Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-05-12
CHAMP CLARk'S LETTER
No Sense of Justice In a
Republican Congress.
SEATS IN CONGRESS STOLEN.
Outrages Upon the Elective
Franchise.
DEMOCRATS WHOLLY IGNORE

From Sheer Force Of Habit the Majority
Takes Seats to Which 1t Has No Right
and For which II Has No Need-Truth
Of an Old Adage.
Especial Washington LetterJ
Some gentleman once wrote q history
of the Emerald Isle. His entire chapter
on snakes ran in this wise: "Snakes.
There are no snakes In Ireland" So If Z
were writing history of the Republic
an party would condense one chapter
into the following words: Justice
There is no sense Of justice in q Repub-
Ican congress. If anybody challenged
that assertion, would cite for his CON.
fusion the record of this congress on
contested elections where Republicans
claim the seats of Democrats. When the
Republican election committee, headed
by General Walker of Virginia, who
once commanded the "StonewaH bri-
gade," reports against a Democrat In
favor Of Republican, that Democrat,
irrespective Of the merits of the case,
has no more chance than snowfall ON
the equator. And yet the Republican
party, which from sheer force of habit
steals congressional seats for which it
to be the great God and morality party
and the sole guardian of the ballot box,
boasted <of Its monopoly Of virtue and
sanctimonious!y thanked God in public
places that its members were not as 9TH
er men. am grateful also that they
are not. So faroical have these "elec-
tion contests become that when one is
on the boards members say, "We are
holding an election in the house today"
Plowman of Alabama had plurality
Of 2,87I. yet they bounced him and
seated Aldrich. Epes of Virginia had
2,621 plurality, yet they bounced him
and seated Thorpe. Young of Virginia
had 1880 plurality, yet they bounced
him and seated Wise, a son of Governor
Henry A. Wise, who was one of the
most brilliant Americans that ever lived,
who killed Know Nothingism as dead as
q doornail and who hanged old John
Brown of Ossawattomie, whose soul still
goes marching ON. And yet there are
more to follow-more American repre-
sentatives fairly elected marked for
slaughter because their seats are covet-
ed by certain unregenerate Republicans
who have no respect for the command
ment which says, "Thou shalt not
steal" or for any other portion Of the
decalogue.
High Handed Proceedings.
Witnessing these high handed pro-
ceedings one is forced to PROFOUND this
momentous question: "How long can
the republic endure with such outrages
practieed upon the elective franohise?''
have no idea that the republic will
perish, because believe that the people
will rise in righteous wrath and destroy
the Republican freebooters root and
branch. just why about 100 other de-
feated Republicans did not contest that
many seats must forever remain pro-
found mystery, for, judging the future
by the past, they would have been seat
ed by the Republican majority, as the
number Of votes cast at the election in
1896 has absolutely nothing to do with
a member retaining his seat.
The action of the Republicans in the
WISE Young case is another confirma-
tion of the truth of the saying that the
dog will return to his vomit and the
SOW to her wallow. AS soon as their
shifting was over about "a reunited
country" they went back to their old
habit by proceeding to unseat man as
patriotic as any in the house, who had
oheerfully voted for every extraordinary
measure proposed in the present grave
| emergency.
1t should not be forgotten, for it is
an astounding fact, that the debate to
oust Young and seat Wise was suspend
ed for minute and 40 seconds to enable
the house to pass the bill declaring war
against the kingdom Of Spain, which
was done unanimously, the doomed
Young voting as Justify as the rest for
the honor Of bis country.
defy any man to name the counter
part of that performance in the entire
legislative annals Of the world.
A Political Guerilla
This bouncing process, however, Is
| used only in favor of Republicans. To
the truth of this statement the late Colo
| mel Josiah Patterson Of Tennessee
| would make his affidavit most wrath
fully, no doubt. Josiah loved Grover
Cleveland not wisely but too well, and
Josiah has gone to join his great joss in
the political morgue. So perish all
traitorsi Josiah could not swallow the
Chicago platform. He travelled the land
over, preaching the gospel of "Me and
Grover" He was sent as gold stand
ard apostle to the benighted heathen Of
Missouri. But while Josiah was letting
the light Of his rubiound countenance
beam upon rs free silver ignoramuses,
his dear constituents at home took him
by the scruff of the neck and pitched
| him into thai outer darkness where
there is no political ''pie' and elected
a genuine jam up Democrat to congress.
Josiah came on TO Washington and got
him up contest, never doubling that
| the Republicans would reward his trea-
son by placing him Ia a seat to which
he was never elected any more than he
was elected shah of Persia or ahkoond
of Swat. But that's precisely where Jo-
siah slipped up. Having used him, they
threw him away as they would suck
ed orange-fgurativeiy speaking. cast
him into the lions den, left him out