Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-08-07
: some Republican eplnsons.

bat even these have since found good
reasons for discreet silence. The ma
jority have had nothing to cay, con.
cluding from observation of public SEN
timent around them that their wisest
policy would be to "saw wood and say
nothing.n A number of the strongest
and most influential, because most In
dependent. of Republican papers have
not hesltated to condemn the bill In
unmistakable language and point oui
the gravity Of the blnnder the party Is
making In pushing II. - -
The Philadelphia Bulletin denies
that there has been any well defined
opinion In the north 10 favor Of the
measure and adds: q a f7daHoi -fe
The protests against its passage come
from Republicans whose character IL
so high and whose party fidelity is &C
unquestionable, and whose views al
the same are expressed by so many
party newspapers, that it would be
something like deliberate defiance oi
the will Of their constituents II the Re.
publieans In the senate were to pass
the Lodge bill. They undoubtedly
may dismiss from their minds any fear
of incurring the displeasure of their
people at home If they should decide
quietly to drop the bill and proceed to
other business. ~ F5--s.- -..Jt.4 ga
! The Philadelphia Telegraph, another
strong Republican paper, says; ar
The control of congressional elections,
wherever the measure was put into
force, would be absolutely In the hands
OF one party, and thus the temptation
to commit gross injustice for partisan
purposes would be ever present; and, in
this work, the judiciary of the general
government would be made an ally, q
step certainly not contemplated by the
founders of the republic and the MAX
ers of its constitution. There is no
side, indeed upon which this question
can be looked at that it does not pre-
sent the gravest reasons for opposition
hopeful sign that SO many senators are
known to be opposed to the passage Of
the bill, or any other Of like character.
The conservative, patriotic Sentiment
OF the %Guntry Isl nnitedly against it
and its voice should be needed. -5
The Philadelphia Ledger, which rep
resents more than any other paper the
sober, sensible portion of the Republi-
can party in city and state whose vote
is overwhelmingly Republican, saye:
No better advice can be given to con-
gress than to complete such work Of
legislation as ought to be enacted at
this time, drop the dangerous election
bill and the very dubious Mckinley
tariff bill-and 60 home. There should
be no thought of recess; the country
is not likely to suffer between july and
December for lack. OF legislation, and
everybody about the capitol and White
House will be fresher and wiser after
the November congressional election
shall be over. Senators and
representatives and leading politicians
who are urging the passage of the
"electionsn bill through congress may
live to see it overthrow their party,
just as the 'sedition" laws in the latter
part of the last century destroyed the
federalist party of Adams and Hamil-
ton. 5''" re .l@ "-
The Pittsburg Dispatch, one of the
most Important Of Republican papers
in western Pen nsylvania, Says. % IA
A decade and a half ago public opin-
ion of the north forced such an admin
istration as Grants to recognize that
no permanent settlement of the south
ern question could be attained by the
perpetual interference of the federal
government with southern elections.
Although that conclusion was exceed
ingly distasteful to men of the Sypher
class, 1t was the correct one. The only
way to do consistently with self-gov-
ernment is to let the south work out
its own salvation, and as the best minds
in the Republican party declared as
long ago as 1875, the only function of
federal interference is for the mainten-
ance of peace.
The Watertown IN. W Times holds
the force bill to be suicidal as a party
measure and comnends the Republi-
can senate for hanging 1t up, adding:
The longer it is held up the less ex-
cuse there willbe for taking it down.
The negro is every day becoming more
and more able to take care of his rights
as do other citizens, by the strength of
his own intelligence and will. The ac-
cumulation of this kind of power both
to whites and blacks must be the saliva
tion of the south, and the statute law
will nothasten the day, but might de-
lay it.
The st. Paul Pioneer Press, a leading
exponent of Republicanism in the
northwest, objects strongly to the bill
as impolitic and dangerous. 1t says:
Any act which looks towards such q
centralization that the expression of
the popular will may be thwarted or
nullified by officials responsible to the
existing government means the de-
grading of this country to the level of
those nominal republics where the rul-
ers perpetuate their tenure and where
a change Is wrought only at the point
of bayonet. = = Patriotic as are
the motives that inspire the demand
for federal control of elections the
dangerof 1t is too apparent, too vital
and too serious to be dismissed lightly.
The Republican party could scarcely
commita more irretrievable error than
by seeking to redress the grievances OIL
the minority at the south by legislation
that would promise to make majority
or minority mere question of the de-
sire ofthe party in power. Bad as local
abuses may be we cannot afford to root
them out of their native fields only by
transplanting them to the more fruit
full soil of the national capital.
The best Republican sentiment of the
south makes itself heard in the protest
ofthe Staunton VIlley Wrginidn, whose
editorials represented his district in
congress and is therefore qualified to
speak understandingly on the subject.
1t says: