Year: 1879

The debate In the Senate on the
Army bill was brim-fSll of interest.
Blaine, the wiley, was completely
routed by a broadside from Mr.. Wall
lace. The Senator from Pennsylva-
MIA put the facts thus pointedly:


"The war caused many departures
from principles which were essential to
our liberties. Necessity maze people
bear subsection of civil to military
power, suspension of habeas corpus and
the presence ot armed troops at the
polls. These pass away with the neces-
sity that produce them. The single
issue in this bill was, Shall the Exec
utive longer possess the power to place
troops at the polls? Their presence
was a menace upon the right of free
elections. This right is fixed and GER
tain. 1t came to us from England,
and is a part of our system of laws.
Its protection rests in the States. The
federal government has nothind to do
with it. This is, said Mr.. Wallace,
the issue in the contest. We will not
be diverted from it. On this line We
stand, by it we fall. 1t is whether the
federal government shall place troops
at the polls, or whether the States, free
from federal interference, shall pre-
serve the peace and secure free elec-
tions. l repeat, the placing of troops
at the polls is a menace, threat, and
no free people can bear it. In the bill
of rights of nearly every State free
elections areguaranteed, while emo such
power is given to the federal govern>
ment anywhere ia the constitution
The statutes of many States assert and
protect this right. In 1903 Pennsyl-
vania asserted it by statute New York,
Maryland and many others have like
provisions. No attempt was made by
the federal government until it was
exercised in the Border States under
the war power. The exercise of this
power was force alone.


In Philadelphia, in 1869, during the
election of Governor, an armed body
closed the polls in the Third precinct
of the Fifth ward for an hour, or until
they saw fit to reopen them and let
vote those whom they thought ought
to vote. The people want no more of
this. They want free elections, with
out the shadow or substance of militia
ry power, whether State or federal.
He wanted the provisions of the con-
stitution to be the law ofthe land. In
the name of the people he in part rep
resented he asked that this menace be
removed and that the States have the
control in the preservation Of peace at
the polls, as they should. E"en in
poor down-trodden Mexico, when our
troops were there il 1847 request
was made that they should not appear
at the polls. as it might be supposed
they were there to controll the cleo
ton in progress. Our military COM
mander obeyed the law of Mexico.
Free elections was impossible if we put
it in the power of the president to send
or men to the polls. He did not care
whether there was only one soldier to
two or twenty-thousand square miles.
That one soldier acted under the au-
thority of military power. and the man
in the blue coat, with gun in his
hand, was the representative Of forty
millions of people. We propose to
restore to the civil power its absolute
control over the military power. We
propose to restore to the American
people their own system. We are de-
MED the right to mould legislation and
charged with coercion of the Execu-
tive and with intent TO break down
the government. We pursne the pro-
cesses of the constitution and follow
precedent. We neither seek TO CO.
cree the Executive nor submit to he
coerced by it. 1t is the right of the
legislative power etc raise and support
armies, to make rules and to enact
laws" and We follow our plain duty.
This bill votes the pay of tn e troops
Cannot the lawmaking power say how
they should be employed! We violate
no provision of the constitution no
one pretends We do. We act within
the scope of our power as we judge
our duty calls US.


1t was refreshing, recently, to see
how Gen. Garfield craw6shed when
he discovered that he had put himself
and party on record as defending the
use of troops at the polls. Blaine fell
into the same error, and he labored
through his speech like steam engine
pulling a heavy train up grade. The
Democrats were not slow to attack
the vulnerable position of the opposi-
ton, and there was the rub. The
Senator from Maine was like the
Irishman who took hold of the infuria-
ted bears tail. When Pat was asked
if he had hold of him, he replied,
Eyes, but the HI of it is, ] can't