Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1879-06-25
NEW SERIES--VOL. 90, NO. 25.

4 vote, who docs or does not vote frau d
Q ulently, be not given by these scction
. to Federal officials language canno
4 give those powers. The registration
}. of a voter is the judgment OF the law
! IN favor Of his qualification for the ex
] crcise Of the right. The State alonC
: can judge, for her laws have exclusive
7 control over qualifications. If tht
r Federal Government can Judge ofquali
; fications she can create them, and W,
> have seen she has no such power. The
/, power 10 arrest the voter for voting
: improperly is the power Of determin
ing his qualifications to vote. The
I Federal Government cannot do this
/ for the control Of suffrage is in the
, States, and the act of the Federal
Government in doing SO is usurpation
, of ungranted power The power Of
arresting voters and officials without
warrant or with warrant is the power
TO dictate the absolute control of the
, elections Of the States, and as il can
only operate upon voters and officials
qualified by Tho States is without au.
thority in the Constitution.
THE CLAIM OF POWER.
The authority for the exercise OF
this usurped power is claimed to exist
in clause |, section 4, of article | OF
the Constitution of the United States,
which ia in thesa words.
The times, places and manner of holding eiec-
tons for Senators and Representatives shall be
prescribed In each State by the Legislature
thereof but the Congress may a, any time, by
law, make or alter such regulations, except as to
the places Of choosing Senators.
1t is 10 be remembered at the outset
that this provision is in Constitution
that gives the control of suffrage and
of the qualifications of electors for
members of Congress and of Senators
to the States.
POWER TO FIX MANNER GIVES NO POWER
ToREJEor VOTES,
These authorities abundantly prove
that there was no intention at the
time of the adoption of the Constitu-
ton to do aught else by the insertion
OF this provision than to assert the
right Of selfpreservation in tho Federal
Government, That the regulation of
the manner, places and times Of hold
ing Congressional elections was con.
troled by the State almost exclusively
until since the war adds force to the
argument. But even If we admit
(Which we do not) that Congress may
exclude the States entirely by its own
action as to fixing the times and places
and regulating the manner of holding
elections for members Of Congress,
still, in attempting to regulate the
manner OF election, ii cannot change the
qualifications Of the electors.
This is an entirely different PROPOSE
ton. The manner of holding the
elections has nothing TO do with the
regulation of the qualifications Of
electors. That still remains with the
States. The qualifications are rcgu-
lated, as | have already shown, by
State Constitutions and State laws
and the Federal Government, in every
branch OF 1t, from the House to tho
Judiciary, depends upon the criterion
found in the Constitution itself that
the electors of the State Legislatures
are the strata upon which the Federal
Government finds its authority. The
qualifications of electors vest with the
State Governments. State Constitu-
tions and State laws regulate and con-
troll this subject from the bottom TO
the top. A power to regulate the
manner OF voting given by one clause
surely never was intended to authorize
the party doing so to take from anoth-
er tribunal the right TO fix the qualif-
cations of the voter which had in ex-
press terms been granted to that other
tribunal by other clauses of the same
instrument Such q result would be
absurd Such a legal result no lawyer
will contend for. If Congress may,
under the power to regulate the man
ner of election, say who shall register
and who shall be arrested for false
registry and who shall vote and who
shall be arrested for false voting, and
assert its rights so TO say by arbitrary
arrests, it is plain that the exercise Of
regulating the manner Of voting takes
from the State and its officials every
particle of control over the qualifica-
tions of voters.
The power asserted by these statutes
and these veto messages broadly is,
that the Federal Government is con-
solidated government it can regulate
! the qualifications of voters il has the
right to Judge who shall vote, and il
: will assert this right and power through
: United States Marshals and FEEDER al
troops. The power granted by the
fourth section of article is to regu-
late the manner of holding the cleo
tions, not to regulate the qualifications
of voters. The Jurisdiction over the
, question Of voters is vested elsewhere,
and any exercise of power TO affect
: them is unwarranted. Manner means
J method, way-the way IN which his
vote shall be given. The method Of
. voting whether pira uoce or by ballot
, aud not the right to say who shall
vote, is the plain meaning Of the
word manner, as used in this clause
, BY this Interpretation both clauses OF
. the Constitution stand, by that inter
; probation which gives validity to these
, statutes this clause overrides three
, others and destroys them.
) These laws do not seriously affect
: tho people Of the South their objective
points are the cities Of the North
! They are to bo dominated and over
: ridden by Federal power under this
t machinery in 1880, and New York ant
I Cincinnati are the two focal points
+ Marshals are to be used as they were il
4 1878 in Philadelphia to enforce Stat
, restrictions and to compel the voter Il
I obey State law Us interpreted by Fed
] eral power. All OF our safeguards are
Q to bow 10 unconstitutional power IL
:. the hands of disreputable Marshals Of
T. the United States. A contrast OF thu
/ number of cities Of the class in the
0 North shows plainly the purpose o
J. the law.
r Sixty-four cities of the North, with
n total population Of 1871 ,795 and bu
9 ten cities of the South, with a tota
a population of $4,000, are subject y
l. 'thc universality Of equal suffrage
d as administered in "the National elec
d tons through Marshals, Supervisor
t and Federal troops.
. BILLS OF RIGHTS BROKEN DOWN.
y Sixty-four cities in nineteen North
crn States are to have the guarantee
:, Of tho bills OF rights and Constitution
q of their respective States violated an
. overthrown by military interference
l. with tho freedom Of elections on tb