The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1879-02-27
ELECTION SUPERVISORS.

ELECTION SUPERVISORS.
Extracts from the Debate in the National
House of Representatives on the PROPOSE
ton to Abolish Them.
Mr.; Frye (Republican) argued against the
amendment. He declared its object was for
effect not in the South, but in the State of New
York. In the South, Notwithstanding the cleo
ton laws, the Republican party had disappeared
as the dew before the rising sun. The Sonth
would be solid for the Democratic candidate
for President in 1880, law or no law, Supervisor
or no Supervisor United States Marshal or no
United States Marshal Mr. Frye went on to
state that it was the election frauds in 1865 that
had originally caused the enactment of the
Federal Election law, and that it was the
present necessities Of the Democratic party that
now required its repeal He gave some of the
figures OF the naturalization and election frauds
in New York in 1861 and characterized that
election as the most monstrous and marvellous
for fraud, for wickedness, and for every device
OF the devil, that had ever been heard of. He
showed that, on the 9th of October, in one
single day, the Supreme Court had natural
lied =, 109 persons, and On the 18th of October
the Supreme Court had naturalized 919, and yet
q Judge of Louisiana had been impeached and
found guilty for having naturalized some 400
persons in one day-that being declared to be
physical impossibiity He spoke Of nine wit
nesses Zone a Captain of squad) witnessing the
naturalization of nearly 1000 persons, one Of
them (the Captain) being witness in one court
for 996 persons, and swearing that he knew all
the men, while he did not know single one of
them and while the Judge knew that he did
not, but that he was a drunken thief. In con-
clusion, he quoted from Cox's report on the
New York election in 1876, in which high COM
pliment is paid to the United States Supervisors
and Marshals
Mr.. Lynde Democrat) denied the statement
of MIR. Frye as to the false naturalization
papers in New York, and asked why it was that,
if there was so many false naturalization
papers in 1868, not one person had been
successfully prosecuted for using or issuing
them. He believed that the greater Fart of
those naturalization papers were valid The
Election law had been got up by John I. Daven-
port for his own and for partisan purposes.
The way in which the law had been admins
tered by Davenport was sketched and criticized
by him to prove that all these statements Of
election frauds were gross exaggerations. He
characterized the Lawrence report of the cleo
ton of 1868, from which Mr.. Frye had obtained
his facts and figures, as the most unreliable
political document he had ever seen.
Mr.. Baker Republican, Ind) expressed the
opinion that his friends on the other side who
declared themselves in favor of freedom of
election while they had their hands on the
throat of the law that secured it were protest
ing little too much Underlying the discussion
was the question which had eliminated in the
Rebellion, whether or not the life of the nation
can be protected by the nation itself. ..a
Mr.. Wood DemocraD recited the history of
the laws which were proposed to be repealed.
They were but a portion of a series of laws
passed In order to keep the Southern States as
sipendiaries of the Republican party. That
had been intended for the South, but it was
now applied to the North The gentleman
from Maine (Frye), assumed to speak for his
party when he said that he would resist by
every means in his power the repeal of those
avs. He Wood could not speak for his party,
but he could speak for one man when he said
that he did not care what became of the ap-
preparation bills He believed there was
higher question than that of appropriating
money. He could stay in the House as long as
any gentleman. The Democratic party could
resist as long as the Republican party, and he
would not consent to vote for dollar until
this amendment should be grated on the
BILL ..-.-
MIR. Garfield Republican, opposed the
amendment He said: Gentlemen addressing
the Democratic side of the House,, you seek to
cut out section, living section, from the
criminal laws of the United States and to say
that the ballot box stuffng, fraud at elections,
intimidation, outrage. poisoning the very foun-
tain-eprings of the elective franchise, shall be
no crime, and that the machinery by which
such crime can be punished shall be des! royed
That is what you propose to do here to-day,
and to do it at the dictation of party
caucus. X Now, Mr.. Chairman, if
this be the purpose which we are called
upon here to vote On, we on this side
are compelled to meet it in the spirit
OF the constitution and our rights, and
that we prop Sc to do, and if it takes one
night, two nights, ton nights, not while Con-
gless lasts shall you strike from our statute
books the muniments for the protection of the
elective franchise. When you DO it you must
do it because you have the whole power to do
it, and not by our help, not by our consent
hundred criminal prosecutions are to-day pend
ing before the courts of the United States to
punish crimes against the elective franchise.
Already enough men from the city of Cincir-
matt have been sentenced to the penitentiary
for fraud to take away the majority of one Of
the members on this floor from that city, and
all the proceedings in the criminal courts are to
be abandoned at the cry of party order which