Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-05-08

the United States of all power to keep peace
at Congressional elections. Congressional
elections in every district in very important
sense are Justly matter Of political interest
and concern throughout the whole country.
Zach, State, every political party. Is entitled
legal and constitutional suffrage. Il is tho
right Of every citizen possessing thequalif:a-
lions prescribed by law to cast one unin-
Inundated ballot and have his ballot honestly
counted. So long as the exercise of this
power and the enjoyment Of this right are
common common and equal, practically a. well a =,
be accorded loyalty and cheerfully, and all
departments OF the government will feel the
true vlgorof the popular viii thus expressed.
Two provisions of the constitution author
lie legislation by Congress for the regulation
OF Congressional elections. Section of ar
ticle of the constitution declares the time
Senators and Representatives shall be pre-
scribed IN each State by the Legislature there
OF, but Congress may at any time by law
make or alter such regulations except as to
places of choosing Senators. The fifteenth
amendment of the constitution is as follows:
Sec. l: The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied Or abridged
count OF race, color, or previous condition of
servitude.
Sec. O.. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The supreme court has held that this
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS citizens of the United
states with new constitutional right which
Is within the protecting power of Congress.
The right the court declares to be the ex-
emption from discrimination in the exercise
OF the elective franchise on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude.
The power of Congress to protect the right by
appropriate legislation is expressly affirmed
by the court National legislation to provide
safeguards for FREQ and honest. election
is necessary, as experience has shown, not
chised race at the South, but also to pre-
vent fraudulent voting in large cities Of
the North. Congress has therefore exer-
cised the power conferred by the constitu-
ton, and has enacted certain laws to prevent
discrimination mon on account Of race, color. or
ish fraud, violence and intimidation at federal
elections. Attention is called to the follow
Ing section of the revised statutes of the
United States, viz: Section 2OO4, which
guarantees all citizens the right to vote with
out distinction on account of race, color, or
previi99us condition Of servitude; sections zoos
and 2OO6, which guarantee to all citizens equal
opportunity, without discrimination, to per-
form all acts required by law as prerequisite
or publication for voting; section 1920, which
authorizes the United States marshal and
his deputies to keep the peace and preserve
order at general elections; section So4,
marshal on6 his Aar11tios RI
commitatus whenever they or any of them
are forceably resisted in the execution of their
duties under the law, and are prevented from
executing their duties by violation; section
5522, which provides for the punishment of
the crime of interfe airing with supervisors of
elections and deputy marshals in the dis
charge of duties at elections of Representa-
tives in Congress.
hese are some of the laws on this subject
which it is the duty of the executive to en-
force. The intent and effect of the sixth Sec
ton of this bill is to prohibit all civil officers
of the United States, under penalty of fine
and imprisonment, from employing any ade-
qqate civil force for this purpose at places
where their enforcement is most necessary,
namely: the places where Congressional
elections are held. Among the most valuable
enactments to which have referred are those
which protect the supervisors of federal elec-
tions in the discharge of their duties at the
polls. IT the pending legislation should be-
cer f there is no nno Vested in
.lence the officers of the United States engaged
I'm the discharge of their duty. Their rights
and duties under the law will remain, but the
national government will be powerless to
enforce it's own statutes. The State may en-
ploy both the military and civil powers to
elections. 1t is now proposed to deny to the
United States even the necessary civil author
ity to protect national election. No suffi.
cient reason has been given for this discrimin-
ton in favor of the State and against the
national authority. If well-founded objec-
lions exist against the present national
election laws, all good citizens should unite in
their amendment. Laws providing safeguards
OF election should be impartial, just and eff
cient.
They should, if possible, be so non-partisan
and fair in their operation that the minority
party out of power will have no just grounds
TO complain: The present laws have in prac-
ton of fraud and violence at elections. In
several of the States members of different
political parties have applied for safeguards
which they furnish. It is the right and duty
of the national government to enact and en-
force laws which will secure free and fair con-
gressional elections. The laws now in force
should not be repealed except in connection
with the enactment of measures which will
better accomplish that important end. Be-
ieving that section six of the bill before me
will weaken, if it does not altogether take
away the power of the national government
to protect federal elections, by the civil
authorities, / am forced to the conclusion
that it ought not to receive my approval
That section is, however, not presented to
but as has been stated, it is attached to the
| election laws OF the country which is in no
way connected with the use of the army. It
prohibits under heavy penalties any person
engaged in the civil service of the United
States from having any force at the place of
any election prepared to keep order, to make
to enforce the laws. This is altogether for
eign to the purpose of an army appropriation
bill. The practice of lacking to army appro-
priation bills measures not pertinent
to such bills did not prevail un-
til more than forty years after the adoption of
the constitution. 1t has become the common
adopted it. Many abuses and great waste Of
public money have in this way crept into ap-
| appropriation bills. The public opinion
of the country is against it. The States which
have recently adopted constitutions, have
generally proved remedy for the evil by
electing that no law shall contain more than
one subject, which shall be plainly expressed
in its title The constitutions of more than
half the States contain substantially this
provision. The public welfare will be pro-
NOTED in many ways by return to the early
practice of the government and to the true
principle of legislation, which requires that
! every measure shall stand or fall according
to it's own merits. If it were understood tina
to attach to an appropriation bill measure
irrelevant to the general object of the bill
would imperil and probably prevent its final
passage and approval, an Invaluable re.
form in the parliamentary practice of Congress
would be- accomplished. The best justfica-
ton that has been offered for attaching irrele.
want riders to appropriation bills, is that it is
done for convenience sake, to facilitate the
passage of measures which are deemed expe.
dent by al branches of the government
which participate in legislation. It cannot
be claimed that there is any such reason for
attaching this amendment Of election laws
to army aspiration bills.
The history of the measure coptradicts this
assumption. A majority of the House OF
REPRESENTATIVES in the last Congress was in
4 favor OF the sixth seation to this BILL. It was
known that majority of the Senate was OBJ
posed to it, and that as separate measure il