Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-10-06

ed, / regret TO say, by q representative from
this city, have uttered language gross and
ty and its decisions. "Mero drivel," ''plausi
bic sophistry," packed, partisan and demon
alized," "packed tribunal" decisions to be
observed 'pro tempore'' only, "dirty work Of
its masters" "made political decision to
ORDER" "fery indignation of an infamed peo-
ple"-these are some of the buffetings to be
found in TIE Congressional Record, delivered
sometimes from carefully written speeches.
and sometimes received, the Record says, with
cloud applause!"
To what does all this pave the way? The
Congressional Record will inform you. On the
Goth of January, 1880, Mr.. Manning, of Mis-
sissippi-a State well known to be jealousy
sensitive to the pure administration of justice
and the rigorous punishment of crimes-es-
pecially hideous, cowardly murder and massa-
cre-introduced bill to place twelve new adj
ditional judges on the supreme bench What
an easy, etfectual, and withal plausible, dispo-
sition this would make of the court In
creased business would be such an innocent
excuse-the court could sit by sevens for some
purposes, and meet in banquet for all large
purposes when State sovereignty and State
rights, amendments to the constitution, and
cotton taxes and the like are at stake. The
bill passed to second reading and was re-
ferred to a committee, whose chairman few
days afterward came into the house and de-
nounced the court, and said q ma jority of the
present Judges were 'hopelessly lost i'll
fog" For the present it would be premature
and bunging to pass such bill veto might
spoil it, and it might spoil the result in some
close Northern State. But let the Democrats
elect their president, or rather their party
for the party is running-and who will say that
this bill will not find its way to the statute
book. You can all say what sort of judges the
twelve new ones would be.
But no new law is needed; natures law, and
the statutory limit of age at which judges may
retire, will during the next four years, vacaJe
at least four seats on the Supreme bench.
With what judges would the Democracy fill
them?
The Circuit and District Courts are obnox-
ious also. They are still more easy to deal
with. Like the judges of the Supreme Court,
these judges hold their places during good
behavior, but leglslat iOn, as has often been
seen in States and in the Nation, has ways to
plough around this stump. Abolishing Cir
cult or district, or adding to it another, takes
his seat out from under a judge and gets rid of
him finally; he is "legislated out"
Thus the whole judicial establishment of the
Republic 10 at the disposal of the lawmaking
power.
With courts revolutionized to conform to re-
dictionary notions and dogmas, prejudices and
interests, what may be the fate of questions
affecting commerce among the several
States" revenue, bank and legal-tender cur
rency, the taxation of Government bonds the
currency in which these bonds are payable,
civil rights acts, election laws, claims growing
out of the war; claims for refunding the war
tax on cotton, the late amendments and many
other grave matters. no man can predict.
OPPOSITION TO THE ARMY.
The army too is envied-its ''offence is
rank" Less than four lines of the revised
statutes are all that denies commissions in the
army to men who, educated at the country's
cost. and presented with their countrys sword,
drew that sword against their country's life.
a bill to repeal these four lines is now pend
ing in the Senate, already passed to third
reading by the solid Democratic vote. On the
25th of February last, Mr.. Heiskoll, of Mary
land was relieved from the operation of this
exclusion, and Senator from Arkansas moved
as an amendment it's total repeal. The ayes
and noes were demanded, and thirty six Sena-
tors, every Democrat who was present, voted
aye. Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
New York contributed their Democratic votes
to this Southern proposition of "reform"
Subsequently the mover and all concluded to
reconsider and drop the amendments saga
cious conclusion in a" Presidential year." Zap
plause.
Mr.. Tucker, of Virginia, moved in the House
the repeal of this safeguard to the army as q
rider to an appropriation bill, bat it was hud-
died out of sight on a point Of order-a
judicious point in a presidential year."
[Applause.] The Democratic majority put in
the army bill provision that officers now in
the army might receive advanced rank and pay
if they would retire-a benevolent, thoughtful,
provision certainly. [Applause.l But if a
body OF army officers could thus be coaxed out
of the service, there would be so many vacan-
cies to be filled, and filled by the President by
and with the advice and consent of Demo-
cratic Senate. When this free-will offering
was presented, a cry arose about" gift bearing
Greeks, and other ungracious symptoms were
manifested on the Republican side, and 80
brevet rank and brevet pay stand over at least
till the season of Santa Claus. Applause
Meanwhile the army has been reduced to a
skeleton, and whenever a scare a pretence,
speck of war on the Mexican border or else
where can be discovered or invented, the army
must be increased and filed up. Filled up by
whom? That depends on the approaching
election. If Garfield and Arthur are chosen,
by Union men-men always for the Union to
the core. If Hancock and English and the
Democratic party get in. by men who "went
with their States" Confederate soldiers
would flock to the standard of military as well
as civil service reform, and flock in fervor of
magnanlmity and devotion, ready to let by
cones be by-gones, and to forgive the ''usur-
pations of Lincoln" and the unconstitutional
coercion Of sovereign States" [Applause1
Why shouldn't they?
Who would be warranted to assert that
Confederate soldier was false Or immodesJ in
P1OAOooHlS pdCIIUGlC uISuGlOuS Wnll0 seeking
rank in the army of the Republic. No man
ought to assert it, and yet all fair men would
agree that. other things being equal, prefer
ments In the army should be given to those
who fought in that army, rather than to those
who assailed it in the dread extremity of the
Nations life.
DEMOCRATIC HOSTILITY TO TARIFF AND REVENUE
LAWS.
The present tariff and revenue laws are
deemed very bad by the dominant element of
the Democracy. They want to change them.
They will change them radically whenever the
way is clear. There is whisky rebellion now
in several States, and the Ulcers of the law are
powerless to suppress it. In Alabama the law
is resisted, and the process of the courts de-
stroyed and defed. Recently warrant was
issued for the arrest of one Penton, charged
with such an offense. A deputy marshal went
with posse to execute the warrant In his
report to the marshal ne says Penton assem-
bled from twenty-five to fifty armed men, and
set him and the law at defiance When eau
toned to desist, Penton replied, ''When Han
cock is elected this damn fooIishness will
STOP"
The thing to stop, thus piously predicted, is
Cf <av