Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-06-14
Partisanship.

That partisanship too often prejudices the
judgment and influences the action of indi.
viduals, whether in private life or public
station, is an undeniable and lamentable
fact That it is an evil peculiar to any one
political organization will be maintained
only by minds sunk in partisanship so deer
that they are like some insane persons who
imagine all men lunatics but themselves
But in the bitter conflicts Of politics the
charge of partisanship is often fippantly
made when they who make it would be
unable to produce single supporting fact
The unseating of four southern democrats
who held their places in the house of repre-.
sentatives by virtue of unblushing frauds
upon the purity of the ballot has been the
swift occasion of charges of craftsmanship
against republicans vocferously shouted all
along the democratic line. If it is not
broadly charged, the insinuation is artfully
conveyed, that whenever a democrat has
been displaced in favor of republican con.
testant the facts in the case have been disre-
garded and the whole force of party disci-
pine employed to execute partisan party
edict. A brief statement of the facts will
show that this charge is groundless and is
either ignorantly or maliciously made.
There were twenty-five cases of contested
election before the elections committee. On
twelve OF these the committee has reported
and on five the house has acted. In each OF
these five cases the decision was against the
sitting member, one, the case of the dem
ocratic Mormon delegate, the others that Of
the four southern members recently unseated,
all democrats. OF the seven remaining cases
which the committee has reported all were
in favor of the sitting members, and six
were southern democrats whose seats were
contested by republican claimants. These
differed from the previous five cases in no
respect but the evidence on which the deci-
sion was based. Thus of the twelve cases
reported upon, SIX have been in favor of
democrats against republicans and six in
favor of republicans against democrats.
Against the case of Mackey, republican, of
the second South Carolina district, is placed
that of Stolbrand of the third in the same
state; against the case Of Wheeler, dem.
ocrat, unseated, is the case of Oates, dem
ocrat, seated, both from the state of AL.
ALBANIA, the only difference between the
cases being that when democrats claims
are substantiated his party quietly assents,
but when democrat is ousted the party
sets up an angry howl. There can be no
doubt that these cases have been treated by
the republicans with judicial fairness and
impartiality, and it is equally plain that all
the moral advantage in the contest waged in
the house over their consideration is i'm.
mensely on the side of the republicans. The
democrats have placed themselves in the at.
titude OF defending fraud and of showing
awillingness to profit by it. In their 90 ger.
ness to retain the wages of fraud, for more
than week they prostituted the rules of
the house to party advantages till their OBJ.
structive tactics were defeated by the supe.
rior tactics of the republicans, and the
wrongs which they were shielding behind
the rules of the house and which had found
shelter beneath democratic majority in
former congresses were righted by a republi.
can majority acting with an impartiality
never displayed by their opponents during
all their days of power won and perpetuated
by solid southern election frauds. The
charge of partisanship in its treatment of
these southern contested election cases Ger.
tainly cannot lie against the republican ma.
jority in congress.