The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-06-05

the virtue and the patriotism of the
States, where alone our fathers placed it -?
Is it because the States are unable with
their civil machinery to preserve the
peace2 They have invariably proven
able in the past, except in cases of such
unusual violence as is contemplated in
the constitution, article 4, section 4. Are
they unwilling? Surely they are willing
to preserve their autonomy and perpetu-
ate their own existence. Are they cor
rupt? Surely, if their inhabitants, as
citizens of the States, are too corrupt for
self-government, it is not possible that
their virtue should be improved and their
corruptions cease the moment they are
invested with authority by the United
States. On the contrary, there is always
found less of responsibility and more OF
corruption in aggregated than in sepa-
rate communities. How can corrupt
State officer become an incorruptible
Federal officer?
To suppose that the States are either
unable, unwilling or too corrupt to hold
peaceful and honest elections is to de-
clare Enthusiastically that the people there
of are incapable of self-government.
"Let each Senator have written on his
brow what he thinks of the republic"
said the Senator from New York, quot
ing the old Roman. So say l. Let each
Senator say for himself what he thinks
of his State; are its people incapable of
self.government; of choosing their rulers
peaceably and honestly? For one, can
say with unspeakable pride and with alb
solute truth that the people Of the State
of North Carolina, who sent me here, are
able, willing and virtuous enoug b to full
fill these and all the other high functions
of free government; that they have ever
done so since the keels of Raleigh's ships
first grated upon the white sands of her
shores, and, God helping them, they and
their children will continue TO do so, if
not destroyed by Capitalization, until
chaos shall come again. 1t is with ex-
treme sadness that l hear any other SEN
ator intimate that it is not so with his
people.
+ Mr.. President, did you ever consider
for moment the manifold and extraor-
dinary uses to which we are subjecting
the soldiers? And did you ever think
that all this means, in fact, the failure of
the civil authority, that our Liberties are
declining more aud more as we employ
force? Sir, in the uses to which we put
the soldiers I am reminded of what l
read about the bamboo in Asiatic coun-
tries. 1t is said that the natives do al
most everything with that wonderful ar
borescent grass. When young and ten
der it is eaten and preserved; it is made
into houses and boats, astronomical in
struments, ornamental work, yards of
vessels, aqueducts, rain. cloaks, water
wheels, fence-ropes, chairs, tables, hats,
umbrellas, fans, pipes, cups, shields, tool.
handles, lamp-wicks, paper, shields, and
a hundred other things. In this way it
seems to me we are forsaking the civil
functions of our institutions and utilizing
the soldier.
In addition to their legitimate business
as defenders of the country, we have
made of them Governors of States, legis-
lators, organizers of Legislatures and
judges of the election and qualifications
of the members thereof, judges of law
and equity and of the criminal courts,
policemen, sherifs, marshals and deputy
marshals, revenue officers and still-house
hunters, managers of railroads, controll-
ers of churches and of schools, justices
of the peace, supervisors of election,
mathematicians to see fair count, pro-
tectors of witnesses, foster-fathers of re-
turning boards, and, above all, as Re-
publican propagandists. In the lam
guage of the sewing machine companies
mo family should be without one,"
laughter, this Republican political
bamboo. Is there not great danger ?
Does it not Indicate the decay and the
disuse of the civil arm of the law, which
is the natural and only safe protector of
our liberties? Let US, sir, discard this
miserable bamboo policy and cease to
make the soldier our political maid of all
work.
Mr.. President, it seems to me that the
position of the Republican party in refer
ence to the use of soldiers and super
visors at the polls, on the pretense OF
preserving the peace and securing free
elections, is the most remarkable one that
reasonable men ever assumed. It may
be formulated thus: The elections shall
be free if we have to surround the polls
with bayonets; the elections shall be ac-
cordiug to the laws of the States if we
have to overawe the civil magistrates
and State officials by an exhibition OF
power; the elections shall be pure if it
takes Davenport and all the convicted
criminals and occupants OF all the dens
of infamy in our great cities to manage
them; the elections shall he unforced
and without the appearance of violence
if battery of artillery has to be trained
on every ballot box in the land and
lastly, the election shall be fair if we
have to arrest without warrant, and i'm
prison without bail, until the election:
are over, every man who offers to vote
the Democratic ticket.
The speeches of Republican Senator:
mean this, the vetoes OF the President
mean this, and they mean more than
this, Mr.. President. In effect they say
that unless we can use the army at the
polls we will let the army dissolve; W.
will leave our forts and arsenals ungarri
soned; we will strip the frontiers of al
protection, and let the men, women an6
children of that border country Bt
slaughtered and scalped, and the un'
checked savage extend his barbarou'
sway over all that land of promise, once
more remitted to its ancient wilderness
We will not only do this, but we will de
nounce the Democratic members of Con
gress, who offered US the money to sup
port this army, as the authors of this dis
aster. All these things will we do rather
than lose our chances to count in tht
next President, aud we will cover thu
facts and obscure the logic of the case BY
reinfaming the bitter prejudices of tht
: war in the hearts of our constituents
Can it be possible to do this? Is there
to be no end to passion; no restoration
of reason? We shall see.
confess that I do not believe these
!, absurd methods of dealing with tht
American mind can much longer prevail