The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-09-23
A FORCE BILL REVIEW
A Review of the Force Bill and How 1t
Would Work to the Advantage
OF the Republicans.
CAN ARREST and IMPRlSON VOTERS
Supervisors of Elections Can Arrest and
ImprlsOn Voters at viii, and
their Is no Redress.
Clay Center Dispatch.


A review of the monstrous measure
is opportune. The bill authorized the
appointment of chief supervisors by
the United States circuit judges who
hold office for life, and are amenable
to no person and who are election dir
ectOrs in their respective districts.
Under the bill the chief supervisor APP
points three supervisors for election
precincts and he may increase the
number of election officers without
consulting congress and pay them
without limit. The chief supervisor
may have as many deputy marshals
appointed as he may deem necessary,
who will have full power to arrest a
voter if challenging him does not ac-
complish all that is necessary. They
can arrest and imprison at will. They
have the United States treasury be-
hind them and the army and navy are
placed under the control Of the chief
supervisor, and bayonets may be used
at the polls whenever the election
officers decide 20 use military force.
AS will be seen by section five of the
force bill, the judges are obliged to
appoint as many supervisors as the
chief may desire. The chief has the
power to remove or suspend any pre-
cinct supervisor or marshal. OF the
three supervisors no more than two
are to be appointed from the same
political party. The other member
may be taken from any party or from
no party, but as the two republicans
constitute q quorum and can act indie
pendent of the minority member, he
is simply q cipher, and should he I'M
dertake to expose any rascality practl-
ced by the other two, the chief would
suspend him without cause. The
chief supervisor is given authority to
transfer subordinate supervisors from
one precinct to another throughout all
congressional districts. This would
enable him To send thugs from large
cities to peaceful country precincts to
intimidate the voters. For instance,
an army of negroes from Topeka could
be made TO invade Clay county and
take possession of the polling places
whenever an election was held at
which congressman was voted for.
BY section of the bill, the chief sup
ervisor and his subOrdinates are in
vested with the power to revise and
supervise the registration of voters, to
examine ballot boxes before elections
begin, to keep poll list and to
number the voters, to receive and
count ballots, to make statements and
returns to the chief supervisor in what
ever form. manner and to the extent
the chief may require. In city of
10000 inhabitants and upward the
chief may require anyone or all of the
supervisors and deputy marshals to
make honse to house canvass. which
may begin five weeks before, and be
continued on to the day of election,
inquiring into the eligibility of voters;
whether they had ever been natural
lied, etc. AS this provision does not
require that this canvass shall be made
by men of different political views, it
was intended for the purpose of plac-
ing republican ward workers on the
government payroll to do partisan
work and otherwise terrorize people.
The force bill does not limit the num-
Der of supervisors and marshals to do
this work and in Kansas, in cities of
Topeka, Leavenworth, Lawrence. and
other large cities, thousands of ward
heelers would be employed to invade
the homes of honest people. These
modern pimps are given absolute
power by the force bill to search the
homes Of citizens for the location of
legal or illegal votes. There is no
provision in the bill limiting the juris-
diction of these canvassers to their
own precincts or city. There is moth
ing in it to prevent the supervisor
from sending 500 Topeka strikers to
make house to house canvass in the
city of Clay Center. with power to
arrest any man or woman refusing
them access to any paIt of the house,
or for declining to answer any question
propounded. The bill provides for the
appointment in each state, by the judges
of the United States circuit. or return
ing board or board of canvassers who
receive the returns from the precincts
in the various counties and hear
evidence. Here is where the republi-
cans would have a chance to do their
own counting, as Tom Reed would
say. Fer this board declares and GER
titles who is elected to congress, and
the individual so certified shall be
placed, by the clerk of the house, on
the roll of members elected and those
authorized to participate in the organ
ization Of the next house. A severe
penalty is placed on the clerk of the
house for failing to so place upon the
roll the person certified by the return
ing boards. The board of canvassers
has power far beyond the power of the
Gar of Russia. Il has the power to
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