The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-05-20
The Caucus ana the Election Law.


1t is quite evident that the republicans in
tend to put through the House bill pro
viding for government control of national
elections. They have not yet agreed upon
a bill, but they have called a caucus for
that purpose. Their Intention is to make
whatever bill is agreed upon a caucus
measure. so that no republican member of
the House will dare to oppose it. and so there
will be little or no difficulty in passing it
quickly.
The House caucus committee met on Sat-
urday and considered the two bills which
are now pending in the House-the Rowell
and the Lodge bills. The MORNING NEWS
has published the main features of each bill.
The Lodge bill has been changed in two
important particulars sincs it was intro
duced The provision'relatingt to the Aus
tralian ballot system has been stricken out,
leaving the elections TO be held under the
laws in vogue in the respective states, and
the feature requiring a certain number Of
voters of a congressional district to petit
ton for the enforcement of the law before
it could be enforced in that district has been
eliminated, thus making the law applicable
TO ali districts.
1t is probable that there will be considera-
bic difficulty in getting the caucus to agree
upon bill, but that will be finally accom-
plished. If there are directors they will be
greatly in the minority, and the majority
will compel them to yield to the will of the
caucus. Never before in the history of the
country has the caucus had such influence
as it has in this congress. Speaker Reed
dominates the caucus as he does the House,
and it may be said, therefore, that he de-
cides what bills shall become laws and what
shall not. The members of his own party
are afraid of him, because they know that
if they should offend him he would not hes
itate to use his power to crush them. He
wouldn't give them chance be heard on
the floor of the house, aud he would pre-
vent any Of their pet measures from pass
ing.
The democrats have determined to make
the best fight they can against a national
election law. They know that it is aimed
at the south, and that the only object the
republicans have in passing it is to count in
number of republican congressman and
presidential electors from the south. They
have determined to control the next con-
gress and the next administration at any
cost
1t became evident when the republican
claimants for a seat in the Senate were
admitted that the republican plan for
retaining control of all branches of the
government had been mapped out. The
Republican party was to be strengthened in
congress and in the electoral college by
senators and representatives from new
states and by the use of return
ing boards in. the southern states.
Under the protection of the re-
turning boards all kinds of frauds would
be perpetrated in the south. The black
vote would be counted for the republican
ticket whether it was cast or not, and with
a republican majority in congress there
would be no way of correcting the wrongs
which the returning boards might commit.
The outlook is certainly not pleasant one.
and it would not be at all surprising if the
prediction of Senator Pugh as to what
would follow the establishing of returning
boards should come true.