The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-04-23
Debate in the Senate
On the Army Bill.
Blaine Exposes the Pretense
Of Intimidation by the
Use of Troops at the
Polls.
rng ARMY ArpRopRlArIoS BILL.

THE ARMY APPR0PRiATieN BILL.
The Senate, at O'Clock, resumed
the consideration OF the Army Ap-
preparation bill
Toe pending question was on the
ameudment offered by Mr. Blaine, to
add the following words at the end
# the sixth section:
"And any military, naval, or civil
officer. or any other person, who
shall, except tor the purpose herein
named, appear armed with q deadly
weapon If auy description, either
Concealed or displayed, within mile
of any polling-place where a general
OF special election for Representa-
tive to Congress is being held, shall,
on conviction, be punished with a
liHe not less than $500 por more than
50 600. Or Win Imprisonment for
period not less than ak months nor
more than five years, or with both
fac and Imprisonment, at the discre-
lion Of the court.n
Mr. BLAINE said the method adopt
ed in the pending section to- get rid
Of the eight closing words Of the sec
zion Of the revised Statutes proposed
to be repealed, namely, ''or to keep
the peace a. the polls" was an unusu-
al and extraordinary method. The
ordinary way to repeal single SEN
,ence was TO strike out the particular
words objected to, but the mode chos-
en- In this bill was to repeal and re,
enact the whole section except the
last eight words. He was persuaded
that this unusual course was 40, ta-
ken accidentally but desiguedly. If
he might SO speak, it came of Gun
ming, the intent being to create the
impression that the Republicans, ia
the administration of the General
Government, had used troops right
and lett in every direction, aud that
as soon as the Democrats got into
power they proceeded to enact this
prohibitory sixth section. Demo
cratic stump speakers would, doubt
less, make great political capital out
Of this idea 7; whereas every word of
it, from tirstto last, was the enact
ment Of the Republican party.
Whether Intentionally or not, the is.
sue thus presented was q dishonest
one. The law was passed by Re-
publican Congress. There were 46
Senators sitting in the Senate Cham
ber at the time, of whom only 10, or
at most IL, we're Democrats, and the
House of Representatives was over
whelminely Republican. We were
in the midst OF war The Republi-
can Administration had million. or
possibly one million two hundred
thousand, blyonets at its command,
aud under the circumstances, with
the amplesi power to interfere with
the elections had they so chosen,
with soldiers in every hamlet and
county Of the United States, the Re-
publican party themselves placed that
on the statute-book and Abraham
LiHcola signed it, He called atten-
lion to the fact that this was the first
instance in the Legislation of.,be Uni
ted States in which any restrictive
clause whatever had been put upon
the statute-books in regafd to the
use of troops at the polls, and that it
was passed by the Republican Party
and signed by Abraham Lincoln
when be had more troops under bis
control than Napoleon Bonaparte ev.
er had. But the poin. was to strike
out the few words authorizing the
use of troops to keep the peace at the
polls. The country had been alarm
ed-cr, he would rather say, amused
at tie effort made to create the i'm
preston that the Republican party
relied for its popular strength upon
the use of bayonets. This Demo-
crsiic Congress bad attempted, by
raising an issue false ia every detail,
to create the impression, not only in
.,Ameriea, but in Europe and through
fivilIzed world, that elections
hntry are attempted to be
conff0IIed by the bsyonet. He de-
nounced the issue as false, and, though
not at liberty to say that any gentle
man making it knew its fslsity, and
though he hoped they did not, be
proposed to prove its utter lack of
foundation.
He held in his hand an abstract of
all the troops of the United States
east Of Omaha, including the States
bordering the Mississippi on the west,
embracing territory populated by
Al 900, 900 at least out of the IS, ,000,-
600 people supposed to be in this
country to-day. By this statement
be showed that in all that great ter
ritory only 2,797 soldiers are station
ed Within this domain As fortiica-
tions are manned and III arsensls
protected. To every 1000, 900 people
tho.o ! oIo.,x cn co1ls~.o Nsh -