Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-05-10
run vrTo-How no MEET m.

,ur attention has been drawn to
hort but very important editorial
n the New York World. 1t is so
seldom that we differ from that adj
nirable journal in political matters
that, doing SO in the present in
stance, we think it right to give our
reasons for doing so in detail. For
this purpose we give below the
Worlds article Uer6atim, desiring
our readers careful attention to it:
The Presidents veto opens the way, wide
and clear, TO popular Democratic victory
IN 1850. Congress called upon him 20 accept
the principle Of free and honest elections
unclouded and uncoerced by the exhibition
Of Federal bayonets at the polls THIS prin-
chile he refuses TO accept under the cover Of
formal objections for the most part captions,
unsound and Irrelevant Let Congress now
strip away the cover by its own conserve
tive action and leave the refusal naked in all
its political deformiry to be judged by the
people. The principle commended for by
Congress should be presented 70 the Presl-
dent again at once in a form which shall
leave him no choice between a complete
acceptance of Il aild a fiat rejection OF IL.
The repeals contained in the legislative APP
propriation bill also should now be presented
~ once TO him separately.
L nder no temptation, under no proyoca-
ton let Congress now adjourn without
out making ali the appropriations necessary
TO carry on the Government. Representing
the majority of the American people, Con
fereSs must see to il that the wheels OF the
public administration are kept smoothly
aud steadily In motion and 1.-THE President
OF a factiOus and mischievous minority, un-
der the guidance OF evil eonnselioIss Insists
repeats in harmony with all the great pre-
celents of the history Of freedom, let the
cratic party calmly and fearlessly before the
tribunal of the people In all the states OF the
Union.
IL should be said in justice to our
able contemporary that the World
was opposed in the first instance to
the introduction into the army APP
preparation bill of the clauses re-
peaIing the acts authorizing the
presence Of the army at the polls ;
opposed to it, that is, ON grounds of
expediency, though freely admit
ting the right of Congress to pursue
that course if thought expedient.
1t has also become manifest as a
result of the Congressional caucus
that the Democratic party will act
in accordance with the counsel OF
the World. This, however, need
not prevent us from expressing our
own opinions on the subject.
Our position then is, in opposition
to the World, that the association OF
legislature with appropriation bills
is a practice entailing such serious
responsibility ON the party which
resorts to it, that it ought never to
be resorted to except under the
gravest emergencies, but when
adopted ought to be carried out,
whatever the public inconvenience
to its logical conclusion. We are
ourselves convinced of both the po-
sitions, that the measure in question
was justified by the emergency il
had to meet, and that, in the face OF
all difficulties, having been once
adopted it ought to be persisted in,
whatever the consequences. These
two propositions we now propose to
treat separately, and first we con-
tend that The original measure icaS
justified By the emergency IL tC0s de
signed TO meet.
The emergency was, in our esti-
nation, nothing short of the exist
ence of laws on the statute-bOok
which enable an executive admin.
istration to appoint its own success
sOrs and to virtually set aside the
representative system of govern.
ment.
Nothing short of such an emer.
gency would, as we think, have
justified the association of the repeal
of such laws with an appropriation
bill; that emergency did dictate
that mode of action, it ought to en-.
force persistence in it.
Was the emergency, then, such as
we have described it? Do the laws
whose repeal is sought confer on the
Federal Executive the dangerous
powers we have described? Unless
the denunciatiOns of the Democratic
press and speakers during the last
four months have been mere empty
vapOring; unless the revelations Of
the Wallace Committee have been
pure fiction, these laws not only
convey such powers, but the mode
in which they have been admins
tered has gone far already towards
realizing that purpose. They have
already, we firmly believe, giveI
Republican majOrities in the cite:
of New York and Philadelphia
where those majOrities would have
been Democratic, and we shall give
an instance at the close of this papel
To show how easily they can make
wholesale reductions in a Demo
cratic vote; but let US examine the
laws themselves. The Chief Super
visOrs are appointed by the Fedora
Courts, and they appoint the Assist
ant Supervisors and Deputy Mar
shals who are to assist them in theil
functions. The cases arising out o
their action are to be tried in the
Federal District Courts before a jury
bound by the old irOn-clad Oatf
which in the South excludes all bu
one party from these juries. Here
then, is partisan apparatu.
throughout. Election cases arr
brought into courts, the judges o
which are appointed by the Presi
dent by officers appointed by thos,
courts. They are brought before /;
partisan judge and tried by him be
fore a partisan jury, and the part!
which all these partisans represen
Is the party which elected the Pres
ident TO office, while they in thei
turn depend upon him for appoint
ment to office and for being retained
therein, and all this in a state O
things where the primary motiv
force of party is the acquisition o
Office, and the primary motive Q
appointments to Office is the reten
ton of it by the party in power. 1t i