The true northerner., 1890-06-25
IMPORTANT MEASURE.
THE PROPOSED REPUBLICAN,
FEDERAL ELECTION LAW.
Il Will i'm All Probability Pass Both tho
House and Senate-startiing Figures I'm
Connection with Elections in the North
and the south.

Connection with Elections IN the North
and the south.
[Fron ,he Chicago Tribune.1
The Republican members OF the House
of Representatives have at last agreed
upon plan for Federal supervision of
the election OF members OF that body
which they believe will put an end to the
frauds and bulldozings which have for
years deprived OF representation the ma
jority OF the voters in nearly thirty dis
tricts in the Gulf State. The measure
adopted is n compromise one and will be
supported both by those who favored the
more radical methods suggested by Mr..
Henry Cabot Lodge and those who were
In doubt as 10 the political expediency of
taking any action on the subject. 1t will
also, owing TO it's moderate nature, re-
ceive the support of all the Republicans
In the Senate.
That which it IS proposed to do lit was
first recommended by Congressman Row
ell of this State-is to take the present
supervisor system, with which the resi-
dents of most large cities are familiar,
for it has been employed for years with
the best of results, and to increase the
powers of the officers so that they shall
have charge of elections instead of being
little more than mere onlookers, as at
present. The constitutionality of the law
as it now stands has not been questioned,
and the legality OF the broader provisions
it is now proposed to adopt will not be
seriously disputed by any one.
At present the supervisors, of whom
there are two for each precinct, do little
more than oversee first the registry and
then the voting. If they become aware
of any intimidation or fraud the most
they can do is TO report the facts to the
House of Representatives, which body
L.. ~ Ia -,
proposed that there be three supervisors,
one of one party and two of the other.
and that while there shall still be local
judges and clerks of election, it shall be
the supervisors who shall have charge of
the registry, say who shall and who shall
not vote for Representatives, count the
votes and send the returns to the Chief
Supervisor for the district, who shall
tabulate them and certify to the Clerk of
the House the name of the man who has
received the most votes and is entitled to
the seat.
If it should appear that the local cleo
tion officers have through the Governor
or other State authorities certified to
the election of one man, and the super
visors of another, then the name of the
latter must be put on the roll, and the
former may contest il he pleases. He Will
not be suffered TO thrust himself into
seat which belongs to another. This IS
the important the essent al provis on OF
the law. Without this it would be of the
least use where most needed. The pres
ent law has on various occasions done
good service in Chicago In the Gulf
States it is worthless.
The Democrats Will fight this measure
as they do everything which tends 10 stop
fraud but they have no expectation they
will be able TO defeat II. Senator Carlisle
admits that it will go through that 1t
cannot be liked to de ath in the Senate,
as some of his foolish colleagues have
suggested. He says
obviously the Republicans will make
this party measure and hold every man
in line. III they want to pass such n bill
they have the votes to do 1t. We may
protest and struggle for time and pro-
long the con est as much as We please,
the Republicans can stay here as long as
we can, and sooner or later the bill must
pass"
Therefore he recommends that the
great fight on the law shall come Off after
It's passage, and that the effort be to make
it odious 1t provides that when Judge
of the United States Circuit Count shall
be petitioned by 100 voters in Congress
sional district he must appoint supervis-
ors for it 1t is we'll known that there
are but few districts In the country
where Federal supervision would be
needed, so that the cost, which would be
about Sl5, COO per district, would not be
great Senator Carl sic advises:
In every Congre sslonal district in the
land the Democrats should see TO it that
supervisors are petitioned for and ap-
pointed by the courts. The resulting
army of federal officeholders, their inter-
ference with the rights OF citizens and
with the usual methods OF conducting cleo
| tions, and the enormous expense incurred
| by this system of party espionage and in
| reference, will make the law so Infamous
and odious that the people will demand
that it be repealed. If we permit this
law to be applied only where the Repub-
licans want it applied-in certain dis
tricts of the South-public sentiment
will not be aroused; but if we insist that
| if thus law is to be enforced anywhere 1t
must be enforced everywhere, we shall
be able quickly to kill the whole system
by making it odious.
This could be done, and if il we're the
| country would have at a cost of perhaps
six million dollars the honestest and
| fairest election for Repre- sentatves that
has ever been held The result would be
J either eneral satisfaction with the ex-
pertinent and thankfulness 10 the Repub-
! licans for the. good measure they had put
with having to pay few millions to get
q square election their wrath would fall
not on the law. or those who passed it,
but on the plotting Democrats who
caused the unnecessary expenditure. At
tempts to make good law -odious" gen.
erally result in roofing 1t the more firmly
in popular favor.
| Startling Figures.
| TWashinQton di snatch to Chicago Inter Ocean. I
The national election bill will probably
| be presented to the House this week. In
the debate upon it facts will be presented
which ought to startle the country Here
| are some of them: The official count of
| the votes cast for the election of Repre-
sentatives to the Fiftieth Congress shows
that the State of Kansas elected seven
Representatives 10y n poll or 27l,57l
votes, while Mississippi also sent seven
| Representatives to the same Congress
the me number they were elected
by only 1853 votes. The State of New
Jersey also elected seven representatives
who required 229,373 votes for their
election while on the other hand
Georgia's ten Representatives we're
elected by 27.475 votes. Connecti-
cut elected four Representatives by