Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-08-26

gle branch, utterly without authority Il
act, bya scheme OF conspiracy anC
fraud unparalleled in the history ofIeg
islation, overthrow and disregard tbs
plain command Of the constitution, and
cause false, spurious and pretended
journal To make that appear which wa,
not and could not be done, this court
the court of last resort in the State
which has ever been regarded rs the
last refuge OF broken constitution, Il
compelled to confess itself helpless and
powerless TO do more or less than sane.
tify and ratify the great public wrong,
by pronouncing upon 1t its solemn ap-
proval, there can be no justification
for the revolutionary proceeding of the
Lieutenant Governor and Republican
Senator.
1t Is no excuse to say there has been
fraud and repeating at the polls In
Hamilton county. The remedy for
fraud and corruption at the polls does
not lie in forceable seizure of power.
The experiment thus tried for the first
time in Ohio may prove very danger
Gus precedent for the future. If the
minority i'm the Legislature can at one
time seize control by seating their
friends in the places of the opposition
in their absence, and If q friendly court
may find it inconvenient to disturb
such proceedings unless the journal
affirma6vely arrests the purposes by
which the rascality was accomplished,
a way can always be found to meet the
necessary requirements thus laid down
by the courts, and the public interests
will be at the mercy of mere clique
who choose to overthrow the will of
the people.
Having secured power in both branch
es of the Legislature, the business of
partisan legislation and corrupt jobbery
held high carnival in the capital of our
State; and venture to say, that for par
tisan lawlessness and wasteful extrava-
gence, last winters record has no par
allel in the history of the State of Ohio.
[Applause.1
When the administration passed out
of Democratic hands, public institutions
of the State were in the keeping of nom
partisan boards and officers; the gov
ernments of the prominent cities was
practically in the same condition. But
as soon as the Republicans secured both
branches of the legislature, Democratic
local officials were legislated out of of
flee that their places might be filled
with another Republican. Democratic
Police Commissioners in Cincinnati
were arbitrarily legislated out of Office
and new Board created by law for the
confessed purpose ofgetting rid of the
Democratic members composing por-
tition of the former board, and within
"a hours of the passage of the bill the
Governor appointed new board, COM
posed wholly of partisan Republicans.
(Applause.) A notorious criminal
pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to IL
years Imprisonment in the penitentiary
for crimes committed while in the dis
charge of public trust, put was greet
ed with an unsolicited pardon from His
Excellency, Governor Foraker, before
citing foot within the walls of the PEN
itentiary. This, it is said, was done
without consulting either the Judge or
Prosecuting Attorney of the court where
the man was convicted, but upon the
ofcertain citizens of
Hamilton county who. it is claimed,
bargained for the pardon of the GRIM
inal upon the condition that he should
implicate in crime prominent political
antagonists in Cincinnati. I believe
this is the first time in the history of
this State that q self-cenfessed peniten-
itary convict was ever greeted with an
unconditional pardon, without at least
asking for it. (Applause.)
The circumstances attending this
transaction, together with events that
have since transpired, have so tainted
the whole business that the people are
justified in concluding that our Cover
nor has either been the dupe of design
iEg scoundrels, or is permitting his
high executive duties to be farmed out
for political purposes, in order to secure
a Congressional majority of the Repre-
from this State.
Our Republican friends in the Legis-
lature re-enacted the infamous gerry
mander of 1882, which practically de-
prived three-fourths of the votes Of the
State of their franchise--a measure so
unfair and indecent that
many of the leading Republicans of
Ohio and elsewhere have denounced it
as shameful and infamous political
trick, and predict that the people of
Ohio will repudiate it at the polls. Zap
plause.)
Two years after the election of the
Hon. Henry B. Payne to the U. s. SEN
ate, our Republican friends became inn
pressed and oppressed with the idea
that the fair fame of the good State of
Ohio has been abused by the use of
money at the caucus preceding the
nomination of Henry B. Payne, as the
use of money in politics was a thing so
unknown to Republican methods.
Laughter and applause. And so touch
ing and so hurtful to Republican sensi-
bility, it was resolved to at once and
forever put the seal of Republican con-
upon it. So IN last January
a committee was appointed to investi-
eate, and they proceeded upon the dis
charge of their duty at once. They
called, I believe, nearly everybody in
the State of Ohio that was supposed to
know anything about it, except Hon.
Henry B. Payne, himself, who offered
to furnish them his books, his bank
books, and his papers and letters. APP
plause.] After spending thousands of
dollars and raking Ohio over with
political fine-tooth comb for the pur-
pose of trying to find somebody who
knew that money had been used, the
committee sorrowfully reported back
that they had given it a thorough and
searching examination, leaving moth
ing undone, though trivial, that they
might arrive at the facts, but upon the
main question, alas! they had made a
water haul! daughter and applause)
and they had no report to make. Then