The daily gazette., 1879-04-17
Peace and Order at Elections.

I
day.
Honesty at the ballot boxes and peace
at the polls! Tie people of the United
| States are AZ united and as determined in
| denouncing dishonesty aud disorder In
| ali the other relations OF their social or
pubic life. It, is due to ourselves and to
| our country 10 say that the dispute and
| the only dispute between the thinking
men of either great parry on the subject
| of elections, as that subject is now pre-
sented in the pending Army bill, is
whether each State shall protect and pre-
serve honesty and decorum on election
days, or whether the General Govern
ment must be invoked to do this with the
| help of Federal bayonets?
| Mr. Blaine III his speech of NJ onday as
reported by telegraph resisted and assai-
| ell the House amendment of section 2OO2
on two grounds One of these grounds
was that the keeping of the peace at the
polls could not be left solely to each State
as was the case up to 1860, and the OIL her
ground was that, although there Just now
happen to be no Federaltroops available
for such police duty III the Southern
States, the "civr officers of the United
States must be clothed with power to call
on the Federal troops at discretion. The, e
two grounds may at the first glance ap-
pear To be rather Inconsistent If there
I
with power to call on them? Senator
Blaine did not care, however, to be logi-
) cal in the Senate on Monday, any more
than cur pOeiical eX-Minster to Russia
cared to be logical at the Union League
Club IN Philadelphia last night. The
J Senator was talking to the galleries az
the X-Minister talked To the supper
tables.
1t isquite true that as our army of % 600
men is now manly distributed along the
Indian froniler they are comparatively
few soldiers II the Southern S ates. But
, in 1876, it will he remembered, the need
was quite az pressing OF our troops in
the Indian country as it now Is. We
= were bumlhated BY savages in the defeat
in the defeat of Lord Chelmsford and
4 Colonel Durnford. Bat President Grant
. did not hesitate to strip our frontiers in
, order to overawe certain election local..
d ties IN the South by the presence OF
e nearly 5000 baycnets. What was done
in 1876 can again be done In 1880, when
the policy OF the Grant leaders will be to
v select a few Congressional districts and
concentrate all 1.-THE Government" iuhu
ence upon them. Senator Blaine knows
e very well that 1t is not the number o
tayonets present near poll which in
fiuences an election. A file of dozeI
S armed men in Federal uniforms arounC
e polling place may be as potential al
would be regiment to create the impres
l. sion that the Government" of the day
whatever it may be, Republican o
Democratic, has candidate whom i
,r seeks to elect and whom it will not suffe
to be defeated. Senator Elaine made th
II galleries laugh with his picture Of 10
" soldiers in the South intinidating 5, 600
= 900 of people. Did the Senator ever rea
J. MIR. Everetts famous sketch of the grea
-. Il.
f., Royal Guards? No doubt 100 soldier
d" would be swamped in an actual encoui
50 ter with 10000, 900 ofpeople, but SO woul
a. our whole army Of 25 900 men or tn
English army of ten times $1,000 meI
pl AS senator Wallace coolly pointed OH
g. such balderbash throws no light on Ia
inquiry how much influence upon "A
y election can he tXcrted by even liz
of bayuncta skiiiiuly distributed on ele,
ii. tiOn days at certain polling places in .
70 der 10 show that "the Government .
Ii Washington Seeks, urges, and demant
ro the choice of certain candidates. If, O
/ the other hand, the soldiers are so fe
ne a7 to bc useless TO "6ecp the peace" .
~ Mr.. Blame intimates, then why in ~
!naInc of reasoning nag The South or ii
10 East, or any section or auybOdy, with
nj lueudcr Of the eXhbitlun OF bdyoncis ,
q % ..us u~' ul Eayon Il On election days
~ .. a't.Ipi ~ huly poor Mr.. HAY,
g .u T.. a. I4.uaitfe ptaeut 10 veto a pcu
al uuy mll II there is no army he e.
ue?
US ..d This prcpos'erous talk Of Scuot
...' I;"u.Ar u.i- really quite is iut irNaut
t,va- .ftru-t.5ou~. he real comic
.,zi cd sis. btaiue was t'at ije arvcI
I l....,. cannot be u4- ed to keep Il
.,.s r..r. ~ TIE polls, ard prelal , IN
I.r ru.th.ru S'aiHa cannot Ia trust
tAc h-t.u-r Trey are hl-.lle and IN uaci
10 t'.l. r. ION, and ave Iu conspiracy WI
-. NsT York 'eoppeapa )" 10 a,,al 4
iu- ! anon again "y saitOas methods, a
tile cons itcuouSly by repeating Laws whi
TO-, during tue civil war and for war uurp,
''ii eS alone were approved 10y hat ''Smui
MARTY r." as senator Blaine called hi
for by whom the Union was declared
April, 1900 TO he more safe than Sci
ak tor Blaine pretends to believe it to be
has 1879.
Above, below, behind and all arou
sh- this Stalwart contention against
ule House Army bill looms darkly up