Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-03-26
WEDNESDAY. e. MARCH 26, 1890.
The Lodge Bill.


Give such man as HENRY CAnor LoDGE,
OF Massachusetts, an inch ana ne
will take an ell. He once declared IN
his place. in the national House OF
Representatives that he would not OBJ
sect to having a soldier placed at each
votinc-place in his congressional district.
He reminds us of the southern SAMBo.
who would rejoice 10 sect corporaPs guard
of soldiers placed at every voting-place IN
the land whenever an election - gong on.
We suppose that Mr.. LoDGE, who figures
90 conspicuously as the champion OF the
negro's rights, will not object to being
classed with the negroes. SAMBo and
IoDag are a couple OF fine specimens OF
dunderheads whose ideal Of a free govern
ment is q government controlled by the
sword and the rife. Whatever LODGE
claims to be right ought TO be enacted into
law and forced upon the people at the
point Of the bayonet. That is LoDGEs
logic.
Now. what will such man as LODGE do
In view Of the decision or obltcr dictnm OF
the Supreme Court Of the United States
that congressional elections are Federal
elections, and the officers who conduct
them are performing Federal duties? BE
sure he will give TO the country another
specimen of Massachusetts, fanaticism.
We should not be at all surprised II be
were 10 introduce worse bill than the
McCoMAs bill or his own bill. He no
doubt regrets to-day that he did not pro-
vide in his bill for redistricting all the
States for the election of members of the
House OF Representatives. Possibly he
thinks that the Supreme Court ought to
have gwen him wink" several weeks
ago which would have enabled him TO in
troduce bill leaving far behind the doc
trines taught in the opinion in the Nir-
ginia case touching congressional elections
which was decided on Monday last. LODGE
has no intention to allow anybody TO out
run him in the race towards despotic rule.
We have not seen the full opinions in
the two Virginia cases under considera-
ton. and therefore we do not know how
far the court went. The brief abstract
sent ont by the Associated Press may not
be accurate, though we take it that such
abstracts are habitually made by men who
are well qualified TO make them. When
the LoDoE bill was introduced into the
House of Representatives we stated that
we were not prepared to pronounce 1t I'M
constitutional. and we have seen no paper,
North or South, Republican OF Democrat
&c, which denied that the election of cleo
tors of President and Vice-Presldent ofthe
United States was a State matter. We
are, therefore, in no wise taken
by surprise. But we dread the in
Guence of the decision in regard
20 congressional elections. There Is no
telling what liberties tho Republicans in
Congress will take with that decision. nor
what sort of laws they will pretend to con-
slider as fully justified by it, If the Demo
Gratis were in control of the Federal Gov
eminent no harm would result from such a
decision. But unfortunately the Demo-
cratic party is not in power; and its pro-
tests are "whistled down the wind when
ever it attempts to object to such astretch-
ing of the Federal Constitution as we fear
may result from the decision of the
Supreme Court as to congressional cleo
tiOns.