The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1879-05-08
The Army Approprlasson R,Ii.

u army REfOREh8tlOn Ehtihs
The President sent q message to Congress
vetoing the Army Appropriation Bill. 1t
is quite lengthy, and goes considerably into
details. In the first place the President
says there is no objection to the Appro-
priation Bill itself, and no objection would
be offered II ~extraneous matter had not
been attached.
Second, the sixth section, repeating the
law allowing troops to keep the peace at the
polls, is already the law OF the land-that
is, troops are prevented from going to the
polls by what is called the posse eomitatus
law, passed by the last Congress. Since the
passage of that Law no troops have been al.
lowed near the polls at any election and
viii not be as long as the present
Executive occupies his Office or the
law remains on the statute books.
There is NO disposition on his part to vio-
late this Law or to allow its violation.
Therefore, with that law In force and undis-
puted, it is unpecessary to pass another
containing virtually the same provisions,
and still less excuse for attaching it to an
appropriation bill.
The President goes on to show that when
the posse eomitdtus law was passed its friends
claimed (which claim was admitted by its
o~pponents) that it settled the question Of
troops ct the polls, and since then the law
has been vigorously obeyed, and would con.
tinue TO be. There is therefore no need of
further legislation ON this subject.
The President lei considers the clause
which prevents civil officers OF the Govern.
ment from quelling riots or minor disturb.
ances at the polls. Because an election
happens to be in progress, the President
thinks it is no reason why rioters should be
allowed unchecked sway over the lives and
property Of citizens. From this PROPOSE.
ton he thoroughly dissents, and contends
that we must use the civil power of the
Government to protect elections.
He next considers and objects to the bad
practice of attaching extraneous matter to
appropriation bills. He examines historical
precedents at length, and shows that for the
first forty years Of the history Of the Gov.
eminent the practice of attaching ex.
traneous legislation to appropriation bills
was unknown. 1t, continues the President,
is a bad practice, acknowledged to be SO by
the best minds of all parties, at one time or
another, and should be stopped, and, in the
opinion of the Executive, this is a good
place to stop.
He next considers the election laws and
passes his judgment upon them in con.
nection with the civil authority to keep the
peace. He thinks them wholesome and
just, and promoting the purity of the ballot
and that they should remain on the statute
books. These laws should neither be re-
pealed nor should the power to enforce
them be taken away, or the power to pro-
tect the ballot-box from rioters.
He then considers the question as a con.
trivance to coerce the Executive, and enters
his protest against this method of coercion.
He thinks that it destroys the harmony Of
our Government for one branch to coerce
another branch in this manner. 1t virtu'
ally strikes out and nu'lI6es the veto power
given by the Constitution il allowed to be
carried out.
He next considers the points Of business
involved. The money in the Treasury was
placed there by tax payers for a purpose.
That purpose was to support the Govern
ment, and no department of the Govern
ment has a right to step in and divert il
from the uses for which it was paid in.
He shows that in twenty-five States of the
Union this method of attaching legislation
to appropriation bills is prohibited in theil
Constitutions.
He closes by urging that we return to the
early practice of the Government, which
for forty years got along certainly as vel
as since, and with M attempt in that timt
to coerce the Executive by attaching extra
neous legislation to IN appropriation bill