Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-04-10


Monday, speeches were made on the
Republican side by Messrs Bel ord Of
Colorado; Humphrey of Wisconsin;
Frye of Maine, and Brents of Wash
ington Territory. Judge Humphrey
of Wisconsin, made an excellent speech
and quote portion of it for the ben
eft Of his Wisconsin constituents.
cit seems 10 me, no man who thinks
we'll of his country and desires to bid
,, it God-speed can object to the enact
ment of laws the most rigid and punt
tory to provide against Illegal and
| fraudulent voting, for without It there
is no purity of Government, no hope
for free people.
But aside from the repeal of these
laws a great wrong will be done if such
repeal is tackled onto an appropriation
bill the right free discussion becomes
involved; the opportunity to examine,
discuss, and deliberate upon the meas
ure is practically denied; the rights of
the minority are shivered to atoms; the
rightful prerogative of the executive
department of the Government men
anced by the attempted coercive pow
er of the legislative department refus-
ing the executive, the rightful prerog-
alive of passing upon the true and
real merits of the measure, but by a
process of intimidation and coercion,
compelling that department to not on.
ly examine the limit of its own right
fui authority, but that of Congress al
SO under the Constitution; and it is
we'll to pause if you wish to take as
precedents, the democratic admlnistra-
tons of Andrew Jackson and James
Buchanan.
"Under the English constitution
such an act by its Parliment would be
deemed an attempt to drive the minis
try from power; and [ will venture
the assertion that since the establish
ment of a standing army and the pro-
vision for its supply at the close of
the seventeenth century no such at
tempt has ever been carried into act
by British parliment. Under our
forms of government, there is no such
thing as the resignation of the minis
try, therefore such an attempt, if per-
sisted in, is revolution, for, practically
speaking, in this country the party in
power and its administration is by the
people made the representative of the
Federal head; its acts and its policy
although held responsible therefor is
regarded as the act and policy of the
Government, and such an attempt is
therefore a blow aimed, not much at
the administration, as the Government
itself, for it exists under the forms of
law created snd provided by the peo-
pie"
q" Moreover. by sue means, if sue
cessfll you concentrate in the hands
of the Appropriation Committee the
whole power of the country. You
make such committee an engine of
power so destructive to- free govern
ment that the power of a standing
army is no more toabe compared to it
than the idle winds to sweeping tor
nado, or, to be more pointed, the op-
erations of snail, to streak of light
ming Your committee not only con-
troll your legislation, but you create
Capitalization of power the most abso-
lutte upon earth, the most dangerous
to our liberties, and the deadliest foe
to our progress in governmental science"
x The Government has
resumed specie, payment and is putting
forth every honest and legitimate eff
fort in maintaining our credit and re-
storing that confidence neecessarySto a
sure and safe return to prosperity. in
dications of which are appearing for
we are told by the manufacturers of
iron that theirs is the last industry
that feels the effects of better times,
yet they are to-day, at low prices,
finding a. ready demand for their man
.ufactures, the country locking for rest
aud quiet, and asking Congress to give
it, to restore freely Its depressed ener-
GIGS, and in answer to its appeal what
is its response?
1t asks for bread and you give it
stone; it. asks for fish and you give
it a serpent. Do you think that un-
der such circumstances the country
will quietly lie still and long submit to
a party lash being laid on its anguish
ing industries? No, it will only sub
NIT until its voice can be heard. The
North is massing and will soon pres
ent one solid phalanx. and just so sure
as you persist in retaining your pre-
sent attitude, just so sure as the sun