The Washington times., 1902-03-07
DEBATE ON THE BILL
AGAINST ANARCHY
Senator Bacon Takes Ground
in Opposition.
STATE RIGHTS INFRINGED
Further Argues That Proposed Law
Would in Eo Way Prevent Commis-
sion of Crime Which 1t Was Intended
to Stop.

The Senate bill "for the protection OF
the President OF the United States wa:
taken up yesterday. and Mr.. Bacon oi
Georgia made a speech against its form
though he stated that he sympathized
with its provisions in the main.
The trend of his chief argument was
that the bill is an infringement on the
rights of the States.
Its avowed purpose, he said. is to pre-
'sys,?t the recurrence of such great ca
Iamity as :he killing of President Nc
Kinley. So far as that unfortunate and
calamitous occurrence ,oNald effect his
own views, it would make him rather
favor the measure becaIse he had Inost
sincere attachment to the late President
But there were very grave errors involved
in the bill in it's present form.
In the first place the measure was un-
necessary, as all States had legislation
to punish the crime of assassination.
In the second place the bill in no way
would prevent the commission OF such
crime.
Had No Hiding Place.
The world was not large enough for an
assassin of the President to be out of the
reach OF the law, and there was no place
secret enough IN which to hide himself
from avenging justice.
Mr.. Depew remarked that State laws
only punished criminal the same as if
the crime had been committed against
any ordinary person, and that the at
tempt to assassinate was not punishable
ha dfnU n=str YArn.
posed.
Mr.. Platt (Rep., Comm added that some
States had laws against capital punish
ment.
Mr.. Bacon said he would come to these
objections in the course of his remarks.
lie called attention TO an amendment Of
fered by him which was that the crime
must be committed because Of his Off
cial position or for the purpose OF de-
stroying the Government, or impairing
the execution of it's constitutional pow
ers" He said that he was not particular
iy welded to that language. His en-
deayor had been to secure to the States
the punishment of crimes against indi-
viduals.
Proving the Intent.
As to the difficulty of proving the pur-
pose and intent of the assassin, Mr. Ba-
con did not admit that there would be
any such difficulty. If the Senator from
Massachusetts, (Mr. Hoar). he said, was
sitting as a judge trying man who had
assassinated the President, and who stood
mute. and where 1t was shown that the
assassin was a stranger to the President
and had never seen him before. he would
instruct the jury that the presumption
was that he was guilty under the bill as
so amended.
In each of the three cases of the assas-
5ination OF Presidents there would have
been no difficulty in ccnvictiug the muir
derer under this amendment
In the course of a strictly legal argu-
ment as to the power of Congress in
defining treason. Mr.. Bacon said that
the theory of the pending measure was
TO provide a penalty for a crime which
was. in its nature, destructive of the Gov
ernment, and therefore. in its general ac-
ceptancc, treason: whereas. the trainers
of the Constitution had determined not to
make an assault upon the Executive trea-
son: but that he should stand like every
other citizen before the law. and that
one who committed a crime against his
person was not guilty of treason but was
guilty OF murder.
Mr.. Patterson agreed with the main
purpose of the bill, but argued that what
was wanted was statute pro-
yiding that whoever murdered the Presi-
dent OF the United States or the head of
a foreign Government, or the other Of
fcials mentioned in the act. shall suffer
death; that the accessories, whether be
fore or after the fact. shall suffer death.
and that those guilty of entering into coR-
spiracy to murder the President or the
other officers mentioned, shall receive the
punishment provided for them.
He suggested that the language CT the
present bill is defective. because 1t would
punish man who should commit an as
sault on the President without knowing
that he was the President.
The bill went over without action.