The Coconino weekly sun., 1893-10-19
SHOWING TIE oLovEN HooE.
Policy of tho Democrats In the Federal
 Elections Matter.

oi tho DS"oeh"s' ''s saAo ASNSa"A
 Elections Matter.
 The avowed purpose of the democrats to sweep from the statute books every provision of law for the prevention of frauds and violence at elections for .congressmen is ono of the most brazen, impudent and, indeed, infamous prop ositions ever suggested in congress.
 For more than . quarter of century these laws for the supervision of feder- al elections have been in existence and have been enforced, and always in the interest of peace, order and honesty. The authority of congress to pass the laws cannot be questioned. There is an express provision of the constitution empowering congress in this regard. And the statutes, as they have been en- forced, have been sustained by the su- prcme court to the fullest extent. Nor is there any serious reason for suppos- ing that the southern leaders who con trol the democratic party desire the laws repealed because they infringe upon state rights. Many of the most ardent nationalists are now to be found among the southern democrats. This is shown by the fact that such men as Reagan have warmly supported the interstate commerce law and from the unanimity with which every south ern representative and senator favor congressional aid for internal improve ments. In the good old democratic days before the war this was rank heresy. But now every brigadier is in favor of the old flag and an appropra- tion. Not that we object. The con- trol of commerce between the states, internal improvements under national auspices and at the expense of the gen. eral government is all good repub- lican policy and doctrine. We only mention the attitude of the other party as to these questions for the purpose of saying that if they now claim that the election laws should be repealed be- cause they violate the rights of the states-the argument which they will doubtless urge-we will know that they are insincere.
 But what then are the motives which have induced the democratic leaders to make the repeal of the election laws a strictly party measure? The answer is simple. These laws stand in the way, not to any great extent, perhaps, but still in the way, of democratic frauds in the great cities, and of fraud and violence in the south. Though they have been overridden, have not been effectinely enforced, still they are a standing menace to democratic ascend ancy.
 But there is one thing very certain. The majority will not be allowed to pass their repeal measure without its being subjected to critical examina- ton by the republican members of both houses. And the discussion which is to take place will be made the occasion for the presentation of some whole some truths. There is no darker page in the history of popular government than the story of the suppression of the republican vote in the south and the gigantic frauds in New York city evils which the election laws were de- signed to prevent. The republican lsadars will not. fail to point out to the country that the sole purpose of the democracy in repeating those laws is to render it possible to repeat such frauds and to continue such violence with i'm punity.-San Francesca Chronicle.