The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-04-30

enforced by the act to which the Senate has
ity under which the soldiers Of the nation can
go on election day or any other day to the polls
or elseW mere within the jurisdiction of State
to queu violence and enforce law. If under
those provisions armed men cannot be en-
ployed to subdue violence at the polls on the
day of national election, they cannot be en-
ployed at all for there is, as shall argue, and
as think l shall demonstrate, no other au-
tnority lot IL; certainly none in the act which
we are invited to strike down. If there was
latitude given to the President or the Army by
the Constitution and by the act of 1895, that
latitude was curtailed on the 18th of June, 1873,
On that recent date, this provision became
law:
Sec. Is. From and after the passage of this act il
shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army
OF the United States. posse comitatus or other
wse for the purpose of executing the laws ercept in
such cases and under such circumstances as such
emntoymens Of said force may be expressly author
azed 6y the Constitution or By act of CdngresS and
no money appropriated by this act shall he used to
pay any of the expenses incurred in the employ
ment of any troops in violation of this section and
any person wilfuly violating the provisions of this
section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
ana on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine
not exceeding $4,000 or Imprisonment not exceed
ing TWO years, or by both such fine and such lmpris-
onment.
Marx the language, penal statute visiting
WIN peHalby tu6 EF6Slu6Qt aQQ every DOOy else
VINO attempts to employ troops in any case
unless the Constitution or an act of Congress
expressly not alone by implication, not
alone By the spirit, which makes alive, but by
the very letter which sometimes kills, author
ICES such employment. So thoroughly is the
Constitution hedged about already. I have
said and L repeat that the act Of 1865, against
which tnis repeal is leveled, contains no au-
thofity, none whatever, under which any one
soldier or any one armed man may go for the
purpose of keeping the peace. or for any other
purpose, unless TO vote, to the polls Eon ma.
tional election day. Let me read the section
aimed at by the amendment, and the section
winch immediately follows it and which was
enacted as part of the statute OF 1865:
Sec. 20n2. No military or naval officer or other
person engaged in the CIVIL military or naval service
OF the UDit9d States shall order, bring keep or have
under his authority or control, any troops or armed
ton is hell u any State rness it be necessary to re-
pei the armed enemies of the United States, or to
Keep the peace at the polls.
Mark the following section:
Sec. 2Oo3 No officer OF the Army and Navy of the
United 81 ates shall prescrbe or fl L. or attempt to
nix, by proc amation, order, otherwise, the quali
ca'10ns OF voters IN any State. or any manner in
teriere with The freedom of anv election in any State
or with the txercise OF the ree right OF suffrage in
any State. (See sections $3.50 5532)
Does any lawyer listen to those two sections
and know that they stood together in the act of
1860, and yet doubt that the act was mere
peual and restraining ac? IL conferred no
0ower Twas designed for no snch thing 1t
diminished, curtailed, restrained the olden
power which from time immemOrial had resided
III he persons the section describes.
Mr.. President, let me go back moment, for
thiuk. after reading some remarks which fell
ffom the distinguished Senator from Illinois
now before me Mr. Davisl it is somewhat
important that the Senate should know that
AN right or know that AN wrong in this par
t'cular have said that the act of 1866 gives
no authority to troops or armed men to visit
the polls at which an election is being held. /
have said that the power of the President re-
SIDES in the act Of 1895 and in the Constitution,
and add that until 1864 these constitutional
provisions had always been deemed not only
suitable grant of power, out o sufficiently
guarded grant. National jurisdction,-by
that mean the right of national authority to
interposs-depends sometimes upon the locus,
as lawyers Say, thereby meaning the place, and
sometimes on the occasion without reference
to place.
10 fort, an arsenal, dock.y ard, aud in
every other place under the sole Jurisdiction of
the United States the national authority may
always go TO preserve the peace and to reign
and dwell there. In the States, and every.
where in every State, on every rood of our soil,
the national authority may always 60, when
any act is to be done or law enforced in virtue
of the Constitution of the United States.
The law protecting and regulating national
elections is law in virtue of the Constitution
OF the United States. The execution of that
law is an act under and in virtue of that Con-
stitution. 1t follows that it is one of the laws
which the President is empowered and COM
manded to take care to have faithfully exc
cuted. 1t is one of "the laws of the Union
which he may command the militia as well as
the national forces to execute 1t is one Of the
laws in respect Ut which, when need be, he
may exert all the power, civil and military,
which he may exert, to execute any law what
ever.
Are we to be- told that the act protecting
elections is unconstitutional, and therefore not
valid and not "a law Of the Union?'' 1t is too
late to say that. The Democratic House, and
what is more final and supreme, the Democrat
ic caucus, have abandoned the constitutional
argument. They have decided that the elec-
tion law is a valid Constitutional law, and the
judgment stands recorded in the legislative,
executive and judicial bill lying on our tables
as pending in the House. They recognize the
election act; they deal with il; they assume
that it exists. They cripple it, it is true; they
cunningly emasculate it, they provide for its
safe and easy violation and evasion. They so
change it as to make smooth and tempting
walk for every ballot-box stutfer and ruffian
who would maraud upon the ballot box, but
they recognize it all the time, and deal with it
as a valid constitutional enactment
said, and repeat that the authority to en-
force this law resides in the Constitution and
in the act of 1895. said, and L repeat that
until 1864 no curb, no Limitation, had ever been
placed by Congress upon the right and duty TO
execute law and preserve peace on election day
or anY other day. In 1S6l.62 General McCel-
Ian, General DIX, General Schenck, and others,
military commanders, issued orders in which
they not only excluded disloyal voters from the
polls bat undertook in some sort to prescribe
the qualification of electors Gen. Mcclellan
was Democrat and must be supposed to
have been inspired in all the meanings and
limitations of she Constitution. never knew
Democrat during the war. even if he could
not read the Constitution by its title, who was
not profoundly instructed and vehemently Ger
tain Of all prohibitions of that famous insiru-
ment. General Mcclellan issued an order not
Only regulating elections but suspeuding the
privilege Of the writ OF hdbeds corpus, In order
that at elections military authority might have
full sway.
Here it is:
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC
Washington, October 25, 1861.
GENERAL: There is an apprehension ng
Union c zens in many parts of aary yland of an at
tempt interference with thei. right, of suffrage by
disuoiOn citizens the occasion OF the election to
take place III the 9Th of November next.
In order to prevent this, the msjor-general COM
mandng-
That was General Mcclellan
directs that you send detachmen,s OF a sufficient
numher OF msn to the different points in your vicn-
i where The elections are To be held to protect the
Union voters, and to see that no dlsunionists
allowed TO intmidate them, or in any way to inter-
tere with their rights.
he so desires you to arrest and hold in confine-
ment til alter the election all disunonists who
Known 10 have returned from Virginia recently and
who show themselves at the polls, and TO guard
eec uay against any Invasion OF the peace and Or
der OF the electisn
For the purpose of carrying out these instructions
you are aathorzet 10 suspend the hdbeas corpus
General Stone received similar instructions to
these. You will please confer with him as to the par
ucuIar points t1at shall take The control of.
am sir, very respectfully,
your Obedient servant,
r. b. MARCY,
ChiefUf Staf,
Major-General n. P BANKS,
Commanding DiUision Muddy Branch, Maryland.
The Democratic party did not leara for some
time afterward how mOnstrous it was to con-
front ruffians with armed force. Indeed, the
tender Constitutional susce eptibilites of that
great organization were not then keenly alive