The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-04-17
What Then :

The Army bill has passed the House
by an unexpectedly large majority and
has been transmitted to the Senate. 1t
may be debated there at length, but its
passage is o foregone conclusion, and
within week or ten days it will be pre-
sented to the President for his approval
or disapproval. Mr.. Stephens and 9TH
ers think he will yield to the wishes of
the majority and sign the bill. The Re-
publican journals and party leaders say he
will return it to the House without his
approval. If he signs it, of course the
trouble ends so far as the Army bill is
concerned. The following are the
'triders" to which the Republicans OBJ
ject:
"That section 2,OO2 of the Revised
Statutes be amended SO as to read as fol-
lows: No military or naval officer, or
other person engaged in the civil, militia
ry or naval services of the United States,
shall order, bring, keep, or have under
his authority or control any troops or
armed men at the place where any gener-
al or special election is held in any State.
unless it be necessary to repel the armed
enemies of the United States
"And that section 5,52S of the Revis-
ed Statutes be amended so as to read as
follows:
"'Every officer of the army or navy, or
other person in the civil, military, or
naval service of the United States, who
orders, brings, keeps or has under his au.
thority or control any troops or armed
men at any place where general or
special election is held in any State,
shall be fined not more than FIVE thou
sand dollars, and suffer imprisonment at
hard labor not less than three months
nor more than five years."
It is known that the President does
not favor the presence of troops at the
polls, but his party advisers have at
tempted to make him believe that the
above amendments have been adopted in
Revolutionary" manner, and it is
therefore his duty 10 withhold his ap-
proval from the legislation. Should he
be forced into doing this-should he re-
fuse to sign the biIl-it is well known
that in neither the Senate nor the House
have the Democrats q sufficient majority
to overcome the veto. In the event OF
veto, what then? Will the Democrats
stand firm? The recent vote in the
House indicates that the majority in that
body will not yield. The Senate Com
mittee on Appropriations took but day to
consider the bill, and then reported it back
favorably without amendment-which
shows no sign of surrender there-But no
matter what the Senate may do, all ap-
preparations must originate in the House,
aud the temper of the House is known.
Then the army will be virtually disband-
ed for want of money to support it. But
it is said the country can get along with
out an Army for year. Perhaps itcan-
but when the Army bill is killed, there
comes up the Legislative, Executive and
Judicial Appropriation bill, to which the
Democrats will add as "ridcr," amend
ments repeating the jurors test oaths, the
sections cf the statutes authorizing spe-
cial deputy marshals, doing away with
chief supervisors for each voting precinct
without any police authority. This
measure will be even more bitterly dis
cussed than the Army bill has been, be-
cause the interests of Northern Demo-
Gratis declare that the statutes, as they
stand, put the power of controlling elec-
tions in the hands of the Administration,
while the Republicans retort that to re-
peal them is to remove. the last safe
guards to the purity of the ballot. This
bill, as amended, will pass the House
and the Senate, and the President will
be again required to act, but OH matter
of far greater Importance than in the
present instance.
The veto will kill the bill, and the
wheelsof Government nuts come to
stand still. The country may be able to
get along for year without an army, but
it cannot dispense with Government for
minute. A situation of affairs will be
reached where either the President or
Congress must yield, and it is the former
who must give up untenable ground and
prevent anarchy. Congress represents
the people. The representatives of the
people charged with the power of making
appropriations and vested with the right
to annex to them such conditions as it
may think to be fer the best interests of
the people. This proposition is almost
as old as is the history of English speak
ing people and as true now as it was two
hundred years ago. We believe Mr..
Hayes will sign these bills-reluctantly
as he may-and then the elections of
1880 will give the verdict of the people
upon the course pursued by the Demo-
cratic majority in Congress.-Augusta
Chronicle and Constitutionalist.
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