The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-05-17
ANOTHER VETO.

IN the states In his former veto he OD)tclt
to the measure mainly on two srouLds-that
was coupled with an appropriation bill an
therefore looked like an attempt TO cocrcc III
executives; and that by implication al least
intertered with civil officers in the cXecutio
of the laws of the United States on electio
days.
! The measure, as embodied in Il separate hlI
and passed through both houses, avoided bot
these objections. 1t was coupled with no otl
er matter and contained nothing in the reno
est degree to trammel or touch civil officers il
the execution of the laws of the United State
on election or any other days, at or away iron
the polls.
The president, therefore, had steadily express
ed his purpose to approve the bill up to tn
day of its passage, At least four members o
his cabinet-Key, McCreary, Evarts and Schur
were known heartily to approve that deter
minatlon. But there Is "a power in Washing
ton greater than that of the president cablnc
and congress combined, and that power is tn,
organization of the stalwarts under the com
mand of pope" Chandler, as he is called
Thus far this body had trolled the presiden
along gently; now they went for him with {
momentum that made him quail, 1t was in
vain the president represented TO them that the
bill was really harmless and sheer surplusagC
that its whole ground was covered by the
posse comitatus" clause of the army bill OF
1878 rs well AS other statutes from President
Washington down The stalwarts knew bet
ter-thc President didn't understand the case
at all And when the president plead that he
really was at loss to know upon what ground
to put the veto they sand wait till Edmunds
makes his speech in the senate he'll tell you
And Edmunds made his speech, and Hayes
got his material for veto. The plagiarism
from Edmunds is so gross as to be ridiculous.
The president not only copies all Edmunds
ideas but even his language
The democrats knew very Embellishments
knew and the President HAD shown in his
former veto, that the president has no power
under the constitution or law of congress upon
any pretext to place United States soldiers
around or near the polls in the states unless
called upon to do so by state authority to repcl
invasion or suppress actual resistance to the
laws Not only is this clear from the statutes
Some repealed, Others obsolete and others in
force which the president quotes, but from the
terms ofthe posse comtatus' clausealready re-
ferred 20. Then why were the stalwarts so deter
mined that no additional clause should be en-
acted to exclude the army from the polls? Be
cause, under sections 2022 and 1924 ofthe revis.
ed statutes, authorizing the use ofthe army to
keep the peace at the polls, the stalwarts knew,
as the democrats know, that in spite of the
posse comitatus clause and Hayes's other stat
ltes to the contrary, the stalwarts intend TO in.
sist that Hayes shall use, and shall Justify the
use Of the army in 1880 as Grant used it in
1876, by stationing it at voting places before
the voting day comes and before there is any
offer or the remotcst threat of resisting any
federal process for the sole purpose of ind-
eating that the Government" Is in favor of
the election of particular congressman or cleo
tors and that, as the negroes in South Carolina
Florida, Louisiana, &c, in 1876 were given to
understand, it were better to be on the side of
the Government" and it might be danger.
Dus" to oppose its wish.
The plea put into the Presidents mouth by
Edmunds to disguise the real animus of the
5talwarts Is, as we have already intimated,
'pccious and absurd. The President is put in
HE humiliating plight Of vetoing the bill on
he ridiculous plea that if he Is not allowed to
order soldiers near the polls on election days
he will be disabled from executing the laws of
he United States if resisted in any city on the
lay when special or general election may he
II progress. This is incflabe nonsense. ANY
I. 5, marshal or other officer IN executing a
aw or process of the United States. if resist
ID, Is authorized to call on the by-standcrs as a
POSSE comitatus to aid him and they are severe
y punishable if they refuse; and if the power
hus invoked is insufficient, the local militia
must be called upon, and if they are stlll in
efficient to overcome the resistance then the
aw authorizes the marshal to call upon the
'''i''ht ipi iiiil'diy anu INC law directs
he president "by proclamation to command
he insurgents to disperse snd retire peacefully
o their respective abod,s," and on their rcfus.
Il to do so the |. 5 soldiers are called in. The |
MI which the President vetoes forbids the
presence of the army at voting places, or in
titles where voting Is going on, as the Presi. |
lent puts 1t, except when otherwise "authoriZ. |
d by the constitution and the laws made in
pursuance thereof" Under the law we have
ust quoted (sec, 1898 Rev Stat. L. s. the local
'osse comitatus and local militia must first be |
and then Il presidential proclama-
ion ISSUED. Even If the law vetoed did forbid |
he presence of troops for any purpose on cleo
ion day, which it does not the day would be
pent before the President can go through the
cquired formality of a proclamation, &c, and
he bill objected to would be no impcdiment in
my event
Ia. cot,