Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-07-17

| i've Hhncnlhe except undef guardian.
ship and surveillance at the hands Of a
central bureaucracy located at or ma.
nipulatcd from Washington. That is
Hn assumption which the American
people will never tolerate moment az
/ ter they arrive Mt an adequate under.
standing of it. Hitherto the issue has
! been obscured and the nature of tho
/ laws themselves has been concealed by
| the Republican press and politicians I;
! but the late discussions have torn off
/ the mnsk, and now the Republican
managers will find that they have got
to face tho facts as they are. But be.
sides all this, my amendment reached
still further in another direction, in
/ that it iuAugurated complete change
/ in what ! may call the strategy Of the
/ Democratic party. 1t transferred the
battle. ground of politics from the South
| TO the North. II put an end to the dc
/ tcnsiye system that we had observed
I since 1868 and inaugurated a plan Of at
tack. II put the Republicans on the
/ defensive for the first time in the HE.
/ tory OF the party defending a scheme
Of laws which are indcicnuhlc before
any free pcople--and made the Dcmoc.
racy the attacking party--attackinR
/ things which are entirely vulnerable,
and must fall.
Cw.-What is your view of the net re.
suit OF the extra session and its debates
/ upon the public mind?
/ Nr. S.--That IA not an easy question
/ TO answer. The debates of the extra
session simply provided material for the
information Of the people and the cdu.
cation of the public mind. The result
will be slow of fruition. The people
will read the speeches and absorb the
facts set forth in them. Then they
will talk IL over around their iircsidc-
and at the cross-Toad country stores.
Finally they will see clearly wha, tho
election laws mean and To what they
logically tend. Then you can form
some idea Of what you call the net re
suit. But the process, AS | said, is slow.
| have no idea that there is "A farmer or
a workineman in the United States who
does not regard himself as abundautly
capable Of cxcrciElng the elective fran.
ch.sc without the least assistance from
the Attorney General, or any mar-hai
or deputy marshal. And when the
farmers and workinemcn get to view
the question in this light the result. Of
the extra session will begin TO appear.
But not sooner.
CaY. What will hc the future course
Of the Democratic party on this issuc2
Mv. S-Thcrc can be but one course
to perseycrc. The Republican party,
which. ~ shown hy the official totals Of
the last vote, IL in minority OF over
twelve hundred thousand IN the coun.
try at large, expects to win IN 1850,
partly by divisions among their oppo.
nents and partly 10y adroit manipulation
OF small numbers OF Yotcs IN closely.
contested localities. In word, they
hope to prevail, not a. a majority party.
but as plurality party. To thi. end
the machinery Of the election laws b.
absolutely Indispensable With those
laws in full operation they can turn the
scale in any closely contested state.
They can calculate beforehand ius, hos
many voters will have to be dIsfran.
chised by arbitrary process under the
election laws, and then they can distran-
chise them by a simple stroke OF the
pen, as the testimony taken by Senator
Wallace's Committee IN Davenport
case shows. This power. in triangular
contest, such A. we are likely TO have
next year, would prove invincible. The
election laws form the hope of the Re.
publican Managers for success in the
next campaign. Take them away and
the Repu ublcans would stand no more
show OF recovering the power they have
lost than the Stuart dynasty stands Of
restoration in England.
Cor.-Iou regard the deputy marsh.
ais a. more formidable then than the
troops at the polls =
.hr. Automatically. The deputy
marshals could be used in hundred
places to every one place where troops
could be used, And besides their use
Is more dangerous because more insidi
Gus. In fact. tho whole situation next
year turns practically on the operation
OF the election laws.
Cor.-How can the Democratic Con.
gress preven; the Administration from
operating the election laws in the inter.
eats OF the Republican party next year
Wy. H.-Ihat is n question which the
representatives OF the Democratic party
in Congress must decide. II IL a ques.
tion Of method to be agreed upon in
the councils Of the party when the time
comes for action.
Cor. But have you no suggestion TO
offer, based upon your recent expert.
ence ne a representative and leader in
the House2
Mr. H-No; at least not now. A
man in Congress is better judge of
method in Juch cases than a man out
even though the latter may have had
previous experience. 1t would be pro
per for me to indicate policy or advise
action in general terms, the same as any
other Democrat in private life, but the
selection Of immediate method must be
left TO the judgment of the legislators
I themselves.
Cor.-But as the inaugurator Of this
whole movement your advice must Ger.
tainly be sought by those upon whom
will devolve the responsibility Of carry.
ing it out.
Nr. S.-Oh, well, in that case sup.
pose the Democrats in Congress, when