Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-27
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
Ill The Campaign Of 1913.
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

a black cockade and tri-coor met there
was always quarrel and often fight.
Scores Of duels were fought, federalists
would not speak to democrats. demo-
Gratis declined to recognize federaliStS.
! Party feeling was intense and everybody
despaired of the republic. The federalistS
appear actually to have believed that JEFF
ferson and the republicans intended to set
up on this side of the Atlantic the horrors
of the French terror, while the republ-
| cans were no less sincere in their belief
| that the federalists aimed to establish
monarchy. set up an aristocracy and de-
stroy human liberty. There was no tenn
| perance, no moderation. no conservatism.
X
The Indignation against France had its
effect and the federalists soon had gained
comp ete
Federalists Gain control of
Control of the House. ne l,' os ~ H.
beginning they had been slightly in the
| minority. In July. 179S Congress enact
ed the odious sedition bill. which. linked
with the alien bill passed by the same
body. marked an epoch in political af-
fairs. AS introduced the sedition bill de-
clared that every Frenchman was an
enemy to the United States, and to give
him aid or comfort was treason. punish
able with death. Another section pro-
vided that any one who in speech or
print justified France or DETAINED the
government of the United States should
suffer punishment by Imprisonment or
hne This bill was introduced in the
Senate. but even .the federalSt majority
there was not sufficiently radical to adopt
the measure in its original form. 1t went
to the House, where it was again modi-
fled, and where the republicans succeed
ed In amending ii so that the truth might
be given in defense of libel. AS passd the
seditfon act provided for punishment of
conspiracy to oppose any measure or
measures of the government, provided for
imprisonment for any person who should
by written or printed words utter a libel
against the government of the United
States, the President. or either house of
Congress. The act, by an amendment put
on by the House, was to expire by the
limitation March 3. 1901.
The operation of this law was claimed
by the democrats to infringe the freedom
of speech and the freedom of the press
and great cutlery was made against it.
In passing this bill the federalists unwit-
tingly gave their opponents an Opportu-
nifty to take stand upon which they
might recover ground lost because of
their unfortunate French craftsmanship.
Matthew Lyon. representative from Yer
mont and a violent democrat. was i'm
prisoned in his home town by a federal
judge because of the fac that he had
twice refused to cater to what he con-
sidered President Adams monarchical
pretensions when that statesman served
cakes and wine to the members of Con-
gress at receptions. Lyon asked the
judge at the trial if he had not himself
attended these pretentious functions.
The judge declared that the receptions
were republican in their simplicity and
he sentenced Lyon to Jail, fined him and
scolded him numerically.
Lyon was the most hated democrat in
the country. Being insulted in the House
one day by a
Lyon Most Hated federalist. Girls
Democrat in Country ne u,d 81 op u q
had retorted by splitting in Griswold's
face. A few days later Griswold mauled
Lyon with a cudgel on the floor of the
House Both men We're outrageously at
fault, but craftsmanship caused the feder
alists to defend Griswold and to attack
Lyon. and vice versa. Lyon was in jail
when the congressional elections were
held, but he was triumphantly reelected
only to be mobbed and matreated by
New Jersey federalists when on his re-
turn to Congress after serving out his
term.
The low moral tone of those loose times
was reflected In the vile gossip and SIAN
derous attacks which centered around
every public man. No man was too good
or too true to escape SANDER. Personal
tiles were INDUCED in by almost every
politician, and the greatest names among
the fathers of the republic are to be found
in connection with the most questionable
political conspiracies.
But despite the hue and cry against the
alien and seditiOn laws, the federalist ap-
peal to patriotism had It's effect, and in
10 n0n n oil for No
time in six years. the federalists cap
tured a clear majority of the House.
electing ffty-seven representatives, as
opposed to forty-eight democrats. The
federalists, thus confirmed in their power,
were now supreme and it must be admit
ted that they thought more of revenge
against their unsuccessful opponents than
of constructive craftsmanship. But the
victory had come too late: the federalists
already had dug the grave in which they
were soon to be buried.
Tomorrow CONGRESSIONAL CAM
PAIGNS. ~. THE REVOLUTION
OF 1900.