Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1880-06-02
SPIRIT. OF THE AGE.
Wednesday, Juno 2, 1880.
From our regular correspondent
WASHINGTON LETTER.
wAsnIyorog, d, c, May 20, 1880

WAsnisorog. b. c. May 20, 1880.
The new joint rule regulating the
Electoral Count, which has passed the
Senate and is likely topass the House.
has been violently attacked by the
Radical press and politicians as a
scheme to secure the presidency. Yet
every one of these shriekers knows
that he lies, and that the rule is as
fair as it can be made, The old 22d
Joint rule used by the republicans put
it in the powor Of either house TO re-
ice, the entire vote of q state. This
new rule, while in other respects sub
s,antially the same as the old one, re-
oures the concurrence Of both houses
to reject any vote, which is certainly a
change in favor of safety and fairness
So these Radicals occupy the very
consistent and honest attitude Of de-
nouncing their own rule carefully i'm
proved. What they wanted, now
that the other side controls Congress.
is some bill or scheme like that OF the
willy Edmunds, by which they could
trick the majority through the presid'
ing officer of the Senate, and it is not
certain that, even now, something OF
that sort will not be attempted by the
advocates Of a "strcpg government
Bayard's bill legislating present
election supervisors out OF office after
July 1st, and making future appoint.
tees subject to confirmation by the
Senate, was the occasion OF pretty
lively debate in the Senate this week,
but the bill, as slightly amended by
Senator Thurman was posed. Mr.
Conklng made a particularly bitter
speech against it, charging that it was
aimed at Supervisor Davenport of
New York City more than any one
else. This of course is not true
though if its only effect was to de-
pose such a thorough rascal as "little
Johnny Davenport the bill would be
wise and proper. The republicans
were very bitter against the measure
and accused the democrats Of nearly
everything including the use OF tissue
ballots in South Carolina. 1t did not
occur to any democrat to remind them
of the fact that the notorious tissue
ballots are republican invention.
They were first used in 1876 in Flori-
da by the republicans as was proved
before congressional committee and
not denied by the republicans at the
time. The Southern carpet.baggers
were ingenious fellows in this kind of
political fraud, and the tissue ballot
was by no means the only sample of
their genius. In Mobile they estab-
lished regular school OF repeatels
where gangs Of men trained tor
weeks before election in voting, re-
turning to the room, exchanging hats
and coats with Others and going out
to vote again, and it was shown be-
fore Congressional committee that
these trained repeaters voted as many
as twenty-five times in day. 1t is
amusing to hear republican senators
boldly and grave1y accusing the dem
ocrats of election frauds when they
know that there is no kind of election
fraud and violence which was not sys-
tematically practised by their own
party for years, not in one Southern
state, but in almost all Of them, and
when they have resisted every effort
of men like Mr.. Bayard at this ses-
sion to improve the federal election
laws, which are acknowledged by re-
publicans like Mr.. Garfield to need
amendment in order TO prevent The
greatest aliases ~