Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1879-03-10
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE mosrroR.l
WASHINGTON. Mar. a. 1879.

army since 1861, has been unvaryingly
and Indignantly hostile. Almost with
out exception, whether North, South,
East or West, wherever rebellion-sym-
pathizing Democrat was to be found,
there this feeling of unreasoning hatred
of the army which has been persistently
inculcated by the leaders, is cherished
as one of the most binding of party
dogmas, and the widest latitude of mis-
representation is INDUCED in without scru-
pie. In Congress when men are supposed
to be endowed with sufficient intelligence
to comprehend matters upon which they
seek to legislate, and too honorable to
Willfully and maliciously misrepresent,
this same identical spirit has cropped
out whenever the army or its interests
were subjects of legislation. It's achieve
ments have been belittled and derided;
Its officers who earned the gratitude of
loyal men and women by their effective
services during the war, have been held
up to the scorn and detestation of their
countrymen in the most odious charac-
tiers, and their every act of doubtful
propriety or legality measures taken in
emergencies SO threatening as to allow
no time for second thought and under
circumstances which demanded that they
should be entrusted with the widest DIS
erection to avoid a greater evil, have been
rehersed by ex-rebel Democratic Con-
gressmen here and on the stump, tinged
with every shade Of false coloring and
represented as having been inspired from
the central despotism," as they delight
in stigmatising the Government With
people given to the slightest reflection,
the absurdity of an army of 10000, men
overawing nation of 100000 peo-
pie is sufficiently potent; and the valiant
spirit Of thousand Democratic voters
who could be frightened from the polls
before voting, or worse yet, be intimmi-
dated into voting the Republican ticket
by the presence of five privates and a
sergeant at the polls, implies something
too ridiculous to be for one moment en-
tertained by people of common sense.
1t is altogether useless however, to argue
the point with those who manufacture
their facts to suit their position rather
than square their politics with the real
facts. But the law permitting the Presi-
dent to order sufficient military force
to the polls to preserve the peace and
insure every veter from molestation in
the exercise of the highest privilege of
citizenship, when state and local officers
fail to do so through inability or indif-
ference, was imperatively needed as ev-
cry one familiar with the lawless condi-
ton of the South knows. It has been
exercised very sparingly and only in
places where repeated violations of the
rights of citizenship had occurred. There
is not scrap of evidence to show that
a single legal voter has ever been in.
terfered with to deprive him of his right
to vote for whomsoever he pleased by
the U. S. military. But there are vol.
umes to show that thousands entitled tc
vote have been enabled to do so through
their presence who had otherwise beer
driven by violence from the polls if, in
deed, many of them had escaped with
only the loss of their vote. ALI this ano
much more to the same purport may be
said relative to the need of supervisor;
and marshals. Johnny Davenport was
the incarnation of all that was despotic
arbitrary and oppressive from the Dem
ocratic standpoint. For years Democratic
Congressman have alluded to him as /;
type of the class of supervisors who haC
subverted our liberties. He had drag
ged thousands of the innocent milesiar
voters who abound in the back-slums O
New York city, from the voting place tx
the prison. The Democratic Journa
was filled with the same sort of twaddle
Hoping to find some cases of abuse il
the vast field Davenport supervised,
committee was hurriedly equipped t
make case against him, and to so tim
their report as to precipitate it durin
the closing hours of the session so as t
strengthen the Democratic demand 70
.. the abolition of supervisors and turn tn
ballot-box in our large cities and tn
South over to the custody of the Demo
cratic repeater and the Ku-Klux. Afte
e diligent search the committee was IN
able to find single case of abuse, an
: was forced, virtually, to say SO.
; should not be forgotten that three Dem
} ocratic Governors were first to appeal
the central despotism'' for U. S. troop
to protect them from constituents VIII
only sought to make wider and MOI
5 general application of mobrule taugf
4 them by their leaders. From the tor
: of comment heard here the Republican
: in Congress will be commended for IT
: fusing to turn over the ballot box to tI
4 absolute dictation of the bull dozer an
the Democracy depends for its majoritie
e All but two of the bills-the executiv,
S legislative and judicial, and the army
were finally agreed to +; but Republican
q | 70 x,1o1d =