The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-09-11

10 prevent IIduuu enl registration ana IrauOul
voting or fraudulent conduct on the part Of any
officer of election, and with power 10 arrest and
take into custody, with or without process. any
person who should commit or attempt or offer 10
commit any of the acts or 0tienses prohibited by
the act, or any Offense against the laws of the
United States; provided that no person should be
be arrested without process for any offense not
committed In the prestIce Of the Marshal or his
general or special deputies, or either of them or
OF the supervisors OF election or of either Of them
And for the purposes OF arrest or the preservation
of the peace, the supervisors of election and each
OF them should, In the absence Of the MaTshals
deputies, or If required to assist such deputies,
have the same duties and powers as Deputy Mar
shals. And II is further provided that the COM
pensation Of Deputy Marshals shall be at the rate
OF five dollars per day for not exceeding ten days.
The tremendous powers conferred upon these Of
rs-supervisors, marshals and special deputies
cannot be understood without reference TO the
entire statute and the multitude Of Offenses that
II creates. II interferes with the registration OF
voters and with the electit n, and undertakes to
punish the State Registrars and State Judges OF
election for numerous Ohenses declared by the
act, and In some instances TO require them, under
pains and penalties to disregard the State law
they swear 10 support And II places every one
OF these State officers at the mercy OF the ire
sp0nkible deputies appointed by the Federal MBr-
sha, and who according to the experience we
have had Of the act. have generally been men Of
the basest and most degraded characters that
could be found men who have served terms In
the PenitentiaIy; men who were notorious
thieves; men who kept houses Of infamous re-
sort; in word, the most despicable charac acters
that could be raked up In the great cities Of New
York and Philadelphia or elsewhere. To these
wretChes is given the power 10 tear the judges OF
election from their seats by an arrest without pro-
cess, 10 arrest any, the most respectable voter in
the city aud thereby to prevent his exercising his
right of suffrage, and to terrify whole bodies OF
voters by threats Of arrest aud by outright viO-
lenCe. This Is no Overdrawn picture. 1t IL not
drawn strongly enough. Whoever will read the
testimony taken before committees of investiga-
tiOn OF Congress in regard to the elecliOnr In New
York especially the election of last year, will be
amazed at the detail of enoTmities almost too
shocking for belief, committed by these superVi.
sOrs and deputy maTshals, The great ebJect
seems 10 have been toprevent naturaliled citizens
from voting, and for this purpose hundreds OF
arrests were made and the persons arrested held
in custody until they surrendered their naturali'
cation papers or agreed that they would not vote.
Among the hundreds of arrests actually made,
and the thousands of persons against whom war
rants were prepared 1t IL difficult to find, 80 far
as l have been able to discover, the name of an
American born citizen, Indeed, the execution
OF the law was regular Know Nothing crusade
against Iaturalized citizens, and 1t has been esti.
mated with apparent reason that at leas: five or
six thousand of such citizens were deferred from
voting last fall. in the single city Of New York,
by this persecution, or the cru 4lties practiced
on those who were arrested, of their confinement
In sort Of cage In the office of the chief supervi
sor, Of the sutferiugs they underwent while thus
confined [ have no time tonight 20 speak.
With you could all read the testimony that de-
tails these matters for venture to say that there
is not an honest or humane man in this audience
who would not be shocked at the recital, The
truth Is that this election law, or at least 80 much
of its provisions as authorizes the appointment
Of supervisors and deputy marshals, Is mere
scheme to buy voters by appointing them deputy
marshals, and to employ Republican electioneer-
ers and Republican desperadoes TO control the
elections of the people and to pay then out OF the
Treasury OF the United States When the bill
was under consideration In Congress, 1t was said
that such q law was necessary for the protection
Of the freedmen Of the South but the truth Is
that the law originated In the Union League Club
of the city Of New York and was made expressly
for that city. On this subject beg leave TO read
few extracts from speech delivered by me at
the last session, Speaking OF these laws, said;
Here is the way these laws originated, not at
all In the interest Of the freedmen of the South,
as has been so often commended, but solely for the
purpose or mainly for the purpose, of controlling
the elections Of the city of New York, and by
that means of the great Stale Of New York
Now, how have they been executed2 Their
execution proves Just what | say. Let me give
you some few figures upon that subject taken
from the official reports Of the Attorney General
and from the reports If investigating committees.
