Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1890-12-06
THEPREsIDENT's MESSAGE

President HARRISON by his
annual message, has certainly
placed himself in the fore ground
of his Party, rallying it to
duties neglected. and calling upon
them to accomplish that which will
secure political success in canvass
es TO come.
,ssd is messagesis mastery pro
asduction, and throughout it all
bears the impress Of statesman,
the stamp of a great leader.
While there are many questions
discussed and reforms advocated,
none so deeply impressed Us as his
magnificent language in advocacy
of the passage of the Federal Elec
ton Bill
He is in earnest. He believes
circumstances demand it, and in
the closing lines of his message he
enunciates principles that are
etern al, words that must be last
ing upon the ear. Here it is.
Read for yourself.
II any intelligent and loyal company
of American citizens were required to
catalogue the essential human condi
tons Of national life, l do not doubt
that with absolute unauimity they
would begin with free. honest elections
IL = ffrtr 20, fhne
ally there is a growing and non-parti
san demand for better election laws.
But against this sign of hope and pro
gress must be set the depressing and
undeniable fact that election laws and
methods are sometimes cunningly con
trived to secure a minority control,
while violence completes the shortcom
ings OF frauds
FEDERAL SUPERVISION.
In nv TAFT annual message I suggest
ed that the Development OF the existing
law providing federal supervision Of
congressional elections offered an eff
fectlve method of reforming these abus
es. The need of such law has mani
fested itself in many parts OF the coun
try and Us wholesome n straints and
penalties will be useful in all. The con
stitutionalssy of such legislation has
been afii mcd by the Supreme Court.
Hs probable effectiveness Is evidenced
by the character of lbs opposition that
is made to IL. 1t has been denounced
as IL IL were a new exercise of Federal
power and an invasion OF the rights of
the States. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Congress has already
fixed the time for the election of mem
bers of Congress- it has declared that
votes sor members Of Congress must be
by written or pl inted ballots. Ii has
provided for the appointment. by the
Circuit Courts in certain cases and
uUon the petition OF a certain number
of citizens. of election supervisors, and
made it their duty to supervise the regis
trati0n of voters conducted by the
State officies, to challenge persons offer
ing to register. TO personally inspect
and scruIinize the registry-lists. and 90
sfiix their names TO the lists for the
purpose of Identification and the pre-
vention of frauds, to attend at elections
and remain with the boxes till the votes
are ali cast and counted, TO attach to
the registry lists and election returns
any statement touching the accuracy
aud fairness OF the registry and cleo
ton. and TO take and transmit to the
clerk of the House OF Representatives
any evidence of fraudulent process
which may be presented to them.
The same law provides for the ap
pOintnent of Deputy United States
marsbals to attend st the polls to sup
port the Supervisors In the discharge OF
their duties and TO arrest persons Violat
ing the election laws. The provisions
of this familiar title of the Revised
Statutes have been put into exercise by
both the great political parties, and in
the North as we'll as the South by the
filing with the court of the petition re
QuireG by the law.
1t Is not. therefore question whether
we shall have Federal election law,
for we now have one, and have had one
.fe& nearly twenty years, but whether
hall have an effective law The
ent lazy stops just short of effective
81 surrenders to the local au
~ all control over the certiflca
Which estab .ishes prima facie right
M - seat in the House of Representa-
lives. This defect should be cured.
The equality of representation and the
parity of the electors must be maintain
ed or the very thing that is valuable in
our system of government is lost. The
qualifications of an elector must be
sought in the law, not in the opinion,
prejHdices or fears of any class, how
ever powerful The path of the elector
to the ballot box must be free from the
ambush of fear and the entscements Of
fraud; the count so true and open tha'
none shall gainsay it. Such law
should be absolutely non-partisan and
imps tial. Ii should gain the advan
tage TO honesty and the control to the
msiorities. Surely there Is nothing
sectional about this creed, and IL IL
shall happen that the penalties of the
law intended TO enforce these rights
fall here and not there 1t is not because
the law is sectional, but because hap
PLY the crime is local and not uni
versal.
Nor should it be forgotten that every