States before the rebellion.
By Mr.. Morgan: 10 amend the constitt
ton In regard 70 appropriations.
By Mr.. ingalls,: for the payment Of II
dian war bands in the State OF California
and a bill TO establish judicial district /
Indian Territory.
Mr.. Carpenter introduced q bill
amend the revised statutes in regard
the election OF United States Senators
The bill Is designed r. remedya defect Il
the existing law, which was recent
brought In view by the New Hampshir
case.
Mr.. Cameron addressed the Senate un
I'll the expiration OF the morning hour Of
the bill for tho relief OF Winnebago In
dians in Wisconsin, and TO aid them !,
obtain substance by agricultural pur
suits, and to promote their civilization
The bill was referred to the Committee
on Indian Affairs.
The Senate resumed the consideration
Of the army appropriation bill, the pend
ing question being on Blaine's amend
ment prohibiting the appearance within
amile OF the polling place OF any person
armed with deadly weapon OF any kind
and Mr.. Blaine addressed the Senate al
follows:
The method adopted in the pending sec
tion to get rid Of the eight closing words
OF the section of the revised statutes, pro.
posed to be repealed, viz: "0r to Eeer
the peace at the polls" was an unusual
and extraordinary method. The ordinary
way torepeai q single sentence is to strike
out the particular words objected to; but
the mode chosen in this bill is to repeal
and re-enact the whole section, except the
last eight words. lie was persuaded that
this unusual course was not taken acCi.
dentally but designedly. II he might so
speak, 1t came of cunning, the intent be.
ing to create the impression that the Re.
publiCans in the administration OF the
General Government had used troops, right
and left, in every direction. and as soon
as the Democrats got into power they pro.
ceeded to enact this prohibitory 9Th section,
and the Democratic stump speaker would
doubtless make great political capital out
OF this idea, whereas every word OF it,
from first 10 last, was the enactment OF the
Republican party. Whether intentionally
or not the issue thus presented was a dis.
honest one. The law was passed by Re-
publican Congress. There were forty-six
Senators sitting In the Senate Chamber at
the time, OF whom only ten or at most
eleven were Democrats, and the House
Representatives overwhelmingly Repub-
lican. Wewere in the midst OF war. The
Republican administration had million
or possibly one million two hundred thous.
and bayOnets at its command, and under
the circumstances with the amplest power
10 interfere with elections had they 90
chosen, with soldiers In every hamlet and
county of the United States, the Republi.
can party themselves placed that on the
statute books. Abraham Lincoln signed
it. He asked attention to the fact
that this was the first instance in the legis,
latiOn OF the United States in which any
restriction clause whatever was put on the
statute books in regard to the use oftroops
at the polls and that it was passed by the
Republican party and signed by Abraham
Lincoln when he had more troops under
his control than Napoleon Bonaparte ever
had. But the point Is, said blaine, to
strike out the few words authorizing the
use OF troops to keep peace at the polls,
and the country is alarmed, or he would
rather say amused at the effort to create
the impression that the Republican party
relied for its popular strength on the use
OF bayonets. This Democratic Congress
has attempted by raising an issue, false in
every detail, to create the impression not
only In America, but in Europe and
throughout the civilized world, that the
elections in this country are attempted to
be controlled by bayonets. He denounced
the issue as false, and though not at liberty
to say that any gentleman making
it knew its falsitY, and though he hoped
they did not, heprop0sed 10 proveits utter
lack OF foundation. Ho held In his hand
an abstract OF all the troops in the United
States east OF Omaha, including the States
bordering on the Mississippi river on the
west, embracing territory populated by
iorty-one millions at least OF the forty-five
millions supposed to be in this country
to-day. BY this statement he showed that
in all that great territory only 2,7O7 SOL
diers are stationed within this domain ;
As Notifications are manned and II arse
nails protected. To every million people
there arc about sixty soldiers. The hon.
orable Senator from Delaware was alarmed
about the overriding Of tho popular ballot
by the troops Of the United States, but
there is not single federal soldier in
Delaware.
The Honorable Senator from West Vir.
ginia Hereford) had spoken Of his State
being tr0dden by the iron heel of military
despotism, but there Is not solitary man
in uniform on the soil OF West Virginia.
In Maryland l02 artillerymen, ut Fort
McITenry, to guard the entrance to Ealti.
more's beautiful harhor. In Virginia
there is school OF practice at Fortress
Monroe; outside OF that school there ID
not federal soldier in the State. There
are but 80 soldiers in North Carolina,
guarding fort at the mouth Of Cape FeaI
River. In South Qarnlina there are IN
artillerymen to guard the entrance to the
Charleston harbor. There are 20 soldiers
in Georgia and lS2 in Florida. There is
not one in Tennessee, Kentucky or Mis-.
souri,. There are 81 in Arkansas; 50 In
Alabama and $50 in Louisiana, The great
State ei Mississippi has not one on itssoil
nor has Texas, except those guard
ing tho frontier on the Fic
Grade. In tho pntire South, sale
Blaine, there are l,l55 soldiers to intimi
date, overrun, oppress and destroy tht
liberties OF fifteen millions OF people il
l,209 counties, or not quite one soldier Il
each County-one soldier TO about 70t
square miles Of territory. There was al
old saying, he continued, that there werl
soothsayers in Rome who could not lool
each other in the lace without smiling
and no two Democratic Senators on thi
floor can 60 into the cloak room and lool
each other in the face without smiling, Q
rather blushing, oyer this talk-thc who'll
thing was such a miserable pretence, spCl
. niSarably Tnanpfaetpr9d iglse fssbe. i
New England they had '3s6 soldiers, O