The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1890-07-30
A Blow afLiberiy.


blow is about to be struck at the
liberties of American citizens will
be convinced of the fact by care
fnl reading of the federal election
bill, recently passed by the House
of Representatives and now under
consideration by the United States
Senate. For the convenience OF
those of our readers who have not
time to read through the seventy
three pages of the tedious language
in which the provisions of the bill
are written, we make brief sum
mary of its salient points from a
statement of the New York World.
1t should be carefully studied and
digested by every liberty-loving
citizen of the United States.
The object Of the law IS to place
our elections of Congressman, and
incidentally State, county and dis
trict officers in the hands of federal
office-holders appointed for life by
the present administration. Ittakes
from the States the substance of the
right reserved in the constitution to
determine and Judge of the qualifi-
cations of voters. 1t is a partisan
measure, and the assertion that it is
to secure full and free elections is
mere pretense. How intensely par
tisan it is, is shown by the fact that
the bill provides that it shall go in
to operation at the coming fall cleo
ton. The chief supervisors are to
be appointed for life, and as the
electoral machinery is put into their
hands, it will be for years under the
control of Republican partisans no
matter what may be the character
of the administration.
The officer who is to be in charge
of elections is called the chief super
visor. There is to be one for each
district. He is judicial officer, for
he is United States commissioner.
He is to have charge of the Federal
officers who are to be appointed to
control elections. He is to examine
voters under oath and to receive re-
turns. He is to have charge of the
deputy marshals appointed to assist
him, and will have absolute power
to order arrests.
The bill applies to State as well
as to Federal elections. Its Lam
guage is: "Elections at which Rep
resentatives or Delegates in Con-
gress are voted for. As is we'll
known, Congressman and State Off
GERS are voted for at the same cleo
tions. In this State they are voted
for on the same ballot. There are
to be three supervisors, subordinate
to the chief supervisor, two of whom
shall be of the same political party,
and these supervisors are to conduct
the election.
A partisan could appoint two
sound Republicans and one Demo
crat who was a cripple or too i'll to
be at the polls. The bill provides,
in such case, that all the duties
shall be performed by the two re-
naming supervisors. In other
words, the two Republican super
visors are to manage the election.
All that these supervisors do must
affect the elections for State and To-
cal officers as well as of Congress-
men. Supervisors may be appoint
ed on the request to the chief sup
ervisor of 100 persons in any city
or town having 10000 inhabitants
or upward, or in any entire cong
ressional district no part of which
is within any city or town of 90, 900
inhabitants and upward, or on the
request of fifty persons sin any one
or more counties or parishes in any
congressional district"
In a congressional district consist
ing of half dozen counties, two
Republican and four Democratic,
the polls in the four Democratic
counties could be manned by Re-
publican supervisors, who need not
be residents of the counties, but
might be brought from distant parts
of the district In the other coun-
ties the machinery of the elections
would be in the hands of local off,
GERS. The bill, therefore, is de-
vice by which the Republicans may
manage all elections, no matter what
may be the politics of a community.
Arrangements are made in the
bill whereby local party committees
may name the commissioners, so that
the most serviceable party workers
may be employed. This is effected
by provision authorizing persons
to apply to the chief supervisor for
appointments.