Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-10-14

tons out Of the case, what are these
odious election laws, and what is
there in them to which any citizen,
honestly DESTROYS of fair election,
could object?
These laws were enacted by con-
gress in consequence mainly of the
fearful frauds perpetrated by Boss
Tweed and his infamous horde of
repeaters in the New York elections
of 1868, by which the vote Of that
state was stolen by the democracy
in that year.
Up to that time there had been
no statutes of the United States
providing any safeguards for elec-
tons, but the people of the United
States had relied wholly upon the
provisions made BY the laws of the
several states, for the means of Sc
curing an honest expression of the
popular will. The people of the
whole United States have an inter<
est in the preservation of the purity
of the elections by which members
of congress are elected, who are to
legislate for the whole country.
And the citizens Of Tennessee have
an interest as great and as direct in
an election for members of congress
held in the state Of New York, as
have the citizens of New York.
Citizens of Tennessee have as much
right to insist that the repeaters
and BURNERS of New York city
shall not be permitted to appoint
the members of congress who are
to make laws for both Tennessee
and New York, as the citizens Of
East Tennessee have to insist that
fraudulent elections in Memphis or
Nashville shall not appoint the
members Of the legislature which is
to make laws for the whole state of
Tennessee.
These federal election laws pro-
vide that pending an election for
members of congress, upon applica
ton made for that purpose by
a certain number of citizens, the
circuit court of the United States
shall appoint for each polling place
two citizens, residents and qualified
voters of the city, or town, or
voting precinct, aOho shall be Of DIFF
ferent political parties, and able to
read and write the English lam
guage, and who shall be known as
supervisors of election.
These supervisors are authorized
and required to attend at places
where voters are to be registered
and at the polling places, to chal-
lenge doubtful votes, to remain un-
til the ballots are all cast and
counted, and the proper certificates
and returns made, and to scrutinize
the manner in which the voting is
done, and in which the poll books
and tallies are kept. And every
citizen, without the authority of o
law of the United States, has the
right to do the same things. It
certainly is no great outrage upon
the freedom of the ballot that two
intelligent citizens of the locality,
Of opposite parties, shall be special
~ appointed to perform a duty
which every citizen of the locality
has the right, and ought to feel it
duty to perform. a
The supervisors are also required
while the election and canvass pros
ceeds to occupy such a position in
regard to the ballot boxes as will
enable them to discharge the duty
of scrutinizing the vote and watch-
ing the canvass. Can any voter
who has cast an honest ballot and
wishes to see it honestly counted,
object to this 2
The circuit courts are also re-
CURED to appoint for each judicial
district an officer to be known as
chief supervisor of elections for the
district, whose duty shall be to
furnish all necessary books, forms,
blanks, and instructions for the use
of the several supervisors of cleo,