Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-27
CONGRESSIONAL.
The Paris, Tex, Public Building Bill
Passes the Senate.
The National Election Law ELECTS WOrdy
Discussion In the House-First and Sec
ond-Class Postal Clerks.
LI.-CONGREsS.

| and Mr.. Jones of Arkansas addressed the SEN
ate. He declared himself in favor of the admis
sion of Wyoming and all other territories ex.
cept Utah when they had sufficient population
and sufficient wealth to Justify their assumption
of state governments, but he was unwilling to
| see n yonling admitted as now proposed, and he
| proposed to state reasons why his opinion OF the
| passage OF the pending bill would be exceed
| ingly unwiSe.
Messrs. Jones and Reagan opposed the bill
| stitution for woman suffrage, holding of real
estate by aliens, and compulsory education.
At the close OF Mr.. Reagah's speech an UNI
| Outstanding was reached that the vote on the
bill would begin at O'Clock tomorrow. In
| reference to that agreement, Mr.. Edmunds
wanted 1t understood it did not amount to an
! order of the senate. There ought to be one
| body, he said, where there was freedom of de-
| bate
The house bill for public building at Paris,
| Texas, to cost not exceeding 500, 900, then
| taken up and passed.
Adjourned.
| WASHINGTON, June 26.-The house met at II
| O'Clock to-day. On motion of Mr.. Ketcham of
| York, who said he could endorse the measure
| in every particular. the house bill passed
granting fifteen days leave to clerks in first
The regular order being demanded, Mr..
| Lodge of Massachusetts, began debate upon
| the national election bill. He said he did not
| think q more grave and serious subject had
| ever come before the house. 1t demanded
| rious and deliberate treatment. He had no per-
to treat the question dispassionately. The bill
| proposed to extend existing laws regarding the
/ fective throughout the United States whenever
| the people wanted them so extended. He pro-
seeded to sketch the plan of the bill in outline.
| No local machinery was disturbed, he said;
ballots were to be cast as previously and no Sc
| cret ballot system was to be interfered with.
Where it now prevailed everything that CON
| cerned the government should be open. Moth
| ing must be transacted in dim corners, but
| openly and before the peoples eyes. The as
| surance of honest elections lay in making pub
| lie every step and act by which the representa-
| tiyes OF the people were chosen to their high
| offices.
To secure publicity at every stage of election
! therefore was the leading principle of the
bill. Under its terms concealment became ina
fence, and violence itself was publicity. As to
| the power of congress to enact such legislation
| the constitution and decisions of the supreme
was found in section of articles OF the consti-
| tuition relating to the time, place and manner of
| elections were fair; they must be known to be
| fair. The question of expediency was the most
| important one. 1t had been charged that
heat of certain partisans and newspapers and
| their vehemence, he was led to remember that
the suspicion always came to guilty minds. The
| acts which it was proposed to extend had been
called into existence by gigantic frauds in the
city of New York, prior to 1870 and 1871. That
certainly not of sectional origin in the sense
| that the charge was now made.
Mr.. Lodge gave description of the state of
| aualrS IN new Ork CITY, citing among Otner
| cases the Tenth district of the Sixth ward,
| where he said Democratic vote, after throwing
out all other votes, was SS4. or fourteen more than
| the total number of every man, woman and
child in the district. The legislation enacted to
| meet those frauds hau been of enormous value
to the cause of honest elections. There were
other cities and districts where the law was
| needed. In his own state there had been
| complaint of the registration system, and aecu-
| satiOns had been made that the lists were not
| right. If they were wrong he didn't believe
| anybody or party honest in intention and pur-
| pose would be afraid to have the truth and the
| whole truth known. The ether side had criti-
| cised the frauds committed in Northern cities
| He would put the secret official ballot in in
every election district, because he believed that
| of money in elections. It must
not be supposed that legislation against
| bribery must be national in its character.
The bill, however, went as far as possible toward
meeting that evil.
He asked the gentlemen who were so warm in
their denunciations Of corruption and bribery to
unite with him in attacking these and other
evils besetung elections. As to the Southern
states, it was apparent that many people be-
| Iieved great wrongs were there committed. If
| the belief that such thing fair election in
the South was unknown, then it was high time
the house should put stop to the evil, IL it had
to exercise every power the constitution put
into its hands.
Mr.. Lodge presented a number of statistics to
show the insufficiency of representation in the
South. He said that in forty-one election dis
trets in the South members were elected by an
average of less than 10, 00J votes. He compared
Mississippi and New Jersey, where the popula-
tions in 1880 were equal in number. The total
vote in Mississippi was III 600; in New Jersey,
245. 900. In 1855 the total vote in Mississippi had
dwindled to lii, 900, while in New Jersey IL had
swollen TO 303, 000.
there had been frauds in the North, and the
proof was the efforts made there, by both par
ties, to throw open the election to publicity. It
was not necessary to argue that Southern cleo
tons were not always fair ana free, where
wrong doing occurred in the North. 1t was
where one party sought to get ahead OF another
by vulgar means As TO the South, it was
largely question of race-the negro problem wac
one of the grayest before the American people.
1t was one in which all were concerned. and
were responsible, whether living in the North
or South. The wrong of slavery was to be expa-
as the South, which upheld it. The negro was
not forced on US like Chinese. 1t was idle to
say he was better off than i he had not
an eternity of savage liberty than
a civilization which came to them with an
aucti oreer's hammer in one hand and slave
drivers whip in the other. Such fidelity as the
negro had shown to the government and master
deserved better reward from the country,
orth aud South, than it had yet received.
The negro wanted no brutality on one side nor
sentimentality on the other. The government
which ma de the black man a citizen now
| coward!y government if it did not pro tect him
in his rights. The failure to do right brought
its punishment. The bill had been called a
revolutionary one. The revolution was to be
found in the speeches he read-speechss which
showed that constitutional represent alton did
politics. The national government must extend
to every citizen the equal rights which the con-
stitution guaranteed.
In conclusio he said. ''Let us do our whole
duty sS Sssk White ''z weak rich
strong, and we can safely abide
by the result. Let Us secure to every man the
liberty an freedom which is the corner stone of
American liberty. 1 would make men free, as
much from mobs as kings from you or me.'
[Applause.
At the conclusion of his speech Mr.. Ladge was
warmly congratulated by his Republican col
leagues.
Mr.. Hemphin, of South Carolina. made q
stirring speech. He agreed that the bill was
unconstitutional, not national but sectional.
A measure to rob the people Of their dearest
rights. good deal had been said shout the
new South, but what the country really needed
was new North-s North that will take = view
suggested by facts. not by their
preconceiyed preiudices; that does not
believe it has all the virtue and
the rest of the country none; that would not
waste all of its time remedying supposed abuses
of distant places. He knew it WAS useless to
reason with certain men in the North-they did
not want TO and would not believe anything the
South might say, but there were many people
in the country who believed in honesty, and
he had no doubt that when I'VE pass back of
politicians and get to the great body of
to them honestly the truth with reference
to the Southern country and black man in
it, when they have understood the whole facts
|