The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1880-05-08
Mr. EINI.EY snil

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Government for the fiscal year ending une 80 1880,
and for other purposes
Mr.. FINLEY said:
MR.. CHAIRMAN-NOw desire to say in
the five minutes that / have Il few words in
reference to the marshals employed in the
last presidential election. In that election
there were employed II ,Gl5 special deputy
marshals, of which number 1854 were
placed in Democratic precincts us shown
by the report Of the Attorney-General.
Now, want to say that | am in favor of
this amendment, protesting as ! always
nave and always will against the appoint
mcnt of these special marshals as q partisan
outrage; protesting against law that has
been used and abused constantly for parti-
san purposes / will vote for the amend
ment of the gentleman from Illinois for the
| reason that it is step in the right direction
for protecting ourselves from the outrages
| which we are powerless to prevent in these
appointments. When look into the re-
| port of the Acknowledgement and analyze
1t i'll connection with testimony relating to
the KIND of men used in those precints for
partisan purposes, | feel inclined to do any
thing that | can by my voice and vote to
procure fair election at the polls and to
| TO procure relief from the political bum
mers appointed by the Republican party
and paid out of the Federal Treasury
The gentleman from Pennsylvania, who
seems to be SO particularly tender when
ever anything is said about the politicians
of his State, passed an encomium moment
ago on some Of the leading politicians there.
Now, Mr.. Chairman, | know nothing of the
politicians of the State of Pennsylvania, eX-
ceptlng what find in the newspapers. |
do occasionally see something about them
there-and case in point: | find that
large number of the prominent Republican
politicians of that State are now under in
dictment for attempting to bribe and pur-
chase the Legislature, One of these gen
tlemen, w. II. Kemble, President Peoples
Bank of Philadelphia, and Republican
eN-Ireasurer Of State, came into open court
other day and plead guilty to having gone
into the Legislature and attempted to bribe
the members,
But he talks about the marshals in his
district. Why Mr.. Chairman, of the seven
hundred marshals empOyedin Philadelphia
in the last election | find, from a report of
IA committee Of the other House. that thir-
teen OF them We're convicted of crimes,
such as murder, burglary, shooting with
intent to kill, etc. Two of them We're
keepers of houses of prostitution, two
were keepers of low doggeries, and the
whole lot of them, every one of them, was
an active working Republican at the polls
who Wore the badge on his breast of
special deputy marshal. Laughter.
J. will give the gentleman the names of
some of his constituents, and probably he
will remember them. one of them is
Phillip Madden. He was special deputy
marshal at the polls, had been convicted of
highway robbery and served two terms
in the penitentiary. Laughter Francis
Me aimee, Of the Seventh ward, had been
arrested five different times for different
crimes, some of them as high as burglary.
Daniel Reddng, who also wore the badge
upon his breast, had been tried for murder,
and he was the gentleman that the testi-
mony shows had voted no less than eight
times in one day. He was an active work
ing Republican and wore the marshal's
badge on his breast.
Michael SIayin, marshal Fifth ward, is
described as "a thief and notorious re-
leater." j. Roberts, marshal sixteenth
livision, had been policeman in the City
If BrOtherly Love. He had blocked up the
,olls and arrested citizens who went there
o vote, and he had Il beautiful record.
lie had been keeping a house of prostitu-
ion and had there lot of Republican po-
icemen that were paid out of the Federal
Treasury for keeping the peace at the polls
| have not time in the five minutes allow
ID to give history Of the savory reputa-
ions of the gentleman's constituents for
whom he pleads SO strongly on the floor of
bis House. But all the way through it
vas shown that the Republican policemen
t the polls assisted these worthy marshals
0 keep Democrats away from the polls.
Now, under the amendment of the gen
eman from Illinois there can be IL mitiga-
on of that kind of outrage in this that
lstead of five hundred or six hundred Re
ublican marshas, appointed at the polls,
; in some cases-for instance, one precinct
| Georgia had one hundred and three, one
Missouri had several hundred-instead
that number paid out of the Federal
reasury, every one of them a Republican
nd partisan, we can under the amend
ent of the gentleman from Illinois have
3cent number of decent people to attend
the duties.
Here the hammer fell