The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1879-07-24

2 - -zSszi
What Arc s. National Elec tions!,,
It is of Importance that the country
should clear upits mind tl,erouahly on
the pivotal question Whether Ne have
or have not tanyeleotions instliis codn-
try which can properly be called "Na-
tional" elections and which cannot
properly be called State elections. In
his veto messages the President uses
this phrase National elections" as
leverage point for landing his deputy
marshals and his bayonets about the
ballot-boxes of New York and fevery
other State. The persistency with
which this phrase is employed by him
and by the estalwarts everywhere seems
to indicate clearly enough their con-
sciousness that if the choice Of q mem..
Der of Congress is, under our existing
laws, not a NATIONAL but q State
affair, the stalwarti contention against
the Democratic Congress il without
warrant in law orreason. The burden
of General Garfield's speech Friday
was that the Democrats in contending
that there were no National elections"
were endeavoring to 'unsettIe the re-
suits of the war. Let us look at the
matter then quietly and nationally,
There are three classes of Federal
officers chosen by ballot-the President
and Vice. the members of the
Senate and the members of the House
of Representatives. fid igsii red .d.
With the details of the manner of
creating the first-named officers the
country has had recent occasion to
make itself. familiar, Certain persons
called electors. are created by, each
State in numbers equal to, the whole
number of the Senators and Represent
atives of that State in Congress, and
these electors, appointed by each State
sin such manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct" vote for Presi-
dent. Nobody pretends that the choice
of these State electors who vote for a
President is National election" in
eAAO SOkASo VI AvAAs A40y Co. L A4O LAWFUL ShA
Commission by eight to seven insisted
that the Nation could not look behind
or touch or otherwise deal with a dec
laratiOn by State of the persons
chosen to be the electors of that State.
Florida and Louisiana are in that mat
ter, said the Electoral Commission, SOW
ereign, and their sovereignty is exclu-
sive of any other power. Every stall
Wart pessimist comedies that neither
Federal supervisors nor deputy mar
shaIs can oversee or guard ballot-box
into which ballots are to be put for the
officers who are finally to choose Pres
ident. 'i' .
In the Federal Senate each State has
two Senators. They are to be chosen
by the Legislature Of each State and to
serve for six years. The 'tlmes'' and
''manner" OF holding elections forS Sem
ators shall be prescribed in each State
"by the Legislature thereof" says the
Constitution, but Congress may by law
either make or alter such regula-
tions." The creation of members Of a
State Legislature is certainly not a
National election" nor Is it easy to
see how State Legislature can hold a
National election" of any kind. The
merely Incidental power given the
be held to make the election AN cleo
ton by the Nation, or to authorize
deputy marshals and bayonets at the
side of every member of q State Legis-
lature when he votes for a Senator in
Congress, or to arrest any such member
summarily on q charge affecting his
right to vote. And yet if the. Daven-
port election laws are constitutionally
proper Congress can take absolute and
physical possession, by means of bay
onets, of State Legislature when that
Legislature is occupied in choosing a
Federal Senator, aud can take this pos
session under the plea that the election
is q National election"
Thus far the most Jealous sta1Wart.
has not ventured to call for q tNation-
al' supervision or control of the choice
of Presidential Electors or Federal Sem
atOrs. Why not? From 1887 to 1870
the Nation went on without any such
National supervision or control of State
Representatives in Congress as that to
which the Davenport law Is expressly
Why or how does it come to,
pass that the choice of q member of
Congress is National elec ion" and
that the appointments of Presidential
Electors or Federal Senators is not a
National election~ The Constitu-
ton declares that the House of Repre-
shall be composed of mem
bers chosen every second year by s'the
people of the several States.Y Not by
the Nation or by the people of the Ma
ton! And the voters for these men,
bers shall have the qualifications; adds
the Constitution, requisite for elec-
tors OF the most numerous branch of
the State Legislature" The State and
not the Nation prescribes who shall
tad L.
have different qualifications. The right
to vote in each State" said the Su-
preme Court in Cruikshank's case, 4
comes from the Srate.p TO be- sure,
the fifteenth amendment puts certain
upon each State, but the
States conceded the right to make the
as 10 the race and color.
Not day passes in Congress that some
Western stalwart does not pompously
about "my State'f and "the
State which L have the honor in part
to represent" No stalwart talks of
representing the Nation" or denies
the mandates of the Legislature Of the
State they represent. A member of
the House represents in fact only q dis
trict or q subdivision Of q State. A
House of Representatives" must rep
resent something or somebody, and
what does the House in Washington |
represent? Does Mr.. Garfield officially
represent New York, or anything else |
but his Ohio Congressional district? In
what part of the Constitution does the
word Nation" Or "National" occur |
ff grant of power to use bayonets in
elections is to be built on, the word |
National" the word surely ought to |
be found In our fundamental law. The
Supreme Court said in the Fslaughter-
house case that .sthe fifteenth amend
nent gave no new right to regulate
elections except to enforce the inhibi-
ion" about race and color Mr.. Hayes
therefore is driven to seek support for
his vetoes to the clause which empow-
rs Congress TO. make" regulations Of