Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-09-30

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as to the propriety of this wholesale proceed
ing, and had been distinctly notified that il
was an abuse of the Executive power to com
mence prosecutions for purposes of intimida-
| tion, and that such cases should only be
commenced as il was intended b0ad .ttie tC
prosecute to final Judgment.
| Notwithstanding this, proclamations Of an
| ntlmidutng character We're published, and
without trial, or hearing, or examination, 5000
naturaliled citizens gave up their certificates.
But, that was not enough; five thousand
more warrants We're prepared, and on the day
Of election over six hundred innocent men
We're seized at the polls and locked up like
beasts in cage, from which they were only
released when the polls had closed. or on
promise not to vote.
The effect OF this wanton and tyrannical
abuse of power was undoubtedly, to keep
many thousands Of lawful voters away from
! the polls The chief instrument in these
outrages goes as yet unwhipped of justice,
although he has made his name a by-word of
reproach among the majority of Americans.
But no rebuko has ever been administered by
the Administration at Washington, and the
clear and wilfui disobedience of the orders of
| the Attorney General seems to have been
actually approved by himself. There is one
| member of the Administration, himself an
| adopted citizen, whom | confess / did not
expect to be silent in the presence of such
| abuses. The preteXt of supervising Con-
gresslonal elections and keeping the peace at
the polls, has given employment to an army
OF violent and INSCRIPTIONS partisans, at q
vast pecuniary expense to the Treasury and
| great wrong to the right of free and peace
| able elections.
Need / speak of the conduct of returning
| boards and the gross and fraudulent perver-
sions of elections All these things-and
there are many others - should warn lis
-
| ence with the freedom of election.
| A coup dctdt and n sudden and complete
! change in oIr form of government, like that of
| Louis Napoleon, cannot Just yet be safely
attempted but we must check the insidious
and gradual invasion and overthrow of free
ballot under the pretcXt of protecting the
| purity of elections.
The army of deputy marshals has grown
into force of official intimidation which has
materially influenced elections.
| The result of all this is simply to refuse to
| give up power at the end of a constitutional
| term and this is virtually and radically to
change our theory of government.
In the fall af 1876 the American people, by
u large majority, of both the popular vote and
the electoral votes elected Mr.. Tilden the
| President and Mr.. Hendricks the Vice Pres-
dcut of the United States. But the Adminis-
tratlon at Washington swayed by the intem-
| pcrate viii, and INSCRIPTIONS leadership of
| Secretary Chandler, who was the chairman of
| the Campaign Committee, aided and sustained
| fraudulent pcrversion of the elections in
| Florida and Louisiana, by the Boards of Can
yass and Returns, and succeeded in defeating
the popular will. This was u refusal to stlr
render power, and ii must never be forgotten
| that James A. Garfield was an active and
| guilty participant in this great wrong
He assisted to put the peace of tho country
in great jeopardy, and the time for his signal
and rchuke has now arrived. For ninety
| years the people OF the several states of thus
Union held their elections under their own
agencies, and without Federal interference.
| Ii there was fraud or violence overthrowing a
fair election, the House of Representatives
| was the sole judge of the elections and re-
turns of its own members, and the question
could be contested and decided there.
Now, under one pretcxt or another, although
all inspectors and judges of elections are
| appointed solely by State authority, and find
the measure of their powers under State laws
only; yet existing acts of Congress assume to
control them by Deputy Marshals whose
| power is uilmeasured.
1t is also fact which discoses the animns
of this whole assumption of control oyci
elections, that every appointment is of par
| tisan character, and every arrest and prOsrcn,
ton has been of members of the party il
opposition to the Administration. Ii has moi
been Justice, but party success which has bcel
sought.
Fellow citizens, of the inevitable results o
the long continuance of power in the hands o
one man on n set of men, il that they come t.
believe and to act upon the belief that the!
constitute the body polite, ana that the
powers delegated to them for public Use ant
safety are virtually given them for their owl
pcrpctuation i'll power.
