The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1879-09-25
REpUBLIGAHIsM ARRAIGNED.
SPEECH OF
HON. DANIEL W. VOORHEES,,
AT Hamilton, Ohio.

At Hamilton, Ohio.
You all heard the furious outcry Of the Re-
publican press on the subject of the recent extra
session of Congress There wasa simultaneous,
prolonged, agonized, hysterical scream from
Republican sources all over the country against
the Democratic party, because we asserted our
faith in the capacity of the people to govern
themselves, and our determination that they
should do so without let or hindrance from
military power. This was the head and front of
our offending, no more and no less. We were
true, absolutely true, to the bedrock principles
of the constitution, while the leaders of the
Republican party, as all the world knows, pro-
claimed on the floor of both branches of Con-
gress doctrines so subversive of the very life
of civil liberty that the Tories Of the Revolu-
ton would have been ashamed to own them.
Does this sound to some of you as an exagge-
} rated statement made merely for politi-
cal effect? If go, let US examine for
few moments the extent to which the
Federal Government has already arrogated to
| itself the right by law to seize upon every spe-
cies of local elections, control them by force,
and manufacture majorities out of minorities.
Are you aware that there is now law of Con-
| sress, enacted by the Republican party, in full
force at this hour, which asserts the control of
| the Federal Government and the jurisdiction
OF the United States courts over every election
| OF every description that can possibly occur in
any State or Territory, in any district, county,
city, parish, township, school district munlci-
pality, or other territorial subdivision, if any
other can be found? Such is the fact Federal
| power has clutched control of every voting pre-
R1ran ind
this allow me to read in your hearing section
| 5,5 of the Revised Statutes Of the United
| States:
livery person who, by any unlawful means, hin-
| ders, delays, prevents or obstructs or combines
and confederstes with others to hinder delay pre-
vent obstruct any citizen doing any act required
to be done to qualify him to vote, or from voting
in any State, Territory or district county, city,
parish, township, school district, municipality or
other territorial subdivision, shall be fined notices.
than $500, or be imprisoned not less than enc
month, nor more than one year, or be punished by
both such fine and Imprisonment.
What kind of an election escapes the provis-
| ion of this section?
| 1t has been asserted over and over again, in
| Congress and elsewhere, by the Republican
leaders and newspapers, that the power of the
| Federal Government has been applied only at
\ times and places where members and delegates
in Congress were chosen. This is all false, as
| the section just read conclusively proves. II
| you were holding an election for Mayor Of this
city, or for Councilmen in lis various wards,
and one person should by any unlawful means,
such. for instance, as q quarrel on the street,
| hinder or delay another In voting, the person
so offending is, by express terms of this sec
ton, made liable to fine of not less than $500,
| Or to imprisonment not less than one month
nor more than one year, or to both such fine
and imprisonment II you were engaged in
electng Clerk, an Auditor, or Sheriff, or any
other county officer of Butler county, the same
insolent interference by the Federal Govern
ment is provided for by this law. You are not
free from Its aggressive and inquisitive power,
even in the humblest details of your local
affairs. In the language of the law it
self, an election in township or a
school district is subject to the domination
of Federal rule, Federal Marshals, Federal
ate p1nishmets of Federal coarfs Xre l'Soa6 YOU
in favor Of this law? Are you 30 poor and
contemplate in your own view of yourselves
that You feel the need Of the restraining and
| penal influences of such an enactment as this
Are you willing to admit that you can not trust
| yourselves; that you cannot even elect the
Justices of the Peace, or the trustees Of youl
townships, or the officers of your school
districts unless the supervision and threaten.
ing authority of the Federal Government is ex-
tended over you? Have the American people
in fact, sunk 80 low as this? Have the people
| of Ohio consented to this servile doctrine
The leaders of the Republican party say you
have; Charles Foster says you have; JohI
Sherman says you have. They say that this
usurpation against local self-government shal
stand; that this legislative insult to you this
enactment of distrust of your virtue and in
telligence, shall remain permanently in the
statutes Of your country. l say it ough
to be repealed, expunged, torn from the pages
Of the law with every circumstance of indig
III Tl1oA
Do you believe in yourselves, or do you wan
master?
That is the exact Issue. 1t is Q very old one
and yet it sounds new in our times. Those o.
you who think you are not competent to man
age your local affairs, unless the club Of tn
Federal Government is welded overyour head
by United States Marshals, District Attorneys
and partisan Judges on the Federal bench, will
of course, and with entire consistency, vote tn,
Republican ticket-vote. for Foster, who hal
the same opinion of you that you have of your
you if they were here? Every Tory of tn,
Revolution. Not one of them believed in th
natural rights of man to govern himself with
out master. The odious Lord North, Prim
Minister to George Ill, would be a stalwar
Republican in this contest and the old imbe
cile King himself, il alive and citizen Of Ohio
would, on the well known principles of his lonj
and tyrannical reign, be for Foster, and
strong centralized Government If you coul,
resurrect from their infamous graves all thos
who sided with Great Britain against the prin
ciples Of Jefferson in the days of the Revolu
ton, not one would fail to sustain the high pre-
rogative of the Government in stamping on
local and popular sovereignty. If ever
perfdious Stuart who ever sat up
on the Scottish or English throne
could be exhumed to-day, they would, on thi
issue, zealously support the Republican party
All such, In all ages, as have disbelieved il
human freedom, and individual responsibility
the earth with war to crush the aspirations o
the people for home rule and civil liberty
would, if here, contribute to the campaign funt
, Of the Republican party, subscribe for its news
papers and vote for its candidates All this AM
more would follow in the logical order Of things
] 1t was reported not long ago that Q very ricl
man of New York, by the name of jay Gould
blurted out his willingness and desire to pa,
millions for Government Of high centralize
powers; a Government not dependent upon tn
popular will; a Government which would gov
ern, coerce and hold in subjection the people
instead Of allowing them, according to the con
stitution of their fathers, to govern themselves
This was simply somewhat indiscreet bu
very accurate proclamation of the spirit an
purposes of the Republican party. 1t has tn
sanction of all such leaders Of that party as ar
without faith in mans capacity and right I
govern himself; of all such as are rich an
prosperous, and desire no possibility of
change; of all retired capitalists, whose invest
ments are eating up the mortgsged lands an
labor of the people, like incurable cancer
wrecking the human body.
There was hard struggle at the very begin
ming of our Government over this very ques
tion. There was party then very fetmidabl
in talents, and very considerable in numberi
which had no faith in the people, and boidl
| declared its infidelity to popular institutions
The Republican party, with its Supervisors, il
Marshals, It's Commissioners, its spies, its Fec
eral courts, and its deep distrust of the Amel