Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-12-09
The Message.

In another column of the DEMOCRAT
will he found full and accurate syn
opsis of the fourth and, thank Provi-
dence, the las. annual message which
the present fraudulent occupant of the
Presidential chair will ever present to
Congress. This message will not dis.
appoint the anticipations of the public.
1t will be found to be no better, and
probably but little worse, than any one
expected from the source from which
it springs. 1t is n long, dreary docu-
ment, and on only few of the many
topics with which it deals will it re-
ceive much consideration. Mr. Hayes
is not mt all satisfied with the attitude
of the Southern states towards the fiji
teenth amendment. He declares that
in several of them there is still "con-
tinued opposition to the full and free
enjoyment Of the right of citizenship
conferred upon the colored people by
the recent amendments to the Consti-
tuition" Mr.. Hayes does not refer to Il
scintilla of evidence upon which to JUS
tify this charge on the contrary, he
even is forced to admit that at the re-
cent election the South was free from
open acts of violence and intimidation.
Can he say as much of the North?
Can he truthfully assert that coercion
of voters for the advantage Of the Re-
publican party was not vigorously and
Systematically practiced throughout a
large portion of the North by wealthy
and unsrupulous corporations and by
many large manufacturing establish
ments? But in the North it was the
white laboring man who was obliged
through fear of his selfish and imperi-
Gus master to vote against his honest
convictions, and of course the baleiul
evil of intimidation amounts to little
or nothing in the opinions of Repub-
lican statesmen when only person Of
that class happens to be the victim of
il. 1t is the plantation negro alone
whose unhappy lot has power to excite
stalwart sympathy and demand the
protection of the law. Abandoning
The charge of intimidation, however,
as untenable, Mr.. Hayes now says that
il is by fraudulent practices" in the
manner of conducting elections that
the South "has been successful in de-
featiug the exercise of the right pre-
servative of all rights, the right of
suffrage" and among these fraudulent
practices he specifies the counting,
returning and canvassing of the votes
This new charge is decidedly refresh
ing. The public has not forgotten,
Dor will it ever do so, that it was sole
II through the false and fraudulent
"counting, returning and canvassing
of the vote" in 1876 that the right of
sufrage was then defeated, aud that
il is by virtue of the successful frauds
of the Williams who composed the re.
tnrning boa rds of that year that Mr..
Hayes occupies his present position.
Upon the question of civil service re-
form Mr.. Hayes plays the hypocrite
Just as plainly as he does in his treat
nent of the people of the South.
Considering the ridiculous figure the
administration has cut upon this sub
ject it would have been well to permit
Il now to slunber in silence. AS the
Washington Post aptly remarks, Mr..
Hayes might have avoided the ridi-
Guile Of his own party and escaped
augmenting the contempt of his polit-
ical opponents, if he had seen fit to
ignore his civil service policy. During
the campaign of this year the country
has seen the civil service prostituted
10 the level of the Grant era. For
more than two years the people have
seen Mr.. Hayes alleged policy turned
INTO n shameful farce. They have
eecn his Order No. trodden into the
lirt, while he has stood by, consent
Ing. For him now to come forward
md hold up that abandoned and con-
lemned reform, boasting of what has
been achieved, is too absurd a per-