The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-10-01
THE FORCE BILL DEADs

On, 'sro make the Solid South a mis-
nomcr. or else solid for Republicanism.'
This is the magazine to which John ;.
Wise contributed that eccentric article on
the South. from which we quoted some
time back. 1t is, par excellence, the We
hicre for communicating Republican
thought. and what we see there we can
feel sure is the genuine article called Re
publicanism.
Albion w. Tourgee. whose sanity name
is not unknown in these parts, contributes
an unctnous article on the way to handle
the Southern question to the July number,
70 understand which its whole theory
must he developed and explained.
He saws the Republican party has here
tofore endeavored to pass such Force
bill IA the old ante-war Constitution, in
authorizing Congress 80 regulate the
fine. place and manner of holding cleo
tions." contemplated. This, says he, is
very good in its way, but II goes no fur
ther than to pollutc and break up free
dom of elections in the South. The 81
mon pure article or Force bill, to which
the Republican party should dedicate
itself. is one that will do all that, and will
also stick the nose Of United States
Court into every mud pie that negro
makes I'D in the South. 1t is not neces-
sary. says he that Congress should wait
| for State in some one of its statal capaci-
ties to abridge the supposed rights of ne
groes. If in neighborhood white man
kicks an insolent negro intruder out OF
his house. or puts n load of bird-shot into
one caught robbing his melon patch,
case has arisen in which that State is
| deprivng negroes of their constitutional
rights. and Congress has at once n right
TO pass an act clothing the United States
courts with authority TO invade that State
with fire and sword and secure redress
for the booted intruder, or the spotted
melon-hunter, in the way of damages
| from the white men and punishments in
Aicted upon them. This, says Tourgee'
is that true Force bill, to which Congress
should dedicate itself and such Force
|
Fourteenth amendment to the Constitu-
ton adopted after the war to secure the
results of the war in those provisions OF
il which forbid a State to abrdge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States, or deny TO any person
the equal protection of the laws, or de-
prive any person of life, liberty or prop
erty without due process of law, full
mower 10 enforce which provisions it con-
fers upon Congress.
That it may be seen we make no mis-
take abont this we shall quote from his
article. He says:
at" the Democratic party, does not
deny that white and colored Republicans
of the South are deprived by violence,
and intimidation and fraud, not merely
of the right to vote and have their votes
counted as cast, when qualified electors,
but also that they are deprived OF those
inherent rights of free cpeech. public
assemblages. and party organizations,
by which alone 4 free ballot may he
made effective MS the expression of the
will of a majority. The South
ern Democrat, and as a consequence the
party whose sentiment he controls. stands
boldly on the ground that while the State
is prohibited from doing these very
| things by statutory enactment, it has an
indefcasible right to permit its citizens TO
do them, in defiance Of law. but without
fear of punishment: and that the Gov
eminent ard people of the United States
must submit in silence and without
| remedy. What can Con-
grcs; do? 1t can provide that if any
State fail TO defend the rights, secure
| the privileges. mike safe the lives and
persons Of their citizens, their rights may
he asserted and their wrongs redresscd
| in the courts Of the United States. II
can provide statutory penalty for
| lynching by which the legal representa-
tives of the victim may recover from the
county through the neglect of whose
officials he was uplawfully slain, a spe
| cifc sum, say $1,000, as in the case of
| death by the neglect of railroad com
pany.'
Mr.. Tourgee's theory. and Of course
the theory of Republican thought for
dealing with the South is fully disclosed
here. Weaver and Field tell us the
Force bill is dead. and Tourgee replies,
Yes. the little elections Force bill is dead,
in order that we may supplant it with
another Force bill which will do all it
did and also go down into all the rccesses
of the homes of the white people Of the
South and drag those people out for the
venomous tooth of plumber, rapine and
destruction.
1t has long been familiar knowledge
amongst the people that the old, aute-
war Constitution did not permit Congress
to pass laws that concerned them in the
ordinary, everyday transactions of life.
The laws for these were passed by their
State legislatures. But the postwar
amendments TO the Constitution intro
duced great changes and authorized Con-
gress to pass statutes that would prevent
the States from abridging the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the United
States, or denying to any persons the
equal protection of the laws or deprving
any person of life, liberty or property
without due process Of law.
! Under these amendments Congress
passed acts that meddled with the PEG
pies affairs in the way that Tourgee
would now have it to do, but the SUI
preme Court decided in the Civil Rights
eases, 100 L. :. r., 8. and in Harris
case, 100 L. 5. r., GO, and in Cruik-
shank's case, % L. s. r.. 544. that the
fact that negroes were deprived of their