The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-07-16
Dolitital.
Federal Election Bill---Republican
Opinions.

Opinions.
THE bill, in our judgment, will fail
simply because it does not 90 far
enough. Federal elections should be
divided in all the states from any and
all state elections. They should be en-
tirely distinct and separate, and held
under the authority and control of fed
eral officers. So long as they are held
in conjunction with state elections
there will be a constant jar. and con-
flict of authority, and the friction de-
veloped will neutralize all the good the
above bill can possibly do. We object
to the measure because it tries to bridge
difficulty by inadequate and bungling
means. 1t will be, we fear, dead let
ter if enacted into law-ineffective to
accomplish the end desired. Toledo
Blade.
IT is ridiculous to speak of the meas
ure as force bill; there is no force
about it. 1t only provides for fed
eral supervision of federal elections.
The conduct of elections will remain
as now, in state hands, the duty of
the supervisors being to see and report
whether or not there has been free
election and a fair count. AT present
all control and oversight of the election
and the counting and return of the
votes is, in most of the Southern States,
in the hands of the democrats exclu-
sively. The national government should
do what it can to break up that one
sided arrangement in congressional
elections, if in no other, and that is all
the pending bill proposes to do.-Phila-
dephid Press.
IF, instead of being based virtually
on the aggregate of votes cast and votes
suppressed, the representation of the
South were based simply on the votes
cast, there would be prodigious de-
crease in the democratic congressman.
Instead of having seven representatives
to compare with eight from Alabama,
Kansas would have eighteen; or, on an
equal basis with Arkansas, we should
have eleven; or with Georgia, we ought
to elect eighteen or nineteen; or with
| Mississippi, we should have fifteen
with South Carolina, twenty-one; or
with Louisiana, sixteen. Could any
thing be more unjust, tyrannical and
outrageous than for Kansas, casting
three times the total vote of South
Carolina, to be represented by exactly
the same number of congressmen?-
Topeka Capital.
OUR local liberties are now greatly
jeopardized by the fact that number
of Southern States, through democratic
conspiracies, have nullified the con-
stitution and DISTINGUISHED millions OF
voters, thus making the vote of south.
ern democrat twice or thrice as effective
in federal matters as the vote of a
northern republican. For fifteen years
these Southern States have been al.
most constantly dominant in the house
of representatives, solely because Of
the disfranchisement of the coloreC
voters. This condition of Unbalanced
representation has been incidentally
unjust to the DISTINGUISHED voters, who
have been counted for purposes o.
representation; but primarily it has
been unjust to the people of the North
ern States. 1t is, then, in the fules
harmony with the principles of states
rights that the demand for a fedora
election law is made. The homes
northern public can not be indifferen
to the injustice shown by Southern
States in excluding the colored mel
from all voice in the state and loca
governments but it is not proposed t,
interfere. These are matters of hom
rule. The voters of South Carolin
or Alabama must by some means o
another work out their own local saliva
ton. But the congressional election
in either of these states concern
Minnesota man Immediately. The
are of national consequence. II is thu
/, nations business to see that they ar,
! fair. The compact of union and the
creation of a federal government i'm
5 piled the obligation upon the par
of that new government to see tina
representation was justly distributed
So long as the states could be truste,
to secure measurably fair results, ther
was abundant reason for allowing then
to regulate congressional elections as
mere feature of the state elections
Everybody will admit that active fed
eral supervision is not desirable unles
clearly necessary. The central gov
eminent must have the power to regu
20 late as essential to its very existence
, but it may well waive the exercise o
that power until the states have dan
=, gerously abused their liberty. Befor
the war there was little reason to CON
r. | sc e,,rarxtoinn Tho W n ~