sors of elections appointed, and OF these 1779
were appointed In the State of New York, nearly
one half of them in that single State. Again,
there ,6l0 maTshals appointed and more than
one fourth Of them were appointed in the State Of
New York. But now look where the money was
spent for that is the main point. There was eX
pended under those acts in that year the sum of
1885 9ll q How much of 1t was expended to
protect the poor freedmen at the South? In the
Southern states, tO.wt: Alabama, Georgia, LOui-
g1npt Nar fVn
South Carolina Tennessee, Texas and Virginia,
SIS 7l9 SO were spent while in the other states
S237 2022l, That is 10 say one sixth of the money
was spent In the South and five siXths of 1t was
spent in the North. That is the way they protect
ed the poor freedman. They had given him the
right to vote, they had compelled the South in
self-delense to give him the right to vote. They
guaranteed him against any disCriminationation
on aCcouns OF race, color, or previous condition
of servitude; but when II came 10 using the mon
ey of the United States, for 81 that they gave to
protect him, TO guarantee him, they spent S5 TO
corrupt elections at the North and to deprive men
of their right to vote at the North.
How much OF this money was paid in order to
fix up the election in New York city, have
SHOWN you that the total expenditure was $685. 92l.
OF that Sl56 600, being more than half the whole
amount, was sPentin tie State of New YORK. That
is the way the right of the freedman to vote with
out objection on account Of race, color or prevl-
GUS conditions, was enforced.
| But let us pass on, and l must pass on or
shall never get through. Let us come to 1878 and
| we shall find another specimen of the same hing,
| The supervisors appointed in 1878 were 4Sol. Oi
| these 1853 nearly one half, were appointed in
| New YORK, and 1852 were appointed in Pennsyl
| Vania That made 635 in these two States alone
leaving only 246 for all the other States in the
| Union, That is the way they took care Of the
poor freedman at the South. OF the deputy mar
shals 4,725 were appointed, and Of these abou
one hall, 2,S0S were appointed In New York, anC
| in all the other States Of the Union only 24l
| were appOin ted. That made Of supervisors anC
marshals 606 The expenditures were 1920, ia %
for want to be precise; and In the SoutheGI
| States from which returns were made, tO-Wil: NJ: AL
| ALBANIA, Georgia Kentucky, Louisiana, South Car
DINA and Virginia, what proportion do you sup
pose was expended OF this S222,0OO2 or cOursI
| you would suppose that as the ku kluX rageC
down there as the white .leaguers ragged dOwI
there, as there was no such thing as free election
down there, as the poor negroes were massacreC
In order that the whites might carry the elections
you would suppose, as all that took place accord
ing to radical authority, that that was the plact
where most OF the deputy marshals Of the United
States were appointed aud who're most of th
money was spent But slngnlarly enough, of thi
1929, ,7l422 expendee in 1878 the amount used II
the South was just SlS24l06; that is to say, abOu
one twelfth of the whole expenditure, while elev
en-tweliths of 1t was expended in the Norty. VIII
was 1t expended in the Norlh2 Let the gains O
the Republican party IN New York, in New Jer
sey, and In Pennsylvania answer the question
why 1t was expended there. The gains in tbt
House of Representatives will answer 1t bette
than anything else can answer 1t. AT one sill glt
election there was gain Of more than fourteen
members of the Rouse of Representatives, anC
singularly enough, the greater the expendituI,
of money the greater was the gain Of Republican
members OF Congress-
But 1t is not alone for the persecution, frsu(
and corruption to which these laws give rist
that they should be condemned. There is a fata
objection to them that cannot be overcome anC
that is that they are in violation OF the Consttu
ton. The right to pass them is claimed under
article 1, Section 4, Of the Constitution, which
prov des that "the time, places and manner OF
holding elections for Senators and Representa-
tves shall be prescribed in each State by the Leg
islature thereof but the Congress may at any
time by law make or alter such regulations ex'
cept as to the places Of choosing senators" On
the subject said in the speech to which have
referred.
In the first place, It Is 10 be observed that the
provision in the Constitution relates simply to
the election of Senators and Representatives in
Congress, In the second place, the power given
IN Cnnurasa 10 the power to make rpRulA tiOng in