The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-02-16
COMPULSORY VOTING.

Wendell Phillips, IN his lecture in Chi
cago said that VIC had as yet failed 10
control any large city, and that our sys
TEN of Government has still to master
the problem how tn manage great mum
cipalitles. The city of New York is an
example Of robbery and misrule. She is
rlddlt Il fficult of solution. While her
influence in the nation is slight, still, as
long rs she exists in her present condi-
tl"ns she presents sarcasm against the
ballot box. Republicans say, 1.-THE ma
jority must rule" Tweed replies, "Give
me one hundred repeaters and will ere
ate any majority wish" If the county
rolls up fifty thousand majority for Grant,
Tweed gives sky thousand against him.
IN spite of registry laws, the presence of
United States troops or any other lnflu-
ence.
The tendency of the age ID towards Cen
trslization. The nation can stand one
New York city, but what is it to do when
all our great cities become too anwieldy
to manage, a. 1T present rate of increase
they surely viii Here is nut for com
ing politicians 10 crack
The influence of increased population
We are experiencing the pressure of the
thumb ot great corporation. In the di
vision OF labor consequent upon the EN-
ployment of machinery there is danger
that we sliai; fall into the same difficulty
that fastened on the Hlndoo and Chinese,
that man will become mere machine
u creature posss ssing Only alanucl Gex
terityr but DO mind--aDd that ail origin
,llty and soul will he lost in an inevita.
bic round 81 unvarying work. There
may come time in Amtrica when the
n"n that makes pms, will bequeath pin
making u his children, and the man who
makes axes will instruct his cOildren
an!y in that branch Such are some of
the results Of an overcrowded population
The solitary lahorer in forest is his
blacksmith, shcenla ker. tailor, and cook.
The denlzen of Il thlckly population ter
fitory confines himself To one small art,
and frequently knows nothing of any
thing else, or does not even know the
whole Of that. The first il tree tn g.,
where lie peases and do what he likes.
The second is driven to work byi neces
sity and fastened to it by strong compe-
tilinn
There is still another evil Napoleon
d ebauched France by interfering in the
private life Of her citizens in every posi-
bic way thus teaching them to depend
upon the government for everything, as
a child does upon his father. We are grow
ing iato the same vicious course. We
rely far more upon the government now
than we did ten years ago and at the
CHI IVA, In
ten years hence than we are
now.
A class of persons have sprung up who
say that the evils We suffer result from
the apathy of the people. The majority
take no interest III politics, and therefore
politics are manipulated by the corrupt
and the dishonest. The remedy they
propose is to compel ever man to come
Dut and deposit his ballot. Voting, they
say, is no less the duty of y citizen than
fighting. 1t is absurd to compel the CIT
izen to defend his country with his mus
ket and allow him to neglect his duty
with the ballot, when in most cases the
first struggle comes at the polls. The
difficulty Is, however, that we transform
men into mere voting machines, the in
struEcnts OF the Government, and this
evil 10 more to be dreaded than any other.
Thus We are met with two dangers. If
We weaken the government. the pressure
of ear growing civilization drives all our
large business centres into anarchy If
We strengthen the government, its pre-
sure brushes the individual. Who is
skllitul enough to find the happy means
that shall shall. control turbulent and cor.
rups municipalities like New York city,
and at the same time preserve the indie
penaence of the cltizen.-Pe0ria Reuieu.