The Saline County journal., 1892-07-14
THE "FORCE" BILL.
There Was No Force About Il I'm Any
shape ar Manner.

The Democratic platform trains III
heaviest artillery on the Force
bill. Ii declares that preservation
Of Republican government in the
United States is dependent upon the
defeat Of this policy Of legslized
force and fraud"
This Is one of those assertions
which belongs under the headline,
"Importsnt, IL true"
"Whst was the Force" bill?
IL has been extravagantly declaim-
ed against by the Democratic orators
and organs from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, but We have not seen In q
single Democratic speech or editor
isl truthful, unexaggerated state
ment Of its provisions.
The Force" bills main provision
was this: That on the application of
one hundred voters in any con-
gressional district two supervisors,
appointed by the Federal courts,
should be present at the registration
offices TO witness the registering OF
voters, and at the polling places to
witness the voting on election day.
One OF these two supervisors was to
be Democrat the other o Republi-
can. In case there arose q dispute
rs 10 the election these two super
yisors were TO testify before the |
elections committee OF congress as |
to the proceedings they witnessed at |
the polls or at the registration Of
fees, and produce such evidence
thereof as they might have been
able to secure on the spot and !
preserve.
Simply that, and nothing more Of
consequence. Two men, one of each
party, were to stand quietly by the
ballot boxes and look on. What
more could they possibly accomplish
beyond seeing fair play or noting
proof OF foul play, IL such should be
attempted?
There was not line In the Force"
bill which provided for the use of
force Of sny kind, nor any clause In
which, by the utmost straining Of its
the use Of federal troops is
even hinted at.
The Chicago platform falsely
describes IL as "usurpation Of
despotic control over elections In all
the states" It did not, i'm fact,
interfere In the slightest degree with
state election laws and regulations,
nor take the conduct of election out ,
Of the hands Of state officials. 1t |
bad no application whatever to ,
state or local elections. Its pro-
sAA A..
national elections. Moreover, it I
more than at the North, for it's pro- 6
visions could have been put in opera I
lion as well by any 100 voters Of I
New York as by any 100 voters Of I
Virginia. q
In substance the Force" bill a
really applied to all the states, for
he purposes OF national elections, e
he same law Of federal supervision t
oy officials representing both parties, q
which has been I'm force In cities OF 4
,ver 5000 population ever since Z
$40. Hon. William G. Whitney,
he late Samuel &. Cox, General
slocum and the four Democratic d
who represented q
3rooklyn at that time, all approved o
u that law, and Democrats have a
allied for Its enforcement as often N
o Republicans. C,
Why, then, this outpouring Of u
Democratic wrath against the el
Force" bill? Why, indeed, should G,
ever have been called q Force" Ia
nm? nd
II forced nothing, and could not II
have forced anything, ex- IL
ept that it would have forced men Of
tho Intended to terrorize other men OF
'om voting, or to cheat them out of do
heir votes after they had cast them,
be more cautious and less q
In doing it. of
Precisely because 10 did that the pt
emocratic party RACES about it, and W
les to have the people believe that, su
fair play should be thus promoted tn
the polls In Mississippi, Louisiana, I'm
irginis and South Carolina, the ed
will be wrecked, and, to
the language Of Chicago, we shall pr
on the way to establishing dc
onarchy Cd the ruins of the st,
public. c."-Netc York Recorder. To-