St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-08
Federal Election Law Repeal
Passed by the Senate
WITH A MAJORITY OF ELEVEN
Stewart and Three Populists
Join the Democrats.
aLL AMENDMENTS KILLED.
Congressional Elections Will
Be Free From the Bayonet.
CENTRALIZED POWER CHECKED.

WASHINGTON, Feb. THE bill re-
peaIing in toto all federal laws regulat-
ing the control of congressional cleo
lions has passed both houses of congress,
and only awaits the signature OF PreSi-
dent Cleveland to become law. After
several weeks of discussion the senate
today finally came to vote on the
house bill repeating the federal election
laws, and il passed by vote of 80 ayes
10 % nays.
Numerous amendments were present
Rd by the Republicans, but they we're
voted down regularly and methodically,
the Democrats not even taking the
trouble to JOIN in the debate OH the
Rmendatory propositions.
Senator Stewart, of Nevada, voted
with the Democrats OH every PROPOSE
hon, giving as his reasons that he
thought the power of the executive was
already too great. and that the con-
Iralizing tendency of the age should be
checked at once if the republic is to
survive. The three PUpulists, Senators
Allen, Kyle and PETER. also voted with
the Democrats on every amendment, as
we'll as OH the main bill. The measure
rs it passed the senate Is Identical with
Ihe bill as it passed the house, no CON-
miGtee amendments having been pro-
posed.
The attention of the senate was occu-
pied for fifteen minutes by Senator
Cameron. of Pennsylvania, this morn
Ing in the presentation of fifty or more
petitions against the Wilson bill, and
the reading of each petition by title
They came from manufacturers, Oper-
RtorS and employees, representing nearly
every Pennsylvania industry affected by
the proposed tariff reduction.
SENATOR CAMERON
also presented an amendment to the
tariff bill, postponing until Jan. l. 1896,
he date on which the proposed laws
Ihall take effect. A resolution was pre-
seEted by Senator Doiph, of Oregon,
FecIting that the finance committee had
refused hearings on the tariff bill to
those representing the producing and
labor interests of the country, and di-
Iecting that all petitions. memorials
and protests presented to that committee
and the senate be printed as senate
document. The resolution went over
under the rules.
The federal election repeal bill was
taken up, and Senator Hoar (Rep.,
Mass. J took the floor in opposition to
the measure. He said he was one of
the five senators now in the chamber
who voted for this law IN 1871.
The law had been approved not only
by the Republican party, but by large
majority of the American people. The
senator said that the records in the
archives of the capital. making up the
history of elections in this country
since 1855. show the blackest and worst
history of crime since the world was
created.
'When these reports are read" said
he, ''blackening the fair name of this
land, we must walk backward with
aVeTted gaze and hide our head in
shame. This is question of whether
the supreme pearl and gem in the crown
of American manhood shall not have
the strongest force on the face Of the
earth for its defense"
Senator Gray Q1em }, in replying to
Senator Hoar, said that these election
laws had in every instance promoted
and aggravated frauds, instead of abat-
Ing them. In the course of colloouv
between Senator Gray and Senator
HOar, the latter alluded to the elections
of 1876, when the elections in New York
were fair because of the operation and
effect of
THESE VERY LAWS.
Senator Gray retorted by reading
from the report cited by Senator Hoal
another extract alleging wholesale
frauds IN Philadelphia in the same year
when the entire local and national gov
ernments were in the hands of the Re
publicans. Senator Cameron inter
rupted, and after calling again for the
reading of the passage referred to, said
'l happened to have a good deal oil
knowledge of the election of 1876 was
the secretary Of war, as the senator will
remember. The elections in Pennsyl
Vania that year were as honest as cleo
tions in any part of the world. They
have been, and always will be. because
W. olO Ail pCOplCs ouG lIlGIk
were some elections in that year which
were not so honest, and, as secretary O.
war, had to Interfere. The result wa.
that MIR. Tilden did not become presi-
dent of the United Siates.'
In opposing the bill, Senator Allison
of Iowa, said he had examined The
Democratic national platform and haC
not found the demand for the repeal O
this law, which some senators had al
legged to exist there. Senator Daniels
alluding to the Davenport discussion O.
yesterday, presented the published
testimony or the committee on inyesti
CATION, before which Davenport hat
acknowledged, in answer to question
by Senator Hill, that he had receive,
$1,000 Or $1,000 from the Union leagu
members to be used in election prose
cutions.
After a few remarks by Senate
Chandler, Senator Bate, of Tennessee
took the floor in favor of the bill. Th
argument of Senator Bate was that tn
chief object of all the reconstructio
laws and of the
FEDERAL ELECTION LAW
as well, was to capture the electora
votes of the Southern states for the Re
publican candidate for the presidenc
and TO secure Republican senators an
representatives in congress. Til
scheme had tailed, as all the other plot
had failed, because the Alliance ha