Evening journal., 1896-09-12

TO the Various States.
WASHINGTON, Sept 12.-Attorney Cen
tral Harmon has furnished the following
~. tQr publication:
II have concluded TO give a public an
swer to the many Inquiries mndo of me
upon n subject Of great moment, TO which
general attention is now directed. Mr.
Bryan in his letter accepting the nomina-
ton for president by the convention at
Chicago ampliles the protest which that
convention made in its platform against
federal Interference in local affairs, which,
strangely enough, is not found in the plat
forms of the other two conventions which
have also nominated him.
As nothing else has besn done or pro-
posed to which they can possibly apply,
those protests were intended and are un-
dorstood to be directed against the recent
action Of the president in forcibly sup-l
pressing riotous disorders which had stop
ped the carriage of mails and interstate
commerce and were defying the civil oili
GERS of the United States.
"The president took this action not on
ly without the request but in some in
stances against the protest of the authori-
ties of the state in which the riots occur
red, and Mr.. Bryan, taking section 4 of
AIiAllt VI llt tUunillullOu 10 lt tiAN
law on the subject, pledges himself against
any repetition of the violation thereof,
which his letter necessarily charges. He
vindioates the wisdom Of the trainers OF
the constitution by declaring that the To-
cal authorities are better qualified than
the president TO judge Of the necessity for
federal assistance.
This, in my Judgment, is a Far more
serious matter than the money question
or any of the other questions now before
the people, grave as they all are. Our
form Of government may survive wrong
decision Of those questions and the people
may endure for a time the evils which re-
suit fom false systems of finance and tax
alton but II the president has deliberately
disreg0rded the instrument upon which the
Union is founded by supplaating the au-
thority of a sovereign state by armed force,
precedent has been made which threatens
our form Of government, while IL a oandi
date for president may properly pledge
himself in advance, as Mr.. Bryan has done,
10 do nothing to protect the property,
lGalntain the authority and enforce the
laws Of the United States unless and un-
til tho officers of another government re-
quest OF consent, then we really have no
federal government for a government
which is not entirely free to use force to
protect and maintain itself in the dis
charge of it's proper functions Is no gov
ernment at all.
"The section of the constitution to
which Mr. bryan refers is rs follows;
1.-The United States shall guarantee TO
every state in this Union a republican
form Of government and shall protect each
Of them against invasion, and on applica
tiOn Of the legislature or ~ the executive
(when the legislature canupt be convened
against. GomStic 6iolence.
..ff f,f. - 5tection of the States.
"This section plainly refers merely t.
the protection of the states against inter
ference with their authority, laws or prop
erty by domestic violence, and they ar
wisely made the sole judges whether an,
when they need such protection. MIR
Bryan bctrays a consciousness Of the lin
tied operation of this provision in the eS
preston federal assistance in the claus
have quoted.
but by the express terms Of the con
stitution a state has nothing TO do will
the maintenance of the authority or sh
execution Of the laws Of the Unied State
within the territory of the state. The pro
vention and punishment Of offonses con
nected with the mails, with intorstat
commerce and with the administration q
Justice in tho federal courts are commit
tod to the general government, and to
alone such offensos in nowiso menac
the government of the state within whiC
they are committed. Therefore the stat
cannot require protection against then
Tho state has no duties to discharge j
these matters Therefore it can requiI
no federal assistance with respect
them. OF course, domestic violence Otter
as in the recent riots, is directed again.
both state and federal authority indiscrin
inatoly, so that oither or both may SUI
press it. And I'm such cases the action {
each in maintaining its own authorit
over the subjects committed to it tends
aid the other. But in such cases each
acting in its independents right as So
ereign government and on its own bohal
It would be as absurd to claim that Il
United States must negloot It's own into
ests because in protecting them those Of
state may be incidentally protected as
claim that state must let riot run fr'
because it happens to be directed again
federal rights or officers as we'll rs its owl
This would limit and belittle the so
ereignty Of both governments. lmperiui
in imperio would be false.
According to Mr.. Bryan, there Is som
where implied in the constitution, for it
nowhere expressed, prohibition OF Il
use Of force of tho United States again
persons who within the limits Of sta
may bo successfully resisting its Office
and completely paralyzing all its oper
tions as a government unless the local n
thoritios shall first make request or gi
consent.
"This is contrary to the settled princip
that while the federal government is oi
whose operation is confined to certain su
iects it has. as TO those subjects, all &
attributes of sovereignty, and one of the
is always and everywhere within the tC
ritory of the states which compose it,
suppress and punish those who in an
wise interfere with the exercise Of its la
full powers The fact that there are with
that territory other governments exerc
ing sovereignty over all matters not
committed to it can make no differen
under our double form of government, {
essential principle of which is partiti
Of powers to be exercised independent
over the same territory.