New-York tribune., 1890-07-16
WHO SAYS 1T IS 4 "FORCE BTLL?"

VhO S1lS III Is 4 TOHtE DILH'
Not since the days when it battIcd nightly
against the honest payment of honest debts has
the Democracy fought aS it Is now fighting 10
defeat the Lodge bill. Its newspapers, par
ticularly in the South, but elsewhere too are
ClamOrng wildly that il Is force bill. that
it foreshad0Ws the man on horseback, what
ever that may mean, and that it involves an
oycrturnng of the American doctrine Of home
rule. This is all buncombe, froth and non
sense. and when nothing better than hyStcrcal
rhetoric can be provided as an argument against
fair elections, then certainly the Democratic
confession of weakness is complete we can
only congratulate the Democratic leaders now
ever upon their discretion. They started Out
on another tack. So soon a. the Lodge hII
made its appearance in the House Mr. carlisle
had himself reported at grclt length with the
uaIpable purpose of q" sounding the keynote
He said the bill was clearly unconstitutional
and that Congress had no such power as the
Lodge bill proposed 70 exercise.
1t wa, plain to TIE TRIBUNE that Mr. Car
lsle needed to bc educated aS 10 the contents
Of the Constitution and the decisions oi the
supreme Court concerning Federal auth"ili!
over Congressional elections. We pr0ccedca
10 supply him with many pertinent anc vaIu-
able extracts from these controlling documents.
He was certainly silcnced and, we darcSay, CON
WINGED. The trainers OF the American Con
stitution intended T. create "A Nation. In Ma
tiona affairs they did not intend to take note
Of roographical lines other than those by which
the entire country wdS bounded. lhcr per
ccptlon was equal 10 the task OF seeing tha'
,tfsr.. ~.
the fraudulent election of Representative III
Georgia was an invasion of the rights ol Md>>a-
chu>cttS 70 hold that these elections are NOT
National affair j. 10 hold that an honest
electorate. which chooses its Congrc>>mcn ialr-
ly. is not prcjudiced hy the presence III Con
crcsS of 4 man unfairly sent there hut able To
nullify the vote OF their Representative Wheh
he pleaSc>. such proposition Is manlic''I|
false. If man is in Congress who has Ho
right there it is perfectly clear that b" wrongs
every constituency in America not less than
his own.
The question which is now before the senate
i, therefore one of cXpedcncy-lS the >Itua-
,ion such rs to call for National law. or j, it
not? No testimony could be more significant
than that which comes from the south. Hou'h-
ern Democrats 10 longer even pretend that the
Federal elections south Of Mason and lpAoh
line are lawfully conducted. On the contrary,
they frankly admit that colorcd citizens are
not permitted to vote, and they rush into argu-
mont upon the virtue Of their course! Ih"y
mass over the question d" i the law Obcycd?'
with hasty. impatient and generally defiant
No" and then they launch into their Old
harangue about the negroes being ignorant ana
corupt \ score of mon sit every term IN
Congress who are kept there by hempcoldN
and ,hOtgun>, and the instant they near the
suggestion that southern elections should be
honestly conducted they howl franucallf about
Federal bavonct>" and "mcn on horseback -
We are not in favor of hayOnctN or other
weapons around polling place. nor does any
reasonable person believe that bayonct> have
anv place in the Lodge bill. But We are free
10 confess that if such tools must he az hand
we prefer that they should work for law and
not for lawlcSsneSs IT i'll becomes the party
which sncalcd into administration i'll the wake
of bands of masked ruilanS whose torches and
trigger, dealt death and dc>oation to hundreds
of negro homes in the South. who's" vhlp-la>hcs
are still cracking in the cars Of every col0Icd
man who Garcs 10 speak Of exercising his
electoral rights, whose hand Is upon and be
meath and within almost every balot-boX in
the Black Bolt-it i'll becomes that sort Of party
TO talk about force bill" and Federal
OunS"