Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1879-09-24

no less than twenty-threo sections.
have no time tonight to speak OF thi
law in detail. can only say in gen
eral way that it assumes to control tn,
action of the election officers of tn,
States when performing their dutiei
under State laws and to punish then
by indictment IN the Federal court
and by numerous other penalties fol
any violation of the act notwithstand
ing the existence OF State laws to pun
ish them for the same thing thus in
flicting upon them a double punish
ment-one under the laws OF the Stat,
and the other under this Congressiona
act. 1t creates host of Federal off
GERS and cmpl9ysa tn he paid ont o
the Treasury for interfering in th,
elections of the States and il seeks tt
confer upon the Circuit or Distric
Courts of the United States q right tC
try contested elections in the case O
levery Office whatsoever, except thai
Of clector Of President or Vice Presi
dent, Representative or delegate il
Congress or member Of the State Leg
islature. If this provision be consti
tutional, the right Of your Governor &c
his seat, of all your Judges, from The
highest to tho lowest, in their offices
of every county and municipal officer
might be drawn into litigation before
one OF the Federal District Judges at
Cincinnati and Cleveland. My princi
pal object in referring TO the statute
at all is to show the purpose of the
Radical leaders to interfere by Con.
gressional laws and Federal officers in
the elections of the States. Having
passed this act, the Radical leaders
next turned their attention to the sub,
ject Of naturalization. They passed
through the House OF Representatives
at the same session, q bill, No. 2,20l
TO amend the naturalization laws and
TO punish crime against the same.
Having failed to destroy naturaliza.
ton by the bill TO which ! have refer.
red, they now seek, by corrupt and
tyrannical execution of the election
laws, to throw every possible obstacle
in the way of the naturalized citizens
right to vote. Tho purpose to thus
use election laws disclosed itself the
moment the substitute bill of which
have spoken was defeated. That, as
l have said, was proposed as an amend.
ment TO the House bill. As soon as it
was voted down, the Senator who had
tho bill IN charge, moved two addition
al sections to it, one providing for
supervisors of elections, and the
the other providing as follows: "And
be it further enacted, that in any city
having upward of twenty thousand in.
habitants, il shall be lawful for the
Marshal OF the United States for the
district where such city shall be, to
appoint as many special deputies as
may be necessary to preserve order at
any election at which Representatives
in Congress are to be chosen and said
deputies arc hereby authorized to pre-
ssrys order I'D e. ogSss fgGA SScStaR Spdde
peace committed in their view."
The bill, thus amended, passed both
Houses, and was approved by the Pres.
ident July IA, 1876 This bill was the
entering wedge, for the enactment of
the voluminous Congressional eloc.
ton laws that have since been passed.
1t introduced the United States Depu-
ty Marshals upon the scene under the
pretense of preserving order at the
elections, but it stopped far short OF
the powers conferred upon them by
the subsequent acts to which will
shortly refer.
At the next session of Congress the
Radical leaders returned to the charge,
and by the act approved February %,
1871, containing twenty sections, set
up the vast machinery of Federal in.
reference in the elections of the people
that now exists. The tremendous
powers conferred by this law upon
these otlicers-Supervisors, Marshals
and special deputics-cannot bo under.
stood without reference to the entire
statute and the multitude of offenses
that it creates. 1t interferes with the
registration of voters and with the
election, and undertakes to punish the
State Registrars and the State Judges
of election for numerous ofienses de-
clared by the act, and in some instances
to require them, under pains and pen.
aties, to disregard the State law
they swear to support And it places
every one of these State officers at the
mercy Of the irresponsible deputies ap-
pointed by the Federal Iarshals, and
who, according to experience we have
had of the act, have generally been
men of the basest and most degraded
characters that could be found men
who have served terms in the pen.
itentiary men who were notorious
thieves; men who kept houses of in.
famous resort; in a word, the most
despicable characters that could be
raked up in the great cities of New
York and Philadelphia, or elsewhere.
To these wretches is given the power
to tear the judges of election from theiI
seats by an arrest without warrant ia
arrest any, the most respectable voter
in the city, and thereby prevent him
from exercising his right OF suffrage
and TO terrify whole bodies of votert
by threats or arrest and by outright
violence. Tbs is no over'irawn pic
ture. ltis not drawn strongly enough
RESUMPTION.
Tho Republican speakers and Re
publican press are growing Justify
about what they call the resumption
OF specie payments. Behold, say they
we are on the eve of prosperity, re
sumption brought this about and We
brought about resumption ergo, you
should all support the Republican par
ty. My friends, it requires no grea
powers of analysis to explode thi
sophistry.
In the first place, have we specie
payment DO any of your debtor
pay you in specie unless the debt b.
So or lcssY Do the banks pay thei
creditors in spccie2 Try and sec J
they do. Collect as many bank bills
as You can and assort them. Out o
$4,000 you will have probably no
over 5000 on the National banks o
l - nj -. ..