The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-09-17
IN ANSWER TO MANY INQUIRIES.
ATTORNEY GENERAL HAIR
MON EXPLAINS.
FEDERBL INTERFERENCE At CHICAGO
The President Has the Power to SenC
Troops Into Any State TO Enforce
Federal Laws-Nr. Bryan Ought
to Know II.

cral Harmon today furnished the follow
ing for publication:
Il have concluded to give public an
! subject of great moment to which gen
/ cra attention is attracted.
"AIr. Bryan, in his letter accepting the
nomination for president by the Chicago
convention, amplifies the protest which
the convention made in its platform
against federal interference in local af
fairs, which, strangely enough, is not
found in the platforms of the other two
conventions which have also nominated
him.
"As nothing else has been proposed to
which they can possibly apply, these pro-
tests were intended and are understood
to he directed against the recent action
of the president i'll forcibly supprcssing
riotous disorders which had stopped the
carriage of the mails and interstate COM
merce and was defyng the civil officers
of the United States. The president took
this action not only without the request
but in some instances against the author
tiles of the state in which the riots &C.
cured, and Bryan, taking section 4 of
article " of the constitution to be the
law on the subject, pledges himself
against any repetition of the violation
thereof, which his letter necessarily
charges He vindcates the wisdom of
the trainers Of the constitution by declar-
ing that the local authorities are better
qualified than the president to judge of
the necessity for federal assistance.
This, in my Judgment. is Il far more
serious matter than the money question
or any of the questions now before the
people, grave as they all are. Our form
| of government may survive Il wrong de-
cision of these questions and the people
may endure for Il time the evils which
result from false systems of finance and
taxation, but if the president has deliber-
ately disregardcd the instrument upon
| which the Union is founded by supplant-
ing the authority Of sovereign state by
| armed force. Il precedent has been made
which threatens our form of government,
| while. if Il candidate for president prop
erly pledges himself in advance, as MIR.
Bryan has done, to do nothing to protect
the property. maintain the authority and
enforce the laws of the United States un-
less and until the officers of another gov
eminent request it, then we really have
no federal government, for government
which is not entirely free to use force to
protect and maintain itself is no govern
ment ut all. The section of the cOnSti-
tuition to which Mr.. Bryan refers is as
follows:
THE United States shall guarantee
to every state in the Union republican
form of government and shall protect
each of them against invasion and, on APP
tive Cwhen the legislature can not be con-
veneCD. against IL domestic violence
This section plainly refers mostly to
| the protection of the states against i'll
reference with their authority, laws or
property by domestic violence, and they
are wisely made the sole Judges whether
and when they need such protection.
Mr.. Bryan bctnys CONSCIOUSNESS OF
the limited operation of this provision i'll
the expression federal assistance i'll the
clause | have quoted. But, by the cN-
press terms of the constitution state has
nothing to do with the maintenance CT
the authority or the execution of the laws
of the United States within the territory
of the state. The prevention and punish
ment of offenSeS connected with Inc
mails. with interstate commerce ana Win
: | TIE uuIlllDlSlGullOl VI justice ihN lNu
eral courts are committed to the genera
government and to it alone. Such OIL
GERS in no wise menace the government
of the state within which they are com
! mitted. Therefore it can require no fed
era assistance with reference to them
OF course domestic violence often. as il
the recent riots, is directed against STATE
and federal authority mdiScriminately
so that each or both may suppress it
| \nl IN, hn action nf nn.h in
: maintaining its own authority over thu
o.. subjects committed to it tends to aid thu
other. But in such cases each is actin!
in its own Independent right as Il soy
ereign government and on its own behalf
!. 1t would he as absurd to claim that thu
+ United States must neglect its own inter
ests because in protecting them those o
Il state may be incidentally protected, II
t to claim that Il state must let Il riot rul
. free because it happens to be directed
against federal rights rs well as its own
=. This would limit and belittle the soy
1 ereignty of both governments. lmperlun
. in impero would be false.
, According to Mr.. Bryan there
somewhere implied in the constitution
for it is nowhere expressed, prohlbl
| ton of the use of force by the Unite
@ States against persons who, within tn
9 limits of state, may be successfully re
sistng its officers, and completely para
= lying all its operations rs II government
A unless the local authorities shall frs
make request CT give consent. This
y contrary to the settled principle tina
while the federal government is on
e whose opinion is confined to certain sui
i jects. it has. as to those subjects, all tn
n attributes of sovereignty, and one q
}. those is always and everywhere, with
e the territory of the state which compos
f it. to suppress it and punish those who i
$ any wise interfere with the exercise O
Y its lawful powers. The fact that Their
e are within that territory other govern
T. ments exercising sovereignty over u
$ matters not so committed to it can max
= no difference under double form of GOV
C eminent, lessening Il principle which is
k part of the powers to be exercised il
$ dependently over the same territory.
: "This sovereign right of the Unite
V States necessarily follows its officers an
a agents everywhere they go, protectn
D and maintaining them in the discharg
of their duty. Congress has according
a ly, by section 1927 of the Revised Stat
n utes. authorized the president to us
a armed forces of the government in an
o of state authorities when requested b
/ them as provided in the constitution, an
= also by the following section, $3.50. au
! thorizing him to employ such forces
t upon his own Judgment, against ur