The Portland daily press., 1890-06-27
CONTROL OF FEDERAL ELECTIONS.
Why a National Election BilI Should
&c "a sed.
Such a hneasure in the interest of a
Free 5alla & and Fair Count,
Congressman Lodges Speech In the
House Yesterday.
Especial to the Press.1

support of the federal election bill this af-
ternoon, as follows
The power of the United States over cleo
tions extends only to those at which men,
bers of this body are chosen This bill pro
poses to exercise this power in such way as
to secure fair and honest elections for Repre-
resentatives in Congress so far as it is posi-
pie without disturbing or oyerthrowing the
state machinery employed for the same pur-
pose. In order that the House may under
stand the bill will explain Fery briefly the
nature and effect of its various provisions
lHere followed brief analysis of the bilD.
The great safeguard of tlia public welfare
in this country Is publicity. Inbiic opinion
always governs in the last resort, and that 1t
should govern rightly it needs only to be
well and correctly informed. Everything
which concerns the government from the Sc
lection Of the pettiest town officer to the CON
duct of the vast affairs of the nation should
be done so that it may be seen and known of
all men. Darkness is noxious to free institu-
tions, but in the brightest light that can
shine upon them they flourish and grow
strong. Inc business of the people must not
be transacted secretly in dim corners and in
locked rooms but openly before the peoples
| eyes. Ihis applies with tenfold force to the
foundations upon which the whole vast sys-
ten rests. The greatest assurance of honest
| elections lies in making absolutely public
every step and every act by which the repre-
sentatlyes OF the people are chosen to their
|
at every stage of an election therefore is the
! leading principle of this bill. From the
earliest process by which citizens are made
TO the very last by which representatives are
| certified every step under this bill is to be
watched over and reported by officers of the
United States. Every transaction no matter
now trifing If it has relation to voting is
is to be laid bare and brought out into
Ine ngnt SO that the people of the United
States may behold and understand it. If all
is well and rightly done it will be known. IL
aught is wrong it too will be known and
wrong Wlthers away when it is dragged out
INTO the bright light of day. To secure abso-
lutely this great safeguard of publicity by an
accurate report of every fact, this bill pro-
vldeS that the officers charged with this duty
shall represent the two leading political par
tieS at every registration office and every
pSng pcarg bp pace Iiet where they are posted an
him to misrepresent the facts he has by his
side an associate of the opposite interest to
disclose the truth These officers derive
tneir authority from the source which is the
1urtnest removed from party politics, the
courts OF the United States, and their chief is
/ placed as lar as possible above temptation
| by, tenure which depends solely on his f.
deiity 10 MS trust and not to the chances of
| polltlcs. such Is the security for an honest
and entire publicity given in the bill itself
| put still further security is found in the
fact that the local officers stand side by side
with the officers OF the United States. They
i
and they report them also. Thus we have
Two reports from two different sources of all
| the facts connected with the election and
concealment becomes impossible without a
resort 70 violence, and violence is publicity.
The first principle of the bill therefore is to
secure absolute publicity in regard to every
| thing connected with an election of men,
Der Of Congress- The second is to make
sure tnat every man who is entitled to vote
has opportunity to cast his vote freely and
to have 1t counted and that no man
who is not entitled to vote shall be
aewed yea a S give R a t6S 6ppcrsanty e TO S"tsr ts
| ercise his right to vote. If he is threatened
1t seeks to protect him. If he is ignorant it
seeks to inform him. On the other hand in
order to prevent the man who is trying to
vote in violation of law from voting or the
officer who is fraudulent or corrupt from car
rylng out his wrong doing this bill offers the
means Oh speedy punishment and of collect
Ing the evidence necessary to conviction.
