Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1879-07-17
The Result.
EY SENATOR PESDLETON.

The Republican party has put it.
self more squarely, by the speeches
and votes OF its most prominent con-
grcssiOnal leaders, in favor Of the
question of the power and duty of
the Federal government to use the
army of the United States upon the
day OF election at the polls or any
where else, and if the result of such
use is the Intimidation of voters and
the prevention Of free election, new
crtheless it is all right. President
Hayes mildly disclaims for himself
personally, the right to use the army
to influence elections, out as an or
gan OF great party he asserts, not
only such right, but duty, to use
the troops to keep what he calls the
peace of the United States at the
polls Wherefore any one can see
that the troops so used, can, under
the influence of any strong partisan
marshal or general, intlmidate vo-
ters. who are opposed to the admin
istration, and the degree of intimida-
ton varies simply with individual
idiosyncracles. Then all the speech
es made i" the Sena!sas Ppt pt.tlE fhE m9re
viatlngly on the ground OF using the
army rs one of the instrumentalities
Of its I artisan strength. They have
gone further in that direction, not
only than was even thought of before
in American politics, but almost as
far rs was ever thought OF by Napole-
on III. so that you readily perceive
how President Hayes by his vctoes,
which are really planks in platforms,
has been the means Of drawing sharp
lines. In the volumes of the Con-
grcssionaI Record will be found
speeches which, when dispassionately
considered, will astonish the Ameri-
can people and perplcx even Repub
licans who could read them without
the feeling engendered by the strife
OF this extra session.
On the other hand, while the Demo
Gratis have not been able to defend
ali the popular rights which were in
vo!ved by their measures, they have
vel limited the use of the army at the
polls 20 such an extent, as that Sena-
tor Carpenter said in yesterday S
session when concurrlng with MIR.
Eaton. hereafter soldiers could not
be used IN any etfectual way at the
polls. The iuror test-oath- born OF
England's tyranicat days--has been
The juror-6ath forbade
every one who had in any w2y, even
by thought or intent, aideo 6 Con-
fcderate soldier or Confederate
politician to sit upon any jury 1t
applied chiefly to the Southern states,
where we know every intelligent man
was either himself or by some OF his
relatives either engaged in or SYM
pathlzed with the Confederate militia
ry service. Different Judges gave to
the Jurors test oath different construc-
tions. Some were almost AS extreme
in their views, as the old judge in the
time of Henry VIII, who convicted
Il forester of treason for wishing
stag's horns affixed to the King $
chest. A noted Confederate General
and, as many Republican papers
termed him, very enterprising man,
John Morgan, passed through the
Sou thern tier or portion of Indiana
and Ohio, over several hundred
miles, in the spring of 1868 and 1864,
and his force was finally dispersed
near Marietta. This jurcr-test stat
ute would have made every man who
had gwen one of these dispersed and
flying Confederates a morsel OF 1000
or Il glass of water incompetent to SIT
on jury in the state OF ONO. Inns
extraordinary law which was passed
by fanatics and in aid of the coloreo
vote, has been repealed and system
of selecting juries in the feoefal
courts has been adopted which Sc
cures absolute fairness, and returns
our scheme of national justice to tha'
of the early fathers of the r.. public