Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-01-23
" Leaving It Out"

| eu until tDe SUtn.
House.-No quorum being present tn,
House adjourned until the Goth.
Leaving 1t Out"
The Democracy certainly do have
hard luck at what they cali in the rura
districts " leaving it out" Whenever
they "leave out" matter in dispute
to be settled by arbitration or submis
sion to a judicial tribunal, they are
then they go round dissatisfied ant
growing, and saying they ought never
to have left it out at all, but to have in.
sisted on the good, old-fashioned, sim
pie plan i" that they should take who
have the power, and they should keeE
who can" There was the famous case
of Tilden against the People of the
United States, in which the Democracy
claimed on behalf of Tilden that he
ought to be declared elected President
because certain Returning Boards re.
fused to permit the conspiracy to sup.
press the negro vote to. be carried out.
The party leaders, thinking they had
an absolute sure thing with an Electoral
Commission made up of Judges of the
Supreme Court, urged that the ques-
tions in dispute be settled by such q
reference. They lost their case, and
have been grumbling about it ever
since. Mr.. Tilden himself says now
that it never ought to have been left
out, and he has lately gone so far as to
assert that he expected the question to
be decided by q Democratic Congress,
which would have elected him OF
course, and he would then have gone to
Washington, taken the oath, and been
inaugurated. He thinks it was fatal
mistake to leave it to the Judges of the
Supreme Court, who at the best were
doubtful, when they might just as
easily have left it to Congress, where
they had Democratic majority and a
sure thing. The old gentleman has
suffered a great deal first and last from
the decisions of Courts, and has a nat
ural prejudice against them, but this
was so sore disappointment that he
VOWS he never will trust again the men
who agreed to the arbitration, and con-
tinually calls upon the American peo-
pie not to condone fraud.
Governor Garcelon of Maine made
the same mistake. This was case in
which Pillsbury and other choice spir-
its in the party had concocted as pretty
plan for gobbling up State as ever
tickled the fancy of a Democratic
statesman. 1t was cut and dried long
before the election. The blanks sent
out by the Democratic State officials for
the filling out of returns were all pre-
pared with this end in view, and all the
opportunities afforded by temporary
possession of the State offices were used
| in furtherance of the scheme. Such
confidence was felt in its success, that
after the votes had been counted and
the Republicans were found to have
carried both branches of the Legisla-
ture by handsome majorities, it was
openly declared by some who were in
the secret that the result would be re-
versed when the returns came to be
canvassed. In pursuance of the plan
they did count out enough Republicans
and count in enough of their own men
to give them control of both branches
of the Legislature, and, as conse-
quence, all the State officers. They
seemed to have sure thing. But there
was such an outburst of Indignation
that Garcelon, the Governor, was com.
PEELED to listen to the demand of the
outraged citizens that the questions at
issue be submitted to the Supreme
Court.
For doing this, even though he had
no intention of making a fair and hon
est submission of the points involved,
Pillsbury and the rest denounced him.
He did not submit the questions as re-
quested, but, with degree of cunning
that entities him to first rank among
modern Democratic statesmen, drew
up anotherset upon which he aattered
himself that the decisions of the Court
would be, or seem to be, so nearly fa-
vorable to the Democratic interpreta-
ton of the Constitution and the law as
to give the conspirators sort of justi-
fication for their action. Misplaced
confidence again. With sure thing
in his hands, he thought to make it
doubly sure by playing another trick
on the Supreme Court and fortifying
himself by their authority. But it was
the old story. They ruled against him
on every point and left the conspiracy
without leg to stand on. The pirates
went on, to be sure, just as though
nothing had happened, and no submis-
sion had been made, and Garcelon,
lapsing into grateful obscurity on
the expiration of his term, left his gang
in the State House playing at being a
Legislature. But with the decision of
the Court so squarely opposed to them,
the continuance of the game was only a
question of time. With the first OPP
portunity the defrauded members or
ganized and re-submitteG Tie question
at issue to the courts. Whatever comes
of it, it is certain that the Garcelon
gang will not be sustained. The blum
der of "leaving it OUT has been re-
peated, and all hands curse Garcelon
for it.
One obvious moral from these facts
is: Don't undertake to steal offices on
bubbles and technicalities. But the
one most likely TO be drawn by the
Democracy is: Never leave anything
out to the courts; if you've got it, keep
it. The late Mr.. Tweed, who was after
all the completest representative and
exponent of his party, followed the
safer way. He sometimes left out mat
ters to the courts; but he owned the
courts. He took no risks. The maxim
of Democracy should be that of indi-
viduals of the thieving profession; "Be-
ware of courts, judges, and legal tribu-
nals!" 1t is great mistake when a
party sets out TO steal an Office or a
State to permit itself to be inveigled
into leaving anything out to judicial
tribunal. In the present state of feel
ing in the Democratic party we should
not be at all surprised to see bill in
troduced in the present Congress wip-
ing out all courts. Y. Tribune.