Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-02-22

sometimes expresses a sentiment in
which we cordially concur, and we
are glad to record our hearty ap-
proval of one of its articles now
before Us, from which we propose
10 give few extracts. The propo-
siti0n TO repeal the section in the
revised statutes which enables army
and navy officers to station troops
at the polls in order, as is pretended,
to keep the peace has for time Oc-
cupied the attention of Congress.
Ourcontemporary heartily approves
the motion and suggests that with
IL the time has come to sweep away
that whole apparatus of Federal in
PREVENTION which has been used for
the same purpose since the war,
that is to say
The whole body of Laws authorizing Fed
eral Aiarshalss Supervisor and other officers
70 Interfere IN elections. These laws most
OF which give very great and vaguely de-
fined powers to usually low class of Officers
who are always Ia the nature OF things,
partIsans, or what are In the political slang
called good party workers" were adopted
IN the exciting days Of reconstruction. The
purpose of those who drew and adopted
them was to maintain the aScendancy OF
their party by extraordinary measures, and
everybody who has paid attention To their
administration knows that they have al
ways given rise TO very grave and dangerous
abuses, and have certainly, for several years
past, caused more evils than they have pre-
IL Is very wen understood that these laws
give such powers to the agents of the Fede-
raj administration as enable these to exer-
else, wherever they want to, very great and
wrongful tnfuence over the result Of cleo
lions and as these Federal election officers
are chosen by partisans and are themselves
local politicians, it Is certain that as human
nature goes, they will In the greater number
of cases try 20 turn their authority 20 the
advantage Of their own party.
In other words, the Herald Is
convinced, as we have long con-
tended, that the whole apparatus
above alluded to was designed
simply as partisan contrivanee to
set aside the popular vote In places
where it was opposed - the party
which controls the executive power.
We know that, whatever its inten-
ton, il has been so used, and never
in any other way, and that the
hypocrisy which pretends that these
things were appointed in the inter-
est of purity of elections has so often
been exposed that even their authors
think it no longer worth while to
pretend that they are anything but
a machine constructed exclusively
for party purposes.
The writer considers the present
time favorable for the abolition of
the whole system and zealOusly
urges that 1t should be done, but
anticipates opposition from a quar-
ter where we should certainly not
have looked for it.. He says:
The Democrats, who have been the suffer
PTs from these laws, have always denounced
them, and It has been taken for granted that
one OF the first of their acts, II they should
come into power In 1880, would be to repeal
the whole mass OF them. This ought GER
taInly to he done, and whenever q Demo-
crat administration holds power in wash
ington there is no doubt that the Republi-
cans will eagerly help and perhaps even
demand the repeal. But there is reason to
fear that Il will then be too late, a good
many Democrats are even now indisposed
10 this repeal. They say the Republicans
have had q very great advantage from theS.
laws for a good many years and they VIII
ylOw walt until il comes 20 their GuFn. II
enough Republicans and Democrats would
join hands for the repeal At the present ses-
sion IL could be done, but Il would need the
help of Republican votes.
Agreeing with the Herald in his
general conclusion, we cannot GER
tainly consent that he should herein
be taken as speaking authOritatively
in the name of the Democratic par
~, or even as speaking with any
true knowledge of its real senti-
ments; except perhaps those of the
New York Democracy, whose ways
are inscrutable and past finding out.
But we fear that there are here and
there Democrats to be found whose
views if known would go far 20
countenance the idea expressed by
the Herald.
We have studied with care the
proceedings of the committee which
on Mr.. Blaine's motion was sent
South TO investigate abuses in the
elections of last fall. Weknew that
that also was organized for partisan
purposes; we knew the sort OF in
formants that would be brought up
to sustain Senator Blaine's indict-
ment against the Southern DemOc-
racy, and we knew that to get at
whatever pearls of truth there might
be at the bottOra of 1t, we should
have to plunge through oceans of
lies and perjury. After all abate-
ments, however, duly allowed for,
there can be no doubt that, in GER
tain districts, proceedings utterly
indefensible were resOrted to by
men carrying the Democratic stand
ard-not enough to affect the gene
raj result If the whole were deduct
ed-still, there they are, a stigma
upon the Democratic party.
Now the matter that we chiefly
desire to bring out in reference to
the discoveries of the Teller Com
mittee in the South is that, wher-
ever any authentic abuse is sub
stantiated against the Democrats
they are found using the same appa-
ratus of fraud which was invented
and worked by the carpet-baggers
while they held the executive in
those States. They have been act
ing on ShylOck's principle:
The evil that you teach me will practice,
And It shall go hard but what I'll letter the
invention.
Now this will do very well as an
answer to Radical gainsayers, but 1t
is far from satisfying an honest
Democrat. 1t is necessary that the
Democratic party should clear its
skirts of scandal in this matter, and
10 be free from scandal they must
preclude themselves from tempta-
ton. The whole apparatus of Re
turning Boards, Commissioners of
Registration and supervisors of cleo
ton is still in existence i'm Louisiana
and South Carolina, and here and
there has been worked in those
States on established carpet-bag
PRINCIPLES, As a State institution il