New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-09-05
THE PEOPLES VOICE.
CsntinseA frs,n RiSkth Yaxs.


horrify If not an,use some Of our wealthy million
aires 70 see what ragged clothed, bloated- faced.
at the polls, and performed for them public duty
which they had neglected. This 10 repeating.
have given you but hurried sketch Of It the votes
successful as it was It had its defects The repesters
began to imagine they were the masters; they
thought they held the power because they were tho
instruments of power. To Use q political slang
term they undertook TO set up shop Tor themselves.
Still repeating, when kept in its place. Is not
disappIoyed by our Ring rulers.
THE RINGING" DODGE.
The manipulation Of the ballots" Ringing the
ballots az it is appropriately called-s very beau
tifn operation and is said by those who have tried
it to he perfect 1t is now the fsvorite plan II is
simple, inexpensive and effective. When one OF you
good innocent Republicans we will suppose, is going
To the polls to vote the wrong ticket or support tho
wrong man. as you are so fond OF doing your unwse
Intentions are quietly frustrated. The inspector
holds in his hand the ballot yOn ought to deposit.
and when he receives yours quietly substitutes one
for the other and drops yours the floor before he
trick easily learned and readily applied IT, however.
you are suspicious and watch the official, II tho
latter Is awkward and inexperienced. man near
and accuses you Of having voted before. VI course
ample apologies are Immediately rendered for the
rudeness, the inspectors are indignant that 30
respectable gentleman should be iDsulted they
abuse the rough or the policeman, You are shown
ont with great respect but your ballot went down
Repeating is expensive false counting is trouble
some, our Iammany men are not experts at arith-
amisble Controller will admit at this moment but
Ringing" ballots ~ complete success. II Ia only
place or few hundred dollars will usually do that.
FALSE COUNTING.
The third plan is false counting This ia done gen.
orally by transferring the figures bodily. For in
stance if Jones, the Tammsny candidate, gets 100
votes and Smith. the opposition candidate receives
2OO the 300 of Smith transferred TO Jones, who
gives his 100 to Smith. This Is an exquisitely simp\
process but in practice it Is said to work badly and
great complaint is made of il by those who have
tried it, In the first place. the candidates are often
too nearly equal to give Tammany its Just pre-
pOnderance or to overcome some persistent OpbOsi-
ton in district where this plan cannot he worked.
for it is found utterly inpractIcabe III some dis
tricts. It's defects can sometimes be cured ny
tens, one canvssser taking them up and counting
tic tics around the bundle: Of course he has only to
take five votes instead of ten and call tally" 70
augment greatly the chances OF his fayorlte In ono
instance this was done 80 enthusiastically Ilat ,ho
Tammany candidate had received nifty talles, 9e
when the poll clerk felt it advisable to inform te
canvassers that there were only 4'O names on 'ne
registry.
AN oDIUM DEMOCRACY CANNOT ENDURE.
Between these three schemes the voice Of the peo-
pie of New-York has been utterly stiied up till last
Fall when by the cruel and tyrannica interference
of the United States Government, under tue vie
bayonet election law we got fair vote. The wrong
was not 80 much due to Republicans, for the inspec-
tors saw that comparative justice was secured 10
their party on general issues but 1T was allowed fu
scope against opposition Observation-Disclosures who
believed in pure government and were opposed 10
Tammany Hall. Thus it is that Democrats have 70
bear the entire odium of the misrule OF our city,
while we Democrats still believe our party To DC tbe
honest one
This odium we cannot endure. speak as Demo:
crat TO Democratic. IL would chanCo OF
carrying the next Presidential election N taking
ion are unfit to have control of 1t, or restoring to
general occupation the principles we have at heart
we must vindicate our party; we must remove the
tons tIau in this city, Here we are in control We have
undsturbed possession of all branches OF the
municipal government and an immense majority OF
iniquity, in the, municipal government we are
responsible, and no party with such record
tom ,sa szsa W Ds::ss:!sa # e:
used to bride Republicans; VIGOROUSLY the very
charter under which we live was carried by the
purchase Of Republican Municipal oees saa
both parties. But none of this excuses US. We are
in power we can correct the abuses; if we do not,
we ought to suffer- and we Tlll. Ii fepaGiicanS are
threatened with the loss OF the Grrman That
economical people will not submit to have their
houses mortgaged by the issue of municipal bonds
in order TO give to corrupt men wealth
and luxury From all sections of the country come
complaints from Democrats that they have to defend
the inquities of Tammany Hall, and that they are
beaten by the bad record of our City rulers, IL
Democracy would survive, it must put down with
strong hand these abuses. Wecan still do 3d. me
people are not 80 entirely helpless as our masters
would have US believe. They cannot defy an out
ragged and indignant community with the impuntty
they hope The power is still with us II We are viii.
ling and determined to exert it. In times OF great
excitement the usual barriers are swept away, and
the people rush along in mighty current
which carries all before it. IIss
and perish, but the corrupt always COVER before il
and are most earnest to cOncliate it, 80 will 1T be
here. Canvassers, inspectors and Registers Dc
lives as though they were honest men; ard no one
appreciates the danger of irratng the people more
than they. An aroused and outraged pulsic Is not
when he told his friends that if they IN inspec-
tor tamper with their ballots they could saoot him
on the spot. The man who cheats a natnsn out OF
and deserves mercy. We are living under wrong
system To allow Mayor, elected for two years, to
appoint all other municipal officials for five years may
be Tammany Democracy but it Is not ours That sys-
tenn must be changed; proper mode of selecting poll
ngoicers must be established; every protection must
be given to the ballot and incidentally to these re-
forms; the Ring which has secured control OF lam
many Hall must be put down, and then not only will
our city's fame be redeemed, our taxes lightened,
our business affairs improved, our commerce in
creased and metropolis made what it should be,
the grandest city in tho world; but Democracy and
Republican institutions will be relieved from tho
diseredit which has been brought upon them
SPEECH OF JUDGE PIERREPoNT.
In this vast concourse of my fellow citizens, u
there any one here who does not wish an honest
Government Is any one here who believes that
the Government Of the City is honest 7 The public
journals upon which we are accustomed to rely tell
us that the City is in the hands of ayesj and they
charge specific facts as proof of the assertion They