Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1879-08-16
decided III the interest of partisan.

WutEe vi Ill clcCtlOu udy more Ill,
II five thousand American citizens we
imprisoned by the authority of su
pervisors of election and afterwal
-, discharged by a judge of the Unite
States court who had decided tn
there was no authority to arrest al
that they had been guilty of no Grim
More than that, we referred lin OF
T. argument to the great doctrine
g civil liberty and maintained that Il
Z measures we sought to repeal wei
l. linimical to freedom, un-American
spirit, and in the end would prov
subversive of free government.
i'll No more manly, no more digniet
no more logical debate so far as til
e democratic side of the house is col
e cerned was ever conducted on thi
0 Et1OOr but i'll what way were our al
f guments treated by gentlemen on tn
other side of the house !? With tn
exception of half a dozen speeche
the pretended answers to our argu
: ments might as well have been mad
Oh any other subject as upon the bill
now before the house fer consldera
tion.s When we said that these meas
ures were vi0lative of the cOnstitu
ton of the United States republican
orators replied that on this side o
the house the majority were confed
crate .rigadiers who had attempted
to overthrow the constitution OF the
United States.
When WI referred to the fact Of
the outrages committed on American
citizens they replied by citing the
Outrages committed at Anderson.
vile aud other prisons in the south
during the war, and when we urged
that the powers of the army should
be SO limited aud qualified that it
might lot be used to overthrow the
liberties of the people, they said,
your side was whipped by that army,
aud therefore you are opposed to it.
Never in all my knowledge has a de-
bate been SO honestly conducted as
this has been upon our side of the
house never have arguments been
more unfairly met than have our ar
guments by gentlemen on the other
side. There Are honorable excep-
lions, of course. 1t would be invid-
ious to name them, but will venture
to mention the names of two, and [
refer to the distinguished gentleman
from Connecticut (Mr. Hawley) and
the gentleman from New Jersey,
(Mr. Robeson.) AS the result of this
debate bills have been passed and
sent to the President of the United
States and have beens'vetoed. The
veto power was designed by the con-
stltution as q power to prevent un-
constitutional legislation or hasty or
i.l-considered legislation or to enable
the executive to protect itself against
Entertainments from other branches
OF the government. / defy II gen
tleman to point me to any argument
In the debate upon the adoption OF
the constitution which did not give
in favor of this provision one or the
other of these reasons.
n III the history of this govern
ment, from the day of its foundation
until now, the veto power was never
before exercised to prevent the en-
actment of a general appropriation
bill. Certainly never before was the
veto power exercised to practically
lake away from ono of the two
houses of congress a power which is
conferred upon it separately by the
OF the constitution itself.
Inc power to originate bills Of reve-
is a power which belongs to us,
md tits a power which, if the Presi-
lent lnterferes with it as he has done
y his veto in this case, he can abso-
utely take away from US.
What reasons have been urged for
hese extraordinary vetoes !? Chiefly
hat the bills we sought to pass took
way from. the executive authority
over to enforce the law. Because
70 would not let him use the army !
II election Gay to keep the ce at
ne polls he said we took away from
lm the power to enforce the laws.
Sir, the army is the creature oil
ongress. The constitution declares q
the congress mayvraise an army. =
he constitution declares that appro- y
for the army shall not last =
niger thantwo years. The consti- +
declares that congress NAV y
AXE rules and regulations for the -
of the army !; rules and n
'gulations, "rules" coming first, and :,
equations" afterward. Therefore =
70 army is absolutely the creature of q
ongress. Whether it shall be used q
execute the laws or not is for con- :
'ess to say and not for the Presi-
mt. (Applause OH the democratic
1e.) He must take the army as we
We it to him, for the purposes which n
e declare it shall be used for, we :,
lug the power to create it. ~
Strange to say, the President and -,
3 advisers and the gentlemen on the =
her side of the house seem to have ".
It sight of the constitutional provis. vi
1 which gives the President. the 1l
wer to execute the laws. The lam ~
age Of that instrument is that the I'll
tsident of the United States NAV pt
upon the MALTA of the several gu
ties to execute the laws. There is VI
} power given to him for the exc. VI
ION OF the laws; not the army, uu. pn n
8 congress- says so, bat the MALTA %z
the states, because the constitution y,
provides. 81
Never for an Instant did our bills
with the power Of the Pres
mt over the militia of the states. hr
only over the army-this creature tn
'urs. The President has the mill. TIL
OF the states from one end OF the ii,
tied States to the other to aid hin ha
executing the laws OH election day da
any other time, at the polls or lar
where else. ne,
What is the result now after the iiy
pes! Some gentlemen have said tic
+ the democratic party has backed de,
IN, has surrendered. Sir, when me
entered upon this fight we dbl no
expect to gain the victory in a the
When power has Tor twenty co,
rs been ~intrenching behind ali not
sible legislation, we cannot dis mr.
1T in a moment We entered shc
II this contest knowing that MANY i'm
attic must be fought, many a to
DRY be gained, before the ultimate mo
mph could be achieved.
the forty-fifth congress we said
the President, your army-our
y L mean-our army shall not be 4
| as a posse comitatus. In the Def
y-sixth congress we have said our of
y shall not be used.as a part of stol
police force. Aud before the and
y-sixth congress shall have closed i'm ,
ERIN | say to gentlemen that we sou
have taken from the statute Ian,
every law which proposes to tha
this creature of ours at the uoIIs foil
American citizens i'm era,
exercise of their highest preroga- can
lGreat applause on the demo- A n
ic side.l Jef
would have gentlemen on the wI,
r side, and the country, remem- will
that there has been no surrender sto,
re principle with which we began md
$3.50. W. 'iaiih that the rep wei
natives of the people, by virtue 600
leir mower 10 Oriuinota o.. 81"