The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1879-11-28
"nERcrIoNEErIna nACnuuEnv. /"
ALSAxx. Nov. Gath, 1879.

Editor Democrat:
In an editorial Of last weeks DEMO
Graf upon the subject Of Enormous
ElsctiOneering Machinery" this para
graph appears: "The federal govern
ment unquestionably has the right to
put its deputy marshals at every voting
place in the land, If necessary 10 the
peaceaLle and honest election Of mem
bors Of Congress; but this power ought
not TO be used unless 1t is necessary,
and IL ought not in any case to be used
on partizan grounds" To the last
clause Of the paragraph quoted no OBJ
lection can DO taken, but l regard the
proposition assumed by ,ou in the first
a. wholly untenable- If yen are right
In the position assumed ~ quoted above
President Hayes was right in vetoing
tho appropriation bills containing re-
pealing clause Of the law authorizing
tho use Of deputy marshals At the polls,
and the Democratic members Of Con.
gress are without excuse for making an
extra session Of Congress necessary to
pass the appropriation bills. Congress
has no more constitutional authority TO
control the election of members Of Con-
greAs or Presidential electors than Il
has Governors or members Of the Leg
islature Of tho several States. All are
State electors, held under State author
ity and the qualification Of electors pre-
scribeA by the constitution Of each
State. The 2sth Congress affirmed, by
. vote Of 1875 10 81, that . member Of
Congress was the officer Of the State
that elected him, and among those Vot-
ing to aftirm this doctrine arc such dis
tinguished lights Of the Republican par
ty - Hannibal I[amlin and J ohm P. Hale
Ard in the year 1897, when the Con-
gress was composed Of men familiar
with the spirit that Ac.uAtsd The
trainers Of our federal constitution, Wm.
Blount was Senator from the State Of
Tennessee and for corruption in the dis
charge Of his duties articles Of i'm
parchment were preferred against him
by the House Of Representatives and
he was tried on them by the Senate,
and although proved guilty was, in
February, 1898, acquitted on TIE ground
that he sOas .tsieral officer, ani Nat,
therefore, the Senate Ind no pOa0eT 70
ny kim. And last, though not least
for our day and tins, that sminently
partisan machine known as the Elccso-
raj Commission, that fraudulsntly placed
ia the executive chair q defeated candi-
date EOr the Presidency, had the grace
and honesty to admit that tho Electors
were StatS officers, and that the cleo
tiOns ct which they were appointed
were State elections
The eatch-phrase national elections"
is an invention Of RAdieAlism 70 cap
ture the unwary into the belief that it
Is the duty Of Congress 70 supervise the
elections in the several States Of mem
bers Of Congress and Presidential elec-
tors because they discharge federal
functions-it Is grand step toward
Capitalization not 70 bc retraced with
out . hard struggle. Mr.. Hayes well
understood the importance Of these
'fNationAl election cases when he ve-
tOed the appropriation bills because Of
the repeal therein Of the unconstitu-
tionaI features Of the election law. And
notwithstanding his approval Of the
appropriation bills thus passed the
President virtually said to the peO-
PIES representatives in Congress "If
you take from me the power to spe-
round the polls in the several States on
election days with all the deputy mar
Shals l seS at to appoint the govern
Hsent may sEarvs" This "NatiOnAl
election law" il fraught with great dan
ger, and Is . standing menace 70 our re-
publican institutions, and 1 regard il as
the mission Of the Democracy to wipe
the foul blot out. Yours,
WILLAMETTE.
REMARKS.