Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-12
FEDERAL ELECTIONS.
MIR. Cullom Addresses the Senate
on That Subject.
Mr. HILL ASKS SEVERAL QUESTIONS,
And There is Quite a Lively COL
Ioquy Between the Two.
T HE LAWS JUSTIFIED.

Among the various communications and
petitions presented and referred was a pc
tition from the chamber OF commerce OF
the city Of Seattle. Wash. praying for the
establishment OF q national park In that
state
A bill for that purpose was introduced By
Mr.. Squire Cwash) and referred to the COM
mittee on public lands.
Mr.. Cullom Qll) indicated a desire to ad-
dress the Senate on the bill TO repeal the
federal election laws, but the Hawaiian
northumberland yesterday by Mr.. Hoar
(Mass. land a resolution offered yesterday
by Mr.. PETER Kan.) had precedence in the
morning hour. unanimous consent was
given that those resolutions should remain
on the table. and should be presented at .
later hour today or tomorrow.
Mr.. Cullom thereupon addressed the Sem
ate
MI. Hill Asks Some Questions.
Mr.. Hill CN.Y)-"Is the Senator aware OF
the fact that the contested election case to
which he refers would not have controlled
the election Of the Senator from the state
of New York;
Mr.. Cullom-'Tf the Senator from New
York simply proposes TO justify that action
by the declaration that II did not control the
politics of the state senate Of NewYork. i say
to him that IL IL was a crime the Senator
ought not to justify II, and no man ought
to-"
Mr.. Hill-"whether there was or was not
anything Irregular or criminal In the action
in the senate district In question we Will
discuss it at the proper time The Senator
from Illinois does not of course expect me
to answer him now. The point which he 10
trying to make seems to be that the action
in that district affected the control OF the
state senate of New York, and on that point
1 beg to inform him that his statement is
not true"
Mr.. Cullom-"Whether the statement II
exactly true or not
Mr.. HiIl-'It is neither exactly nor sub
Mr.. Cullom-'It probably required two or
three changes in order to get legislature
10 secure the election of a democratic Sem
ator from the state of New York"
Mr.. Hill-'The election OF United States
Senator had nothing whatever to do with
the question, except TO a very slight degree.
IL that district had been given TO the repub-
hcans and IL two or three other districts
had been given to them the majority in the
| assembly was sufficient to elect my dis
tinguished colleague, Mr.. Murphy, to this
body. That question had nothing whatever
to do with the control of the senatorship
from the state of New York"
Mr.. Cullom on Federal Elections.
After a brief history Of the protection OF
the elective franchise from fraud, beginning
with the clause Of the Constitution declar-
ing that the time. places and manner OF
holding elections for Senators and Repre-
sentatives shall be prescribed in each state
by the legislature thereof. but that Congress
may at any time by law. make and alter
such regulations except as to places OF
choosing Senator'S he said there never had
been any serious question to the scope
M Cf hat raxrf-
sion- What was the cause, he asked. of the
present demand for the repeal of the laws
passed by Congress on the subject? Had
any man suffered any injustice by reason
Of their existence or enforcement? Had any
person been wronged by laws which were
intended to prevent wrong? The conten-
tion Of those who urged the repeal OF those
laws seemed to be based mainly upon the
theory that the states alone were charged
with the police control of elections, and that
! the federal government had no call TO in
terfeEe even for the protection OF its own
direct and most important interests. IL
that was true rule, why had Constitu-
ton given to Congress the rignl to mako
or alter the prescriptions OF the state legis-
latures7
| Back to Fort sumter I'm 1861.
No Senator would fail to perceive that the
I discussion brought Senators back TO the
! identical question which their friends In
! the south had attempted TO settle at Fort
| Sumter in 1861, and which reached a final
settlement in 1865. 1t was idle. he said. for
! Congress TO sit supinely down. contented
/ with the false theory that the states have
/ full control of the franchise. That was q
policy fundamentally wrong and inde-
fensible. and was in line with the argu-
ments once used in justification for the
disruption of the Union. A national gov
ernment which had not the power within
itself to protect its own membership and
/ to have some control over its elections
] uaS as far ma r-ofa1A .arasx
long endure. If the existing federal cleo
tion laws were imperfect or worked inJus-
I tice they should be amended or modified.
but not struck from the statute book. An
honest American ballot was the strongest,
the most herculean power in the world.
| That ballot, that great agency which cre-
ated an American President and an Amer
ican Congress. built up a structure which
/ the powers of the earth could not destroy.
His democratic friends, he thought, were
not exercising their usual shrewdness in
overthrowing salutary regulations which
would be under their own control He as
| a republican, would rather have such
system Of laws. meant and intended solely
Tor the proper protection or the honest and
| legitimate voter, even IL every official agen-
/ cy for their enforcement should be of the
/ democratic party.
New York State as an Example.
1t was only necessary to go into the en-
Mghtened state OF New York to find a vol
ume of proof Of the inability or the indispo-
slllOu OF Sldlc 70 dil nOuesl
casting and true counting OF honest votes.
| Did 1t not he asked. bring the blush OF
shame to the cheeks OF American Senators
| to think even as a public fight OF the gi-
gantic frauds upon decency. the monstrous
! outrages upon the elective franchise which
/ had been perpetrated within the last few
months in that great commonwealth What
1 a disgrace to the American bar and what
/ a humiliation to the judiciary of the noble
state had become the name OF that Judge
referring to Judge Maynard-the tool and
willing agent who had sold his judicial
! birthright for a mess OF miserable political
Mr.. CulIom-''I understand the fact to
be"
Mr.. Hill do not say that the Senator
willfully misstates the facts / presume ne
has simply taken the partial accounts OF
partisan newspapers"
( Mr. Cullom-'I have not relied on news
paper accounts especially, but L have under
stood-and l think that the country has un-
derstood-that the action Of that man VINO
afterward became a judge inaugurated q
scheme which resulted in changing the po-
ltical complexion OF the legislature"
Mr.. Hill-"And desire to inform the Sen
ator and the country that that is not cor
rect statement of the situation"
Mr.. Cullom resumed the direct course Of
his speech and declared that all good peo-
pie everywhere in America, regardless OF
I their pOlifical affiliations should iOin trg-