Year: 1877

The New York World warmly commends
President Hayesgfor his course in sending
the United States troops Ito suppress the
present serious insurrection, and at the same
time regards the adjustment of the Electoral
Commission, whatever its opinions NAV have
been upon its constltutionality, as practical
avoidance of what might have been still
greater internal difficulties. We quote from
the article:


President Hayes has responded to the appeal
of the Governor of Pennsylvania by issuing a
calm, firm and constitutional proclamation, in
which he deals with the railway insurgents in
western Pennsylvania as Washington dealt
with the whisky insurgents in the same region,
and orders them to disperse and retire to their
MONIES Dy noon this day He has given prac-
tical meaning to this proclamation BY sending
one OF the bravest most popular apd most
trustworthy officers of the Federal army Gem
eral Hancock, himself Pennsylvania. into
the state to enforce it. In the light of these
troubles we may also see what the posi-
tion OF the country would have been IL
we had been dealing at this time with the
question OF disputed succession to the Pres-
dency. However that dispute might have been
carried on, whether with two claimants con-
tending In the courts or elsewhere, or with
one claimant inaugurated by force at the Ca
pitol and left seated because the supporters of
the other were unwilling to plunge the country
into civil war to unseat him, the results would
have been equally disastrous. There would
have been nowhere any moral authority against
an insurrection spreading over several states
1t was to avoid precisely this state of things
that many eminent Democrats, Senator Bay
ard and Senator Thurman among them. con-
sebted to the plan of the Electoral Commis-
sion. As the World not only disagreed with
them at that time, but expressed its disagree
ment plainly and earnestly, we conceive our
selves to have right to speak on the subject
more emphatically now than others who held
their peace while the matter was debating,
only to whine over the result afterwards.
1t is due to these distinguished Democrats
to say now that in the light of what is now
happening in the North and West. their
attitude at the close Of the Presidential
contest commends them to the respect of
all good men of all parties. Let us suppose
that neither the Electoral Commission nor aEy
equivalent plan had been adopted. In what
sort of position should we find ourselves now?
The rioting which has gone so far with no po-
litical conflict to disturb the unity of West Vir
ginia and Maryland under Democratic govern
ors, or of Pennsylvania under a Republican
governor would have become incalculably more
formidable, and when the States failed there
would have been no effective and undisputed
authority left to confront it. This demonstra-
ton of what we have escaped by reason of the
Electoral Commission, will silence such of the
eI post facto critics of the men who framed it,
as have any common sense. The notion of
making the Electoral Com mmission q leading
political issue for the uext three years. already
dismissed with contempt by the liberated
South, will now be seen by the whole country
to be the maggot OF diseased brain.