The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-05-20
HEARD FROM.
The twenty Democratic State Senators
Issue q Manifesto,
They Give the People " Ohio an EHpla-
nation of Their Rsaaons for
Leaving tho State
Capital,

pie OF Ohio TO briefly reclte the causes
which impelled ue, aa their representa-
tiyes, 10 leave the Senate OF our State
without quorum, o. the 20 Il day OF
April there we're offered for adoption IN
the Senate Ot Ohio, two reports from the
sub committee on Privileges and Eltc
tiOns, which were made u matter Ut
gpecial order for May b, 0ae recon
mended the seating OF the c0ntertlng,
the other tho contested, deleg tiOn from
Hamilton. IL was known to US that The
presiding Otllcer OF the Senate hed do
termlned upon re'arranged demand
for the previous question, IN violation
OF the Constitution or rules Of the b.
ate, TO call the roll Of the Senate on he
question OF the adoption OF the report
seating the contestants. omiltlng tlle
names OF the c0ntesteea, declare tn 10
port adopted, and administer 10 TOO
contestants who we're able 10 be In Az
tendance the oath OF ilice This action
was to he entered upon the jlurnal, and
upon the theory that the Journal entry
Waa conclusive, would have been made
valid by our presence. Our only remedy
against this revolutionary pr0cfe Ing
was TO have the Senate without u
quorum.
The Senate consists of thirty'aeven
members, Our constitution provides (ar'
tlcle 2, section 6) that o quorum 10 do
busineas shall GOnslat OF u majority Of
all the member elected, II fully pro
Vldes that q less number may adjourn
from day 10 day aud compel the attend
ance OF absent members, On the 9th day
OF May there being le9s than a quorum
present, q call OF the Senate was made
for the purptsl OF bringing In absent
members, and the Senate on the day ad'
jOurnei. Ga the 7lh day OF May warrants
for the arrest OF said members were, h
pursuance Of said call, placed In the
hands of the Sergeant.at Arms OF the
Senate, who returned the wrlts on May
12, indorsed "NOt found" In the mean
time, on May 8. In violation OF article 2,
sectloa 0, Of the Constitution OF our
State; OF rule II OF the Senate, which
provides "lhat when lCse than quorum
vote on any question pending In the
Senate the question ahall be declared
lost, and no question affecting the right
Of member TO hia seat be declared rGr-
rled when q quorum Ia present, unless o
majority OF all the Senators on the roll
shall vote therefor; also, In violation OF
rule 90 Of the Senate, which Provides
"When the right OF two or more persons
10 seat In tho Senate IL Qu atl0ned by
consent or otherwise, no j0iuder Of such
contestees or persons will be permltte
In any bearing OF proceeding before the
Senate;" also, In Violation OF rule 72 Of
the Senate, which provides that no reao:.
lutioa or motion offered the right OF
any person or persons TO u seat In the
Senate shall be declared carried, unless
the majOliy y OF the members on The roll
OF the Senate shall concur therein; also.
In violation Of article A. section 4, OF the
federal const tuition, which guarantees
10 every State In the Union Republican
form OF government. With seventeen
members Of the Senate present. and no
more, said minority voted for u resolu-
tlOn seating the said conte0t0re, and the
presiding officer OF the Senate declared
said resolution adopted and adminie.
tered 10 slld contestors tho oath of Office
OF Senator, whereup0n said contestors
took seats In eaid body, and despite pro
tests, have assumed TO exercise legisla
tive powers.
The rules OF the Senate 10 which we
refer were made In pureuauce OF article
3, section 8, q tho Constitution, which
provides that each house may determine
its own rule OF proceeding" The viola
tion Of the rules aud constitutional pro.
yllons referred to, and the fact that less
than quorum were present when the
vote was taken on the resolution seat
Ing the said contestants, were fully set
forth In various protests, made and OF.
fered by Senator Van Cleaf on the door
OF the Senate. The constitution, article
9, section 10. provides that ary membe
OF either House shall have
the right TO protest against any
act or resolution thereof; and
such protest, aud the reasons therefor.
shall, without alteration, commitment,
or delay, bs entered up0l the journal.
Yet. despite this plain and mandatory
proylslon OF the Constitution, the pre-
siding officer Of the Senate assumed die
cretionary power and refused to permit
aaid contest 10 be entered upon the
lcurral, to the end that the Journal may
not show reference 10 the fact, while
no and every Senator on the lllCr OF the
Senate knsw that there was not quo
rum present nj the time OF taking vote
on the resolution seating tho contesting
delegation from Hamilton county, As
our presence would tend 10 make valid
that which would otherwise be o nullity,
we have remained beyond the reach OF
the process Of the minority, leaving
them p0werlees TO make, read, or ap-
prove q lawful journal, We, n majority
and n quorum OF the membeig0 or the
Senate Of Ohio duly elected and quail
aed, do therefore protest against the
assumption OF Legislative power by the
fo'y calling itself the Ohio Senate, and
we pronounce its existence u revolution
ary usurpation, and its enactmonts
legally void.
Cincinnati, o., May II, 1886
The manifesto 10 signed by tho twenty
Democratic Senators.
Senator Dodd Is authority for saying
that the ground to be taken In the legal
0pht 10 not that the present Journal 10
not legal, but that the body whose pro
cgedings IL records has no legal exis.
tence and has no authority to make
journal or anything else,
THE STATE GRRRyMANDERED
COLUMBUS, O., May 1.-THE bill TO
redIeIrIcl the State for Congressional
purposes, known as the Fassett bill,
passed the House to-day under tho do.
cree OF the party caucue, and having
already passed tho Senate 10 now a law,
n the present legislature can make any
thino n law ..l.s - .s.-.
Tho law restores the di trlcto as they
were laid out by the Hodge gerrymand.
or IN 1882 by which y was calculated
The Republicans would have seventeen
districis and the Democrats -FOUR, A
Democratic tidal wave upset these cal
culations, and the Democrats at the
next electlon secured thirteen Congress
mon out OF the twenty.0ne. The only
change made 10 In the Cuyahoga dis