274 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



berger, Sherwin, A. Herr Smith, Starin, Stone, 

 Thomas, Amos Townsend, Tyler, J. T. Updegraff, 

 Thomas Updegraff, Urner, Valentiue, Wait, Ward, 

 Washburn, C. G. Williams, Willits, Thomas L. 

 Young 97. 



NOT VOTING Atkins. Baker, Ballou, Barlow, Beltz- 

 hoover, Bingham, Bland^ Blount, Bragg, Butterworth, 

 Calkins, Chalmers, Chittenden, Alvah A. Clark, 

 Colerick, Dick, Dwight, Ellis, Finley, Fisher, For- 

 sythe, Frost, Godshalk, N. J. Hammond, Harmer, 

 Benjamin W. Harris, Henry, Hill, Hiscock, Hubbell, 

 Hull, Hunton, James, Jorgenson, Lapham, Lay, Lor- 

 ing, Joseph J. Martin, Miller, Mitchell, Money, Morse, 

 Nicholls, O'Brien, O'Reilly, Pierce, D. P. Eichardson, 

 Daniel L. Russell, William A. Russell, John W. Ryon, 

 Simonton, Speer, Tucker, Van Aernam, Van Voorhis, 

 Voorhis, White, Wilber, Wise, Walter A. Wood 60. 



So, on reconsideration, the bill was rejected, 

 two thirds not having voted in favor thereof. 



In the House, on April 8th, the bill making 

 appropriations for the legislative, executive, 

 and judicial departments of the Government 

 was taken up. 



Mr. Atkins of Tennessee said : " I desire to 

 state that a good many gentlemen on both 

 sides of the House have requested me to re- 

 p"ort this bill upon the basis of the conference 

 reports of the two Houses as nearly as possi- 

 ble. I will state to the House that the entire 

 money part of the bill the appropriations 

 was agreed to by the conference committees 

 of the two Houses, or very nearly so. There 

 are several subjects, however, upon which we 

 did not agree ; and in respect to those and these 

 parts upon which we do not agree, the bill con- 

 forms to the bill as it passed the House ; but 

 in regard to all other particulars, where the 

 conference did agree, the bill conforms to the 

 conference report." 



Mr. Coffroth of Pennsylvania : " Mr. Chair- 

 man, I turn to the bill under discussion. In it 

 we propose to repeal certain statutes regulat- 

 ing supervisors of election and the appointing 

 of deputy marshals. 



"First. The judges of the United States Cir- 

 cuit Court, at the instance of any two citizens 

 of any town or city having upward of twenty 

 thousand inhabitants, or at the instance of any 

 ten citizens in any county or parish, may ap- 

 point two citizens resident of the city, town, 

 or voting precinct, being of different political 

 parties, who shall be designated as supervi- 

 sors of election. These supervisors are re- 

 quired to attend at all times and places fixed 

 for the registration of voters who are entitled 

 to vote for a Eepresentative or Delegate in 

 Congress, to challenge any votes supposed to 

 be improperly offered, to remain with the bal- 

 lot-box after the voting is over until the votes 

 are entirely counted, and after the votes are 

 counted out and tabulated to certify their cor- 

 rectness or append objections, and do and per- 

 form other acts and things in the premises. 



" Second. United States marshals are author- 

 ized to appoint deputy marshals, who are au- 

 thorized ' either at the place of registration or 

 polling-place or elsewhere, and either before 



or after registering or voting, to arrest and 

 take into custody without process any person 

 who commits or attempts or offers to commit 

 any of the acts or offenses prohibited herein, 

 or who commits any offense against the laws 

 of the United States.' 



" Sir, it will be seen that this law authorizes 

 the arrest of a citizen without process on the 

 mere whim or caprice of a deputy marshal. 

 If the most upright citizen in this great nation 

 offers to vote, not having been registered, he 

 is liable to be seized, taken into custody, and 

 imprisoned by a deputy marshal. Sir, where 

 is the boasted liberty of the citizen if he can be 

 arrested and imprisoned without process of 

 law? Why, sir, under the law of my State 

 about one in twenty of all the voters at every 

 Congressional election is subject to arrest un- 

 der this statute, inasmuch as about that pro- 

 portion is generally not registered ; yet, by the 

 law of the State, non-registered citizens are 

 entitled to vote by making affidavit to their 

 residence if otherwise qualified. 



" The Constitution of the United States pro- 

 vides in Article IV. that ' the right of the peo- 

 ple to be secure in their persons against un- 

 reasonable seizures shall not be violated ; that 

 no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, 

 supported by oath or affirmation.' And in 

 Article V. it declares that no person shall 

 be deprived of 'liberty or property without 

 due process of law.' Thus it will be seen that 

 the power given to deputy marshals is not 

 only dangerous to the dearest rights of the cit- 

 izen, but is in violation of the Constitution of 

 the United States. 



" I beg permission to read from the report 

 of the committee appointed by the last Con- 

 gress to examine into and report on the laws 

 in regard to the appointment and pay of su- 

 pervisors of election and deputy marshals : 



" The law was enacted professedly to aid in secur- 

 ing a full, free, fair, honest ballot. That it has failed 

 has become a matter of history ; for since the enact- 

 ment of these sections and the exercise of power un- 

 der them there has been complaint of more and great- 

 er fraud than ever existed prior to its passage. 



" The power to anticipate an election fraud, real or 

 fanciful, prior to its attempted perpetration, to seize 

 and hold to bail or put in prison a voter as a means 

 of preventing his coming to the poll, or to deter there- 

 from upon suspicion, is a little more power than should 

 be conferred upon any partisan. 



" The experiment to secure an honest vote, by the 

 medium of appointees under this law, we believe has 

 signally failed, and the powers conferred have been 

 too often used to prevent rather than to secure an 

 honest vote. The administration of these laws has 

 not only been productive of no affirmative good, but 

 has cost large sums of money without any good re- 

 turn. 



"Mr. Chairman, at the elections held in 1876 

 there were 4,863 supervisors and 11,610 dep- 

 uty marshals, at a cost to the United States of 

 $275,296.70. At the elections held in 1878 

 the number of supervisors was 4,599, and there 

 were 4,467 deputy marshals, at a cost to the 

 United States of the enormous sum of $202,- 

 291.69. In New York City alone there were 



