l citizens equal
opportunity, without discrimination, to perform all the acts required
by law as a prerequisite or qualification for voting.

Section 2022, which authorizes the United States marshal and
his deputies to keep the peace and preserve order at the Federal
elections.

Section 2024, which expressly authorizes the United States marshal
and his deputies to summon a _posse comitatus_ whenever they or any of
them are forcibly resisted in the execution of their duties under the
law or are prevented from executing such duties by violence.

Section 5522, which provides for the punishment of the crime of
interfering with the supervisors of elections and deputy marshals in
the discharge of their duties at the elections of Representatives in
Congress.

These are some of the laws on this subject which it is the duty of
the executive department of the Government to enforce. The intent and
effect of the sixth section of this bill is to prohibit all the civil
officers of the United States, under penalty of fine and imprisonment,
from employing any adequate civil force for this purpose at the place
where their enforcement is most necessary, namely, at the places
where the Congressional elections are held. Among the most valuable
enactments to which I have referred are those which protect the
supervisors of Federal elections in the discharge of their duties at
the polls. If the proposed legislation should become the law, there
will be no power vested in any officer of the Government to protect
from violence the officers of the United States engaged in the
discharge of their duties. Their rights and duties under the law will
remain, but the National Government will be powerless to enforce its
own statutes. The States may employ both military and civil power to
keep the peace and to enforce the laws at State elections. It is
now proposed to deny to the United States even the necessary civil
authority to protect the national elections. No sufficient reason has
been given for this discrimination in favor of the State and against
the national authority. If well-founded objections exist against the
present national election laws, all good citizens should unite in
their amendment. The laws providing the safeguards of the elections
should be impartial, just, and efficient. They should, if possible,
be so nonpartisan and fair in their operation that the minority--the
party out of power--will have no just grounds to complain. The