Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-03-05
Our Washington Letter.
WASHINGTON, Feb. %.

| NAh' GO4AOh" AnO OOLAOSI dLAS
side of Congress is making des-
perate effort to repeal the law pro-
Viding for supervisors of elections.
These supervisors are men appoint
ed to appear at the places of voting
and watch that no fraud is prac-
ticed. They have no power to pre-
vent fraud as it progresses on the
election ground, but their duty is
to report the same and thereby
cause the punishment of offenders,
1t is a noted fact that in the cities
of New York, Philadelphia, Cincin-
natl, Baltimore, along the borders
of various States and in nearly
every part of the South, great frauds
have been perpetrated by repeaters,
ballot box suffers and bulldozers.
False registrations of the voting
population have entered in as the
chief frauds in many cities. Ballot
box stufing and false counting are
among the latest methods practiced
by politicians. 1t is held by the
Republicans in Congress, in the dis
cussion of this subject, that no
charges of corruption or bad faith
have ever been brought against
election supervisors as a class that
they stand in a position to prevent |
election frauds and thus preserve
the purity of the ballot, and that
they, therefore, should be kept in
existence. But on the other hand,
the Democrats recognize the fact
that the election supervisors have
spiked their most effective weapons
and hence they must be set aside.
With them, ballot-boxes can be no
longer stuffed and repeaters 60 un>
in the land. Without them,
he bold, bad schemes of corrupt
can be carried out, red
shirt and rifle clubs flourish and
raud run riot. But they find that
he Republican party leaders are by
10 means ready to agree to meas
Ire which is to unlOose the foun-
,ains of Democratic villainy. They
nave, therefore, resorted to the
strategy of Incorporating the mo-
ion to repeal the election laws,
With the most vital appropriation
ill, the Legislative, Executive and
Judicial bill. They hone to
orce the Republicans to &C
ept this measure rather than see
his important bill defeated, there
y making an extra session necesS
airy. Certainly no party ever has
ound itself advocating a measure {
o dishonorable in order to succeed
n carrying an election. a party
hus acting may expect to drive
rom its ranks all honest men, and
MS result is hoped for by Republi-
an leaders here. n
The Chinese question is agitating
lie country from shore to shore. A
de of petitions, pro and con has 3
It in toward the White House, and
resident Hayes still delays action
n the matter. ?
The Teller Committee submitted
report yesterday, recit'ng that at i
lie November election tissue ballots :,
ere used in every county in South
arOlina but one, that near forty d
urders were committed in Louisi- p
Ia, that justice to compliments at u
e South by means of Federal
ourts is a farce, that free discus
ons of political topics is not al
wed, that any allusion to the con-
lions of colored people before the
ar or the the case of the war are
1t down in the code of red-shirt
lnds as "mcendiary," that no
'Osecutions have been Instituted
, The State of South Carolina
,ainst yiolators Of her law in muir
ring and abusing citizens, etc.
le report is able, and couched in
nguage free from harshness, but
once convincing. te
Congress holds night sessions o'
w, and is in great rush to finish -
the business of the session. 1t Ri
remarkable that a body of the
ost intelligent men of the country o.
ould meet here Congress after c.
,ngre8s and repeat the foolish ~
actice of idling away threet G.
urths of the session doing one e,
urth of the business, and then Z
Ldertake to cram the remaining n
ree-fourths of the business
rough the last fourth of the sess g g