The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-09-15
THE ELECTIONS Law.
The Debate on Its Repeal Will
Come Next Week.
THE REPORT OF THE MAJORITY.
Tho Government of Elections, Says tho
Majority. Nay be Safely Entrusted to
the Various States, without Necessity
for Federal Interference.

the Various States, without Necessity
for Federal Interference.
WASHINGTON, Sept. .15-When the cleo
tions committee was called to order by
Mr. Tucker yesterday all the members
were present except the chairman, Mr.
Fitch, whose mother is dying, and Mr.
Lawson, of Georgia. On the call of the roll
none Of the Republicans answered to their
names, the reason for the policy thus pur-
sued being thus explained by Mr.. John
son, of North Dakota, the senior minority
member.
although we had promised at the last
meeting not to obstruct the majority in
its purpose to bring the bill before the
house, we had not committed ourselves to
any active assistance in furthering their
plans or purposes Recognizing that the
country is in the midst of a severe finan-
cial disturbance, to relieve which con-
gress had been called in extraordinary
session, the Republicans felt that they
could not by their votes be in any wise re-
sponsible for precipitating bitter partisan
debate such rs this bill is likely to lead to
upon congress, before measures for the
financial relief of the country had been
perfected. So we kept still"
The acting chairman then sent out for
Mr.. Lawson, and his appearance gave the
majority the quorum necessary to do bust
ness. motion to report the Tucker bill
was carried by strict party vote. A reso-
luton was passed instructing the commit
tee on rules to report an order making the
bill and reports the special order nmmed-
ately after the morning hour on Tuesday
next and every succeeding day until dis
posed of.
The majority report, drawn by Mr.
Tucker, enumerated the sections of re-
vised statute proposed to be repealed and
discussed them seriatim. The section for
bringing armed troops to the polls, the re-
port said, was passed at the close of the
war and the occasion therefor must have
long since passed away, and as the last
vestige of war legislation on the subject it
should be wiped from the statute book
forever.
As to the sections relating to the ap-
pointment of supervisors and deputy mar
shals, the report referred to the discussion
of the minority of the same committee in
the Fifty-first congress upon the election
of representatives in congress" of which
Mr.. Tucker was n member, which discus
sion is Incorporated in the report. Fur
ther, upon this point the report called at
tention to the fact that the states for a
hundred years and more had provided
election laws, appointed officers and pro-
vided the machinery Of election. They
had prescribed duties for such officers and
had imposed penalties for the failure to
discharge these duties.
The officials provided by the sections
sought to be repealed were directed to
scrutinize, supervise and watch every act
OF the officers of the state. This of itself,
said the majority, must create friction,
and the history Of the country since
the enactment Of these laws had dem
onstrated their unwisdom. BY what au-
thority asked the majority, could
federal officer determine the question of
suffrage which the constitution of tho
United Stees had left to the states alone
TO determine? ...-..
Many of these sections, continued the
report imposed penalties upon state cleo
tion affairs for violations of the laws of
the state. Was ever a more monstrOus
proposition written on the statute books
of a free country? The object of legisla-
tlon should be to prevent conflicts between
state and federal authorities. These
statutes, said the report, had been fruitful
in engendering them.
Concluding the report said: But we re-
gard these statutes as chiefly inimical to
the best interests of the people because
bht1 arc III tlGCI IL NDlb VI luCk Oh CODfl-
dence in the states of the union. With
such an intention plainly on their face,
with what consideration could they be
met by the people for whom they were in
tended except that Of distrust and suspi-
cionf Let every trace of the reconstruc-
tion measures be wiped from the statute
books; let the states of the great union I'M
derstand that the elections are in their own
hands, and If there he fraud, coercion or
force used they will be the first to feel it.
Responding to universal sentiment
throughout the country for greater purity
In elections, many of our states have en-
acted laws to protect the voter and to pu-
rify the ballot. These, under the guidance
of state officers have worked efficiently,
satisfactorily and benificiently and if these
federal statutes are repealed that senti-
msnt will receive an impetus which, il the
cause still exists, will carry such enact
ments into every state in the union.