Los Angeles herald., 1890-12-21
At THE CAPITAL.
Yesterdays Doings in House
and Senate.
The Force Bill Continues to
EngrOss Attention.
SpoOner Makes a Long Speech in Ad-
vOcating it.
ingalls, Also Puts in His Oar-Paddock I'M
patient to Push.His Pure
k1H Food Bill.
Associated Press Dispatches.

hibit the sale of fire arms and ammuni'
ton to Indians on reservations. Re-
ferred.
A dozen private pension bills were
passed.
Moody, of the committee on Indian
depreciation claims, reported the house
bill for the adjudication OF claims aris-
ing from Indian depredations. Placed
on the calendar.
Sawyer asked unanimous consent for
fixing an early day in January for con-
sideration of the postal telegraph bill,
but Wolcott objected.
Ingalls, at his own request was granted
two weeks leave of absence.
Platt introduced joint resolution APP
propriating 100000 to enable the pres
ident to take action to obtain from the
German government supply of the
remedy discovered by DR.. Koch, and
the formula for the manufacture of the
same. Laid over.
The morning hour having expired, the
the elections bill.
Il
consideration of the pending bill, he
would ask the senate to take up the pure
food bill, which was demanded by the
farmers from one end of the country to
the other.
Edmunds demanded the regular order,
and the floor was taken by Spooner, in
advocacy of the bill.
SpOOner defended John l. Davenport
from the attacks made upon him, and
contended that the federal elections law,
instead of being offensive to the Demo-
Gratis of the north, had been put into
operation at their reluestin many cases.
SpOoner said stranser in the gallery
listening to the debate, without knowl-
edge of the country, would be impressed
with the idea that all love of liberty and
devotion to the constitution and free
dom from partsanship were to be found
on the Democratic side of the chamber.
He hoped the gentlemen on
the other side would not as
sumo that the Republican senators
were not equally with them lovers of
liberty. 1t had been said on the other
side that the bill was aimed at the
south. 1t was in part; it was aimed at
every spot in the United States where
by fraud or force men who had right
to vote for members of congress were
cheated out of that right. The south
he thought, was where the bill was es-
peciallv needed. In proof he read extracts
from a speech by Delegate Chrisman
in the late convention in Mississippi,
declaring that since 1875 there had not
been fair election in that state; that
in plain words they (the whites), had
been stuffing the ballot boxes, commit
ting perjury and carrying the elections
by fraud and violence. He also read
the qualifications for voters in the con-
stitution of Mississippi. Among others
being the ability of a voter (after Janu-
airy, 1922, to read or to give a reasona-
BILE explanation of the meaning of any
clause OF the constitution of the state
III the constitution of Mississippi had
stopped at the educational test, and ex-
cluded from the right of suffrage every
white or black who could not read that
instrument, nobody would complain OF
it; but now the ignorant white
voter might have the simplest clause
read to him and be asked if he under
stood it, and, answering yes, be permit
ted to vote; while an abstruse clause Gas
to the right of eminent domain, or some
technical question: might be read to q
eclored voter who would be asked to give
reasonable explanation Of it, The
scheme was plainly devised to let the
ignorant white man vote, if he voted the
Democratic ticket, and to keep the ig-
norant black man from voting, unless he
voted that ticket. And yet the Demo
cratic members rallied against the pend
ing measure as giving the supervis-
ers lordly powers. This constitution
Nf had hoan oInn+a1 +oo
not by a vote of the people,
but by the convention itself. Southern
men ought not to fold their arms and
say they would keep their increased rep.
resentation, while suppressing the negro
vote. 1t had been said ON the other
side that the negro should never have
had the right to vote, but it was too late
now to argue that question. The right
had been given him, whether in wisdom
or unwisdom, and could not be taker
from him.
Referring to Stewards speech yester
day, and his remark that the elections
law could not be enforced in the south
because public opinion would not sup
port it, Spooner said: "Have W.
fallen on condition in our country tina
calls for the preservation by Law
of the purity Of the ballot in the
north, but that we must stoI
at Mason and Dixon's line, because
public opinion in the south is in favo
of dishonest and fraudulent elections
and the suppression OF suffrage? l can
not believe it.'
Spooner spoke over five hours, ant
his speech was listened to with marked
attention on both sides of the chamber
ingalls, said it was the conviction O.
the great mass Of the people OF the
north that the constitutional conven
ton of Mississippi was assembled fol-
the avowed purpose of disfranchising 9
majority OF it's citizens who
were also citizens of the United
States. 1t had been assembled fol
the express purpose of nullifying
defeating and overthrowing the
amendments to the constitution of the
United States, by agreeing to which
the state of Mississippi secured read
mission into the union. The southern
people had retained their representation
in the house of representatives and in
the electoral college, while they sup.
pressed the colored vote. They had re.
tanned a representation which had given
them for fourteen years supremacy in
the house, and once placed in the pres.
idential chair man who never had
been elected to that Office in any Just
sense. Contrary to the usual course
~rus.oI -, f~oa oov,, rn,,rsk:o. A.