Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1855-03-30


eirhty.thitd. Again, the Presidential vote
Of 1852 was about 100, 900 and the for
eign-born vote m this about $4,000 one
seventeenth Of The whole instead Of one
eight. thiri-haying multiplied itself by
twelve nearly, while the total vote had not
triplcd a portentous Increase"
"And this influx Of ignorance is annually
Increasing The immigration ofthe last five
years will average nearly 100000 a.year .
nearly thousand day and almost hun
drcl aud fifty voters a-day."
Second "iaerusr IN nuHscr Of igHoroH,
Hdiir, voters"
The whole number Of persons over twenty
years old, unable In rad or Writ. was. in
1910. $4,000 and in 1880, 10000 :,
giving m incrasc, during that pariod, Of
jOO,OOO llalvc this, 10 allow for females
and persons betwc,n twenty anil twcn,y-one
and the increase of voter. unable 10 read and
write. from 1910 u 1850. I, go eco. Now
the incrcas, u forcign-boru vote during that
period computed ~ in the note aho,e), was
100 Of whom II was before granted
that halfmisht b, counted A. educated, in
some sense. Subtract, therefore. the uncl-
ucaicJ half, $1,000. from go 600, aud the
remainder, l95 600, Is the incrcase ofn native
horn ignoramuss- from 1870 10 1850. Tho
native illiterati. ia that deecnnium. added
one.third 10 the whole thick.skulloi host
while the entire army of voters incrcas'd no
more. Thi, j. substantially a rcirogrc-'ion;
since 1t /. upon the moro thorough trimming
Of the native youth that we mus, depend to
counteract the cca-clcss and increasing in.
yasiou Of adult ignorance and, in tact, the
.tolid phalant has triplcd it, foolish muster
roll, while the total population has only IN.
creased hy onc-thiri."
Third "Thc r,cioi by misi,r'Hi roier',
ofiIrr preliminary dun,'."
perhaps ihi. one evil, well rrmeiied,
would remove al occasion Tor the existing
and widely spread dissatisfaction at the con-
di,ion Of the present party machinery. For
whether the caucus AMI convention system
i, or j. not, the most wisely contrivcd mode
Reorganization which Is possible, it is ccr-
tainly true that fair and honest men could
find M difficult in using It in a fair AMI
honest manner lfpartiauS have engineer
81 dishonesty, il I. because the owners ofthc
engine have abandoned it to their dirty de-
vices We can mover expect 10 b. rid ot
rl.,als, short II the millennium Until
that time, the wicked we shall have always
with u. but our appointed means u ncu-
tral,ins their bal influence. j. not 20 1T
quietly and b. Disguised, nor To destroy them
forthwith but 20 &, honestly aud sirrnu-
ou.ly io work and j, oar duty. That done,
the machinl,iou, Of the vile will perish, IT,
caus, there will lc no plar' for them. This
{, especially true II the management u ma
chincri,. worked rs mnirtir. 1t votes"
Now, in respect 10 tho preliminary clcc-
toral luti,. of which wc are speaking Il.
ii, actual wish " the maprity ofhonr.t and
rejecting men expressed at any election ,
Notpriou.ly. conl,..clly, not. Tnycry many
cases, tn vote {. merely The selection Of
little devil rather than a grratonc. Angels
or even men. ar not 80 much "a. considered.
Aud the reason i, that the two devils, wiz
in their own generation, packed the couycn-
,iln- and ct denominations aud, ofcours"
the party "so it blind" Ifwiso and hon
80 men hal CONTROLLED the nominations, the
party might, perhaps, safely ego i' blind, "
though that j. hardly a rccommrndah!"
c,ur,r, even after perfect leaders, if such
worc cItant. Herr i the trouble Many
good men who Eel it an imperative duty,
and practice accordingly, 70 ro's, never think
that they ar responsible f1r the choice Of
nominee. They console themselves on clcc-
ton lay. with the old saw about choosing
the least " two cyils-deyil-, ~ the late
thcol,.ically born modification hath it-and
uphold rad or incompetent man, because
o;hcr. uphold worse. They never dram
that they ought Themselves % have chosen a
good man, to h"cin with"
Apathy !. not amendablc to s,atics,
statistics or estimation. Per ocntagc Of un-
int,rc.tedncs, canno, be- determined Ofthc
three elementary cause ofpoliticll degrade
ton which We have discussed, this alone
most h, examined, not in itself, A. guam
tity or number. but in it, result. A. an in
ilucncc 4, such, however, it is .uprcmely
important, It, thorough curc would set at
naueht all the small Vaccinations Of dema-
go-ucs, started by selfshne-s and prcdicat"d
upon folly. and the heavy pressure Of the
masses of Ignorance and ineIperiencc, ac-
customed To h. novel thereby. Only let
honest and true.heartcd men consider il their
duty IN elect good nominees first, and then
to vote Tor them, and the thing is done.
That simple process would have Gorcstalled
the Know Nothing-, Reform Whir, Prac-
teal Democrats, Republicans and all the
shifting shapes which are to-day rising from
the sccthing ferment Of the now progressing
disruption and reorganization Of political
parties"
~ here !. one mans opinion Of the "pro-
rrcss orpolitical virtues" How much such
progress would il take to arrive at pcrfcc-
. ton?
/ Srconp hNNrAL REroEt OF TnE SEcRrrh-