Such In brief are the provisions and the
principles on which this law rests To the
honest voter it offers no interference but
only protection In his rights. To the honest
party seeking success only by honest means
| IL mas no terrorS. But to the man or to the
party who seeks to do wrong and to profit by
fraud or corruption or violence it brings pub
| llclty and punishment
| =, oucn Delng the purposes and principles of
the bill two questions arise in regard 10 II.
| frst, is IL within the power of Congress to
| enact such law? and second if Congress
mas the power, is it necessary and expedient
to exercise it? AS to the first point the CON
stitutional power to enact such legislation.
tnere is not much room for discussion. The
| language OF the constitution is SO plain that
t9at 1t admits of but one Interpretation, and
IL doubt could exist the decision of the SUI
BILE. ieo- p0''A-
Here followed an elaborate constitutional
| argument
It is safe to say that no clause of the con-
4 mora lxr a6 Aho,,
Telatlng to the control of congressional cleo
| IlonS 10y Congress, and that none has ever
peen more declsively construed by the great
triDunaI upon which the high duty Of finally
| interpreting the constitution devolves. Con-
gress has the absolute power to deal with
| tne election OF members of this House as it
pleases, and the fact that it has used this or
az any t Otner power sparingly or not at all ought
| W restore puDllc confidence 1t is not enough
that elections should be fair. They must Be
known to be fair beyond the reach of doubt
or questioning 1t is as important to have
papnc confidence 2. m in the verdict of the ballot
II people come to believe that the result of
the election Is not in reality the will of the
majority the day is not far distant when that
result VIII pc set aside by force, and the
s5aE s5aE aOuhqatiOn OF the government will be
shaKen: II popular mistrust is not well
founded Congress must demonstrate that the
| elections are fair. If fraud and violence
really exist they must be rooted out. Con-
gress tnneeIelore, ne mas the power, and with the
power the duty to legslate and the method
IN wnlcn IT proposes to deal with the ques-
tlon under this bill is before the House.
Inc only point that now remains to be con-
Siqefed.and It is the most important Of all,
| is that which relates to the expediency and
necessity of such legislation, question to
be determined by an appeal to facts. This
bill is national bill intended to guard con-
gresslonal elections in every part of the
| country | have heard it freely charged that
| 1t is not national but sectional, yet when
have observed the heat of the persons and
| OF the newspapers who make the assertion,
tneir yehemcnce leads one to remember
That suspicion always haunts the guilty
mind, THE thief doth think each bush an
othcer. 1t was said many years ago by
distinguished statesman of my own State
that freedom was national and slavery sec
| tlonal. SO it may be said with equal truth.
honest elections are national and dishonest
| elections are sectional. If an impure ballot
| box was universal condition the frame of
the national government could not long en-
dure. Anything that makes for purity of
elections must be national in its scope, and
| fraud, although not confined to any section
of the country, is. fortunately for us always
local and sporadic, and therefore never ma
| tiOnal. The facts in the case, however dem
onstrate the national character of this
measure more thoroughly than anything
| else. The legislation of which this is an ex
tension and Improvement was made neces-
| Sary by the gigantic frauds In the city of
islation 1870 and 1871. That certainly is not
| a sectional origin in the sense in which the
word is used against this or any other meas
| ure which aims to secure honest elections
| 1t is now proposed to bring within the pro.
visions of an effective law all parts of the
| country where fraud, violence or corruption
at the ballot box are known or suspected
and propose to show first the need Of such
legislation in certain northern districts and
to prove it by our experience under existing
law.
Here Mr.. Lodge gives statistics comparing
the vote in wards Of New York from 1870
to the present time.
In case it should occur to anyone TO saw
that this is the substitution of one act of Of
ticers in the interests of one party
for another set of officers in
the interests of another, and that
the results are no more reliable in the one
case than In the other, desire to call the
attention of the House to the fact that it has
never been shown that any legal voter has
ever been nterfered with in his right To
vote by the law appointing United States
supervisors No such case can be presented.
but in further proof of the fact that this
system has not only done no harm, but has
done great good. as the figures which have
just cited show, will invoke here the testi.
mony of a distinguished public man who
was never listened to in this House with