Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-05-01
Misffllansons. &
From the Speech Of Senator Blaine.


. section Of the Revised Statutes numbered
3oo2 reads thus:
No military or naval officer, or other person
! engaged In the civil. military, or naval sersic'
Of the United States, shall order, bring, keel
| or have under his authority or control, any
| troops or armed men si the place where an,
! general or special election IL held In any state
unless II be necessary TO repel the armed cue
mics ofthe United States, or 10 Keep he peace
at the polls"
The object of the proposed section which
| has Just been read xt the Clerks desk. is 10
! get rid Of the eight closing words. namely
'.or To keep the peace at the polls" and
| therefore the mode Of legislation proposed
| IN the Army bill now before the Senate. Is
| au unusual mode. IL Is an extraordinary
mode. II you want To take on single
| sentence AT the end OF q section In the Re
vised Statutes the ordinary way Is to Strike
of those words, but the mode chosen In
| this bill is To repeat and re-enact the whole
section leaving those few words out.
While do not wish TO be needlessly sus-
pIcious on a small point | sm quite per
susded that this did not happen by acci-
dent. sut that il came by design. Ii may
so speak It came OF cunning, the Intent be-
| Ing To create the impression that whereas
the Republicans in the administration OF
the General Government had been using
troops right aud lett, bither and thither,
in every direction. as soon as the Demo
Gratis got power they enscted this section.
can imagine Democratic candidstes for
Congress all over the country reading this
, section TO gaping and listening audiences
As one OF the first ofsprings OF Democratic
reform. whereas every word OF 1t, every
syllable of II. from its first 90 its last, Is the
enactment of Republican Congress.
al. al e. .faf a
| a dishonest issue. whether SO Intended or
not. II presents the issue that as soon As
the Democrats get possession OF the Fed
cral government they intended To enact
the clause which Is thus embraced. The
| law WAS passed by a Republican Congress
| In ls65 There were foriy-six Senators
4 sitting la this chamber al the time, o!
whom only ten or At the most eleven were
| Democrats The House of Representa-
/ iives was Overwhelmingly Republican. We
! were In the midst OF war. The Republl-
| can administration had . million or posi-
/ bly, twelve hundred thousand bayonets a,
It's command. Thus circumstanced aud
| thus surrounded, with the amplcst posi-
! bic power to interfere with elections. had
they so designed, with soldiers 10 every
hamlet and county OF the United States,
| the Republican party themselves placed
D lHet pFbtotU bu inc -AaAalr-OopNs ehAi
Abraham Lincoln. their President. signed
/ IL.
beg you 10 observe, Mr.. President,
| this 10 the frst instance in the legislation
| OF the United States Ia which any re-tric-
| tive clause whatever was put upon the
siatute-book In regard 10 the use OF troops
| a. the polls. The Republican party did II
| with the Senate aud House in their control.
Abraham Lincoln signed Il when he was
/ Commander-in-Chi hief of an army larger
, than ever Napoleon Bonaparte had Al hi'
commsnd. 80 much by way OF correcting
| an ing. nious aud studied attempt al mls-
representation.
The alleged object Is 10 strike out the
/ few words that authorize TIA. use OF troops
/ 10 keep peace at the polls. This country
/ has been alarmed. rather think indeed
amused. st the great effort made 10 create
4 widespread Impression that the Repub-
/ lican party relies for its popular strength
/ upon the use Of the bzyonet- This Demo
| cratic Congress has attempted TO give .
! bad name TO this country throughout the
| civilized world and to give Il on false Is
sue They have raised an issue that had
no foundation in fact, that Is false In whole
and detail. false in the charge, false In all
the specifications. That impression sought
TO be created, as 1 say, not only through
ou, the North American continent but IN
Europe to-day. is that elections are at
tempted in this country 10 be controlled
BY the bayonet.
| denounce Il here as s false Issue. | am
not nj liberty 10 say that any gentleman
making the issue knows IL 10 be false;
hope he does not but I am going 10 prove
to him that IL is false, and that there Is not
| Q solitary inch of solid earth on which 10
I ,h pf that make. that
issue. have in my hand an official iran
script Of the location and the number oi
| all the troops OF the United States east ol
| Omaha. By least of Omsha." mean all
! the United States east OF the Mississippi
| River and that belt Of States that border
| the Mississippi River on the west. inciud-
| ing forty-ons million at least ont of the
| forty five million people that this country
| IL supposed 10 contain to-day. In that
magnificent area, will not pretend to
( state It's extent but with foriy-one million
| people. how many troops OF the United
| States are there to-day! Would any Sen
ator on the opposite side like TO guess, OF
would he like TO state how many men with
| muskets in their hands there are In the
: vast area | have oamed. There are two
thousand seven hundred aud ninety seven
And not one more.
From the headwHters OF the Mississippi
| River to the lakes. aud down the great
| chain of lakes, and down the st. Law
| renee and down the valley OF the Saint
John and down the Saint Croix striking
| the Atlantic Ocean and following IL dowl
10 Kew West, around the Gulf, up to the
mouth of the Mississippi again. frontier
! Of eight thousand miles either bordering OF
| the ocean or upon foreign territory Ii
| guarded by these troops. Within this do
! main forty-nve fortificatious are manned
and eleven arsenals are protected. There
| are sixty troops to every million OF people
In the South have the entire number II
each State. l believe the Senator frou
Delaware is alarmed, greatly alarmed
about the overriding OF the popular ballo
| bf troops Of the United States. In Della
ware there is not single armed man. no
one The United States has not even one
soldier in the State.
The honorable Senator from West Vir
ginia (Mr. Hercford) on Friday last lashe.
| himself into Q passion, or nj least into
perspira.ion, over the wrongs Of his State
trodden down by the iron heel of miiitar.
despotism. There Is not solitary man o
the United States uniformed on the soil o
West Virginia. and there has not been 70
years.
In MARYLAND. do not know whethe
nv esteemed trieno from Maryland lMr
White) has been greatly alarmed or not
but at Fort McHenry, guarding the en-
trance to the beautiful harbor OF his beau
tiiul city, there are one hundred and ninet
two artillery-men located.
In Virginia there is . school Of practic
st Fortress Monroe. My honorable frien,
who has charge Of this bill MIR. Withers
knows very well, II he does not viii. tel
hio,, that outside Of that school OF prac
tice at Fortress Monroe. which has tw
hundred and eighty-twO men in it, there
not Federal soldier on the Soil OF Vii
| ginia-DOt one.
North Carolina. Are the Senators frot
that State alarmed at the immediate an
terrible prospect Of being overrun BY tn
| Army Of the United Ststesf On the whol
| soil Of North Carolina there are but thirt
soldiers guarding = fort At the mouth {
Cape Fear River-just thirty.
South Carolina. l do not see SenaIo
on the floor from that State. There Al
one hundred and twenty artilleryme
guarding the approaches 10 Charlesto
Harbor, and not another soldier on be
soil.