Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-09-18


only twenty.iour hundred and seven.
teen were appointed. That made of
Supervisors and Marshals ninety.six
hundred and six. The expenditures
were $222, IA %, for | want to be pre-.
else; and in the Southern States from
which returns were made, to witt Ala.
bama, Georgia, kentucky, Louisiana,
South Carolina and Virginia, what por.
ton do you suppose was expended of
this 500, 2,000l OF course, you would
suppose that as the Ku. Klux ragged
down there, as tho White Leaguers rag.
ed down there, as there was no such
thing as free elections down there, "a
the poor negroes were massacred in or.
der that the whites might carry the
elections, you would suppose, as all that
took place according to Radical author
ity, that that was the place where the
most of the Deputy Marshals of the
United States were appointed and
where most of the money was spent.
But, singularly enough, of this $222,'
7l4.22 expended in 1878 the amount
used in the South was just $lS,2ll .O6
that is TO say, about onetwelfth of the
whole expenditure, while eleven.
twelfths of it was expended in the
North. Why was it expended in the
North2 Let the gains of the Republi.
can party in New York, in New Jersey
and in Pennsylvania answer the ques.
ton why il was expended there. The
gains in the House of Representatives
will answer it better than anything else
can answer it. At one single election
there was n gain of more than fourteen
r a. ,.F D.. 20
tives, and, singularly enough, the great.
er the expenditure OF money, the great
er was the gain of Republican members
of Congress.
But it is not alone for the persecu.
ton, fraud and corruption to which
these laws give rise that they should be
condemned There is "A fatal objection
TO them that cannot be overcome and
that is that they are in violation OF the
Constitution. The right to pass them
is claimed under Article |, Section 1. OF
the Constitution, which provides that
"the times, places and manner OF hold.
ing elections for Senators and Represen.
tatives shall be provided in each State
by the Legislature thereof but the
Congress may at any time by law make
or alter such regulations except as to
the places of choosing Senators" On
this subject | said in the speech to
which have referred
ain the first place, it is to be observed
that the provision in the Constitution
relates simply to the election of Sena-
tors and Representatives in Congress.
In the second place, the power given to
Congress is the power to make regula.
tions IN respect TO the times, places and
manner of holding elections, or to alter
the regulations when made by n State,
with the limitation that they shall not
change the places fixed by the State
authorities for choosing Senators. 1t Is
obvious that the laws now under con.
sideration and which we propose to re.
peal are not exertions of the power to
prescribe the time or place of holding
elections. because they do no such
thing. IT., therefore, they are author.
| lied by this section Of the Constitution.
it must be in virtue OF the word 'man.
ner,' That is the only word that is left.
60 to another proposition which
hold is capable OF demonstration, and
that is, that whether the right OF Con.
gress to regulate the manner OF Con.
gressional elections when there is no
default on the part OF the State. exists
or does not exist, the laws which this
bill proposes to repeal are not consti.
tutional exercise Of the power, for it is
fundamental that Congress can not,
under Article |, Section 1, interfere in
any manner whatever with the election
of State officers. II can no more do it,
under pretense of regulating Congress
sional elections, than 1t can when no
Congressman are to be elected. II fol.
lows that any regulation Of CongFes.
sional elections enacted by Congress
must be so framed rs not to interfere
with the election of State officers. II il
does so interfere it is unconstitutional.
Upon that stand with consciousness
of being in the right that hope ia not
presumptuous. To me no legal prupo.
sition ever appeared clearer. There are
two classes OF elections in this country.
There is an election for Federal officers.
Representatives and Senators in Con.
gress, and Electors OF President and
Vice. President IL the latter can prop.
erly be called Federal officers. There
is another class Of elections for the Off
GERS OF State and her subdivisions.
With the election of this latter class
Congress, under this clause of the Con.
stitution, has no more right TO interfere
than it has to interfere with the elec.
tions in France. so far as il can inter.
fere at all. it is under the Fifteenth
Amendment, and that is simply 10
guarantee the right Of men otherwise
qualified against a discrimination nm
account Of race, color, or previous con.
dition Of servitude. But that guaran-
tee. have shown. has nothing TO do
here. Here the question is not about
objections Of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude, but it is wheth.
er Congress. under the pretense of reg.
ulating Congressional elections, can in
effect regulate the election OF State Off.
GERS too, and that in direct violation Of
the laws and the rights Of the States.
"If our forefathers in the Convention
should have put a clause in the Consti.