The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1891-1893, 1892-10-13
THE FORCE BILL.
CIENEIAND AND STEVENSON
HAVE SPOk EN IN OPPOSE
TsDN TOGT.
They Favor Loca! Sell-GOVernment.-
The Right of tI,c States 40 Regulate
Thelr Internal A fairs.
GROVER CLEvELAND's POSITION.

antagonistic to the Force bill Long be
| fore 1t was proposed, on October 7, 1882,
IN his letter accepting the nomination for
! Governor Of New York, he said: ''1he
interference of officials of any degree,
whether State or Federal. for the purpose
of thwarting or controlling the popular
wish should not be tolerated.
| believe in the intelligence of the people
when left to an honest freedom of their
choice. The doctrine of home
rule. as understand 1t, lies at the foun
dation of republican institutions, and
cannot be too strongly insisted upon"
In his inaugural address. March 4,
1885, Mr.. Cleveland said: ''In the dis
charge OF my official duty shall endeav-
or to be guided by just and unrestrain.
ed construction of the Constitution,
careful observance of the distinction be-
tween the powers granted to the
Federal government and those re
served to the State or to the people,
and by a cautious appreciation Of those
functions which. by the Constitution and
laws, have been especially assigned to
the executive branch of the government"
While on his tour through the South
in 1897, Mr.. Cleveland said, in speaking
to the citizens of Montgomery, Ala.
1--WE know that you still have problems
TO solve involving considerations con
ccrning you alone-questions beyond
the reach of Federal law or interference,
and with which no one but you should
deal"
In his fourth annual message to Con
gress December 3, 1888, Mr. Cleveland
said Our mission among the nations
of the earth, and our success in accom-.
plishing the work God has given the
American people to do, require of these
interested with the making and execu-
ton of our laws perfect devotion, above
all other things, tc the public good.
This devotion will lead rs to strongly re.
sist all impotence OF constitutional limi-
tations of Federal power, and to persist
emily check the increasing tendency to
extend the scope Of Federal legis ltion
into the domain Of State and local iuyis-
dictiOn, upon the plea of subscribing the
public welfare, The preservation Of the
partitions between proper subjects Of
| Federal and local care and regulation is
of such importance under the Constitu-
. ton. which is the law of our very exist
. ence, that no consideration of expediency
or sentiment should tempt us to enter
= upon doubtful grouud. We have under
: taken to discover and proclaim the rich
: est blessing of free government, with
the Constitution as our guide. Let US
follow the way it points out. 1t will not
mi,lead us. And surely no one who has
taken upon himself the solemn obligation
r TO support and preserve the Constitution
e can hnd justification or solace for disloy
l.. IL ~ I. j
,, Gisobeyed in search Of better way tc
= reach the public welfare than the Consti
tuition offers
(, Thus, before the beginning of tht
d Force bill agitation, Mr.. Cleveland hao
le already indicated clearly the lines upon
~ which he would condemn such meas
eea ure. In all of his public speeches sine
49, the measure was brought forward, il
ii which he has referred TO the subject, h
u has condemned it severely. At th
10 Thurman barquet in Columbus, Ohio
~ November 13, 1890, he referred to Nj
4 Henry Cabot Lodge as, Zone, high i
party councils, who has become nOtOriou
as the advocate of a contrivance to pei
petuate partisan supremacy by outrage
n Gus interference with the suffrage
10 At the banquet of the Young Men
Democratic Associationfn Philadelphia
January Sth, 1891, Mr. Cleveland said
d. 'W hen we see our political adversarie
70 bent upon the passage Of the FEEDERS
IT. law, with the scarcely denied purpose {
on perpetuating partisan supremacy, whlc
en- invades the States with election machiI
of cry designed to promote Federal inter
ge ference with the rights Of the people /
Ie- the localities concerned, discreditin
&C. their honesty and fairness, and justl
80 arousing their jealousy of centralize
80 power, we will stubbornly resist such
L. dangerous and revolutionary scheme
ne obedience to our pledge for ''the supper
-. of the State governments in all the
=, rights
u, At a BROOKLYN ratification meeting
Nn October IA, 1891, Mr. Cleveland cor
IT. graduated the democratic party on til
~ shelving Of the force bill in the Senate
~ - "Our boasted American freedom Of su
4. frage was saved and constitutional 1i-h
81 preserved through the combined effort
n's democratic Senatorial minority, spiel
W. W, didly led and grandly sustained. =
}, q Let me remind you that no democrat
locality can exist without attracting to
the wistful gaze of those who find an a
= herence 10 the doctrine of Home Ru
and an attachment to the democrat
X faith, obstacles TO the political advanta:
.h. they seek to gain without scruple as
Ids the method of procedure"
NO On July 7, 1892, Mr., Cleveland wro
''' from Gray Gables to 5. W. Campbell,
the Cleveland and Stevenson Club, Mi
: dlesboro, Kentucky, rs follows: 81
not wonder that those adopting the
resolutions speak of the Force bill as
- horror of repubicanism. Such doctrir
} as il embodies are direct attack up
a theory of our governments; and VIII
BILE such a measure especially menaces t
any welfare and prosperity of the South,
must be condemned and denounced
all those everywhere who love tn
country and have the least claim to
numbered among those who believe
and the principles of true democracy.
ini- On July 8, 1892, Mr.. Cleveland wr
to Basil b. Gordon, chairman of
democratic executive committee of '
ginia: II regard 1t as most atrociC
measure, and do not see how any den
Her crat can think otherwise.
No Mr. Cleveland also wrote TO so
eau democrats in Arkansas, in the lat
part Of last July: The evils and d
gers that MANAGE the South in the C
!. of democratic defeat are appalling
those against whom they are especis
are directed. but it should not be FORGOT
cord :; 49,, ,,,or,or +bo+ +haea tb;poo Cor
be visited upon one section of our peo
without endangerin" the safety which
find behind an honest and faithful ob
ina, vance or princlple~ upon witch our
C. tire political fabric rests
sTEvENsoN's DEN UNCIArION OF THE ME
{jEE
that mi, ,,.,..,... proo;aor+;ol .
hch ne oenlocra, =. 0'i ''i
Ger didate, Mr.. EiIa Stevenson, is
f.r.r firmly opposed = tau Force bill as