The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1879-05-10
A PRESIDENTIAL VETO.
The Army Appropriation Bill Receives
this Fate.
President Hayes Gives His Reasons for Refusing
to Sign the Bill.


to Sign the Bill.
WASHINGTON, April 29.-Followine
is the message of the president of the
United States, returning to the house Of
representative the bill entitled, oar
Act Making Appropriations for the
Support of the Army for the Fisca
Year Ending June 30th, 1880, and fol-
Other Purposes"
To the House of Representatives:
have maturely considered the important
questions presented by the bill entitled "ar
act making appropriations for the support
of the army for the fiscal year ending June
30th, 1880, and for other purposes" and ]
now return it to the house ofrepresentatives
in which it originated, with my objection te
its approval.
The bill provides in the usual form TO,
the appropriations required for the support
of the army during the next fiscal year. Il
it contained no other provisions it would
receive my prompt approval. 1t includes
tached as it is to appropriations
which are requisite for the effici
ent performance of some of the most
necessary duties of the government involves
questions of the gravest character. The
sixth section of the bill is amendatory oil
the statute now in force in regard to the
authority of persons in the civil, military
and naval service of the United States, at 8
place where any general or special
election is held in any state
This statute was adopted February
25th, 1865, after protracted debate in the
senate and almost without opposition in the
house of representatives by the concurrent
votes of both of the leading political parties
of the country and became law by the ap.
proval of President Lincoln.
1t was re-enacted in 1874, in the revised
statutes of the United States, sections POOP
and 552S, which are as follows:
Section 20O2. No military or naval officer OF
other perton engaged in the civil, military or ma
val service of the United States shall order, bring
keep or have under his authority or control any
troops or armed men at place where any general
special election Is held in any state, unless ii be
necessary to repel armed enemies of the United
States or to keep the peace at the polls
Section 1928. Every officer of the army or navy
or other person in the civil military or naval SER
vice of the United Stases who ORDERS brings keeps
or has und er his authority control any troops OF
armed men at any place where general or special
election is held in any state unless such force be
necessary to repel armed enemies of the United
States or TO keep the peace at the polls shall be
fined not more than S., 900 and suffer imprisonment
at hard labor not less than three months nor more
than five years.
The amendment proposed to this statute
in the bill before me omits from both of the
foregoing sections the words coz to keep
the peace at the polls" The effect of the
adoption of this amendment may be con.
sidered, first, upon the right oil
the United States government to use
the military to keep the peace
at elections for members of congress, and
second, upon the right of the government
hx,o tx,1 o,,f1 - L.
from violence and fraud. In addition to
the sections of the statute above quoted the
following provisions of the law relating to
the use of military power at elections are
now in force:
Section 203. No officer Of the army or navy Of
the United States shall prescribe fix, or attempt
TO prescribe or FIX by proclamation or otherwise
the qualifications of voters in any state, in any
manner interfere with the freedom of any election
in any state with the exercise OF the free rights
OF suffrage in any state.
Section $500. Every officer or other per
son in the military or naval service who by
force, threat, intimidation, order, advice OF
otherwise prevents or attempts to prevent
any qualified voter of any state from freely
exercising the right of suffrage at any gen.
eral or special election in such state, shall
be fined not more than SIS, 900, and impris
oned at hard labor not more than five years
Section 5,530-Every officer of the army
or navy who prescribes, orders, fixes or at
tempts to prescribe or fix, whether by proc.
lamation, order or otherwise, qualifications
of voters at any election in any state shall
be punished Us provided in the preceding
section.
Section 1881. Every officer or other per.
son in the military or naval service, who,
by force, threat, intimidation or otherwise
compels or attempts to compel, any officer
holding an election in any state, to receive
vote from person not legally qualified
to vote or, who imposes or attempts to i'm.
poses any regulations for conducting any
general or special election in any state diff
ferent from those prescribed by law, or who
interferes in any manner with any officer OF
election in the discharge of his duties shall
be punished as prescribed in section 1929.
Section 5532. Every person convicted OF
any offences specified in the FIVE pre-.
ceding sections shall, in addition
to the punishments therein sew.
orally prescribed, be disqualified from
holding any Office of honor, profit or
trust under the U. S. but nothing in these
sections shall be construed to prevent any
officer, soldier, sailor or marine from exer-
cising the right of suffrage in any election
district to viii h he may belong, if other.
wise qualified according to the laws of the
state in which he offers TO vote.
The foregoing enactments would seem to
be sufficient to prevent military interference
with elections, but the last congress, to re.
move all apprehension of such interference,
added to this body of the Gaid section Is OF
the act entitled an act making appropria-
ton for the support of the army for the ifs.
cal year ending June 30th, 1879, and for
other purposes" approved June Is, 1878,
which is as follows:
Section 15. From and after the passage
act no nnY no 10 fl11 10 Il Ov
any part OF the army of the United States
as posse cOmitatus or otherwise for the
purpose of executing claw, except in such
cases and under such circumstances as such
employment of said force may be expressly
authorized by the constitution or by an
act OF congress, and money appropriated
by this act shall be used to pay
any of the expenses incurred in the employ.
ment of any troops in violation of this sec
ton, and any person wilfully violating the
provisions of this section shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon convic.
ton thereof shall be punished by fine not
exceeding $4,000, or imprisonment not ex-
ceeding two years, or both such fine and
imprisonment.
This act passed the senate after full con-
sideration by without a single vote recorded
against 1t on its final passage, and by a
majority OF more than two-thirds it was
concurred IN by the house OF representa-
tives. The purpose of the section quoted
was stated in the senate by one of its support
ers as follows: Therefore, hope without
getting into any controversy about the past,
but acting wisely for the future, that we
shall take away the idea that the army can
be used by general or special deputy mar.
shall merely for election purposes as posse,
ordering them about polls or ordering them
anywhere else where there is no election
going on, to prevent disorders or suppress
disturbances that should be suppressed
by the peace officers of the state !;
or If they must bring others to
their aid they should summon unorganized