Thus we see this Administration. as we saw
its predecessor, arraying the whole forces o
the Government against their political Oppo
nunts. and invoking the criminal justice onl,
against one political party.
Against this insolonce of Office | protest
and declare that complete change is essen
tial iii order to settle the administration o
| Our affairs on Il sound and lust basis.
The idea that | endeavOr to convey in IN,
protest against official interference with popu
lar elections is, that the official corps of TIL
Government is fast tending to become, am
to very great extent has become, machin
by which the Government of the country i
to be conducted without regard to any chang
in the opinions of the people. | mean tina
machine politics is i'll direct contradiction o
the Government by popular opinion, and
therefore, official interference in elections i
but another name for machine politics.
And now of the representative men VIII
have been chosen to lead the party organiza
tiOns. OF General Garfield, the Republican
candidate, wish to speak justly but | wi
not, Ill q spirit of false courtesy, ascribe t
him virtues | do not believe him to possess.
That he is an able and experienced Legi-
lator. | have no doubt. and that his progres
from poverty and obscnritv to position an
distinction. has been due to his talents an
industry, under the benign institutions of on
government, | also believe: but it il ais
true, that, holding conspicuous and intuer
tial positions upon the committees in Con
| and. hpinn n pf llstnnI1lshp
capacity as parllamentarian and debatei
lie has been silent in view of gross CORFU
tons and abuse and has never. at any time
risen above the dead level of his party.
| He was chairman of the Committee o
Appropriations when corruption and extrava
, ganco ran riot in Washington city; whe
Boss Shepherd and his crew were DRAWN
, tens of millions to lay rotten payement5 i
| those streets. with false measurements an
i double prices. And in all the carnival q
rogucry from 1869 until 1915, when Demo
cratic majority put an end to the lobby an
Congressional plunder, where was the vote
and the vOteuf MIR. Garfield? Ii he sougl
reform he did it 80 quietly as never to Ii
heard. leave the reports of committee
+, controlled 10y men OF his own party associn
tuu, 10 describe his personal connection wit
discrciitabc transactions, and can only say
We accept their account of MIR. Garfield "
, may well say, Hs did Othcllo to Michael Cassi,
| Never more he officer of mine.
{ OF his ussurato upon the ticket Gcnori
Arthur, 1t is mot ncrlful for me to speak
| New York for the merchants of this city lay
reason tu know him. In 1872 came ovt
1 here member of u committee of the Senat
g to investigate the affairs of the New Yor
custom house which was alleged to bu Il mel
| political machine. Mr.. Arthur then being I'll
I collector Despite every effort to cuncr
them the Gros4rst abuses and corruption
, were laid bare. When recall the cases OF il
sultng. tyraunical treatment of wealthy MI
I honorable citizens here by the brood {
p special treasury agents and official harpi,
4 aud rtllians, wonder that public revolt di
e not occur.
Under the infamous muicty system no me
4 | chant was secure against the seizure of h
> books and most private papers. Such men
t Jayne and Frank Il. Howe tcTorized the me
| camille community and plundcred the me
/ chants at will. Custom House bribery was ii
I regular practice, and Custom House appoin
mtnts were mere counters in exchange /,
4 political influence.
= All this was proven was published i'll Il
1 TIHJNne, for Horace Greeley then controllt
Il it and III the Sun, and partly in the Herald
i The committee went back TO Washingto
the majority to send in whitc-washii
e report and the minority to tell facts as tn,
found them. General Grant then Presiden
h who will never and can never see anythii
+ wrong iu one of his party subordinates, tot
= no other action than through Williams. h
II Attorney General, to order the merchants
be prosecuted for paying bribes to his official
| Bui no changes were made. Public sentimen
$ however, was aroused; and, finally, when
b firm SO eminent and so respected as Phelp
Dodge ~ Co., were robbed under the form
c of law of S2G7 200 in one amount and wh(
= it was shown, and can to-day be proven. tn
n in loupatV and pnlIity they had Oypr-na