Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-08-05

But you are placed in an exceptional.
ly important position in connection
with coming events. The Capitol is in
my jurisdiction also, but | am subor.
dinate and not on the spot, and If |
were, so also would be my superior in
authority, for there is the station of the
General.in Chief. On the principle that
regularly. elected Presidents term o
office expires with the Sd of March (of
which | have not the slightest doubt)
and which the laws bearing on the sub
ject uniformly recognize and in consid.
Grafton of the possibility that the law.
fully. elected President may not appear
until the 5th of March, great deal of
responsibility may necessarily fall upon
you. You hold over. You will have
power and prestige to support you.
The Secretary of War, too, probably
holds over but il no President appears
he may not be able to exercise functions
in the name OF President for his prop.
er acts are those of known superior
a lawful president.
You act on yourown responsibility and
by virtue of commission only restrict
ed by the law. The Secretary of War
is the mouthpiece of President. You
are not If neither candidate has a
constitutional majority OF the Electoral
College, or the Senate and House on the
occasion Of the count do not unite in
declaring some person legally elected by
the people, there is lawful machinery
already provided to meet that contin.
gency and decide the question peace.
fully. 1t has not been recently used,
no occasion presenting itself, but our
forefathers provided it. 1t has been
exercised and has been recognized and
submitted to as lawful on every hand.
That machinery would probably elect
Mr.. Tilden President and Mr.. Wheeler
Vice President. That would be right
enough, Tor the law provides that in a
failure to elect duly by the people the
House shall Immediately elect the
President and the Senate the Vice
President. Some tribunal must decide
whetl er the people have duly elected q
President. i presume of course, that IL
is in the joint affirmative action of the
Senate and House, or why are they
present to witness the count il not to
see that it is fair and just2 If failure
to agree arises between the two bodies
there can be no lawful affirmative
decision that the people have elected q
President, and the House must then
proceed to act, not the Senate. The
Senate elects Vice Presidents not Pres.
idents. Doubtless, in case Of failure
by the House to elect President by
the 4th of March, the President of the
Senate liz there be onel would be the
legitimate person to exercise Presiden-
tial authority for the time being, or
| h. IF latyf,,I Draus
dent, or for the time laid dozen by the
Constitution. Such courses would be
peaceful and, have firm belief, lawful.
l have no doubt Governor Hayes
would make an excellent President.
have met him and know Of him. For
brief period he served under my com.
mand but as the matter stands | can't
see any likelihood OF his being declared
elected by the people unless the Sem
ate and House come TO be in accord
as to that fact, and the House would
of course, not otherwise elect him.
What the people want is n peaceful
determination of this matter, as fair IA
determination as possible and lawful
one. No other determination could
stand the test. The country, if not
plunged into revolution, would become
poorer day by day business would Ian.
guish and our bonds would come home
TO find deprecated market
/ was not in favor OF the military
action in South Carolina recently, and
if General Ruger had telegraphed to
me, or asked for advice, would have
advised him not under any circumstan-
ces to allow himself or his troops 10
determine who were the lawful mem.
bers of State Legislature. | could
not have given him better advice than
20 refer him to the special message Of
the President in the case Of Louisiana
some time before. But in South Caro-
lima he had the question settled by a
decision of the Supreme Court of the
State-the highest tribunal which had
acted on the question--so that his lipe
of duty seem even to be clearer than
in the action of the Louisiana case. If
the Federal court had interfered and
overruled the decision of the State
court there might have been doubt
certainly, but the Federal court only
interfered to complicate, not 10 decide
or overrule.
Anyhow, il is no business Of the army
to enter upon such questions, and even
If it might be so, in any event, If the
civil authority is supreme, as the Con.
stitution declares it to be SO, the South
Carolina case was one in which the
army had a plain duty. Had General
Ruger asked me for advice, and if had
given it, should, of course, have mott.
fed you Of my action Immediately. so
that it could have been promptly over.
ruled If IL should have been deemed
advisable by you or other superior in
authority. General Ruger did not ask
for my advice and inferred from that
and other facts that he did not desire 1t,
or that, being in direct communication
with my military superiors at the seat
Of government-who were nearer 10
him in time and distance than ] was
he deemed it unnecessary. As General
Ruger had the ultimate responsibility