The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-08-30


branches of assault made by the Chairman
Of the State Committee, and shall dismiss
that assault from further examination.
These are simply matters intended to di-
vert atteEtion from the real issues of this
State election.
STATE QUESTIONS.
What do we desire to accomplish in Our
State? Why for one thing we want the
election of State Treasurer taken out OF The
Legislature. On ;lle first day Of the session
q 1870 l introduced into the state Senate
:. Joint resolution to take the election OF
tate Treasurer from the Legislature and
,..vc il TO the people had bad luck with
Iavresolution. he committee did not re-
Tort X for some time aftcrward, and it WAS
manifest that majorities were hostile 70 1t
in the two houses. At the session of 1871
IT nas again introduced by Mr.. Billmgfclt
one Of your own Senators [great applausel,
and then You viii remember that there
was a difficulty about the election of a State
Treasurer between Mr.. Macllcy and Gencr-
al Irwin. Things were considerably bro
zen up and men got new ideas about this
business, and that resolution in consequence
of that breach in the majority of the two
houses, passed bOthbranches, and was pub
lished in pursuance of the constitution. Last
winter it was introduced and passed again
through both Houses and was thus pre-
pared for submission TO the people of the
state. Gou are to pass upon it this fall by
yOur votes, and you are to say now with all
the knowledge you have acquired with
reference to the election of State TTeaSu-
Iers in past years by the Legislature, wheth-
or that amendment TO the Constitution of
the State of Pennsylvania, introduced at
incse sessions bymyself and Mr.. Billingfelt
shall be adopted. As Il matter of course
Eou will say yes. on will vote it into the
Constitution by your votes at the October
election, and you viii all think it a good
thing, Il great Improvement and q true re-
form Wen, gentleman, would it be very
singular to expect Of you that while you are
voting that reform into the Constitution you
should not entirely forget to vote for the
lnen who secured it. [Cries of Mo- and
applause.]
Then we expect to obtain in the govern
ment of our State great, salutary and ne
CcSsary reforms with regard to the trans
action of business by the Legislature. We
expect to have cut off from the Legislature
a large amount of jurisdiction which the
two houses have abused, and which has
Icen productive OF evil in the State, and OF
scandal and rcproach. Large masses of
private legislation and large branches OF
jurisdiction with reference to bills must be
cut off hereafter from the action of the leg I
iSlative department of our government /
\ Nou can obtain this by two means. First (
and mainly by the action of the ConStitu- /
tional Convention which is to meet in No /
Vcmber, but We will secure it also 10 q great ,
z .Itent by electing proper men to the Leg !
islature and by electing some man with
proper views upon the subject to I'll the
Executive office. But there is a greater
Il lestion than all these-the great question
of electoral reform. Both your primary
and your legal elections are perverted
! hey are not as they ought to be, free and
open encounters between opposite opinions.
believe in your own county, for the pur-
pose of despotic management in party af-
fairs (applausC) you have even in the man
agement of your primary elections tied up
the mouths, conscience and Judgment Of
candidates, (grcat applause) and after a lit
tie this will extend to voters also. mlocal
elections, not SO much here as in other and
greater cities Of the State, you know that
fraud, in increased volume, is intruding it
self more and more year after year; and it
IL poisoning the very fountains of power i'll
this State. In Philadelphia at this moment
b Jasts are publicly and openly made Of
miscounting to the extent of thousands of
votes at the approaching election, made
by leading men i'll the politi-
can organization opposed to u.s. made about
five or ten thousand votes 20 be mScounted
or purchased or perverted. Now gcntlemen
You have an individual interest in what is
taking place elsewhere in your State. Are
You men in the rural districts, citizens of
Lancaster county, are you to be utterly
Vowcrless in government affairs, because
your honest votes may be more than bal
anced by false votes liz Philadelphia? This
is not a local question, it is State question.
Z he false or fraudulent vote in Philadelphia
may kill a fair and honest vote in Lancas-
ter, and, If you do not see to it, but let your
elections get corrupt, you viii find after a
little that this evil will become so great and
70 startling that it can no longer be mas
tered or controlled.
Wen, we can reach that evil. With good
men in the Legislature, who are not sub
1ect to Kings, and a man in the Executive
Office who viii recommend to the legisia-
ture the reforms necessary TO purge the
ballot, 1t Is possible to overthrow fraud and
to secure fair and honest elections general
~ throughout the Commonwealth. / take
the case of Colonel Mcclure, at the last
session of the legislature, in which it be-
came necessary, under the testimony, as a
puIe question of law, to reject returns from
ten election divisions of that city, as false
and fraudulent. a word with reference to /
this. 1t has been alleged, l suppose by
mcn that did not read the report of the /
Committee, that the decision made last
winter was contrary 70 one made the pre-
vious winter, in another election case from
/ fhliadelphia-the case of Senator Dechart.
J ms Is an entire mistake. In the case Of .
senator Dechert, it was decided that the /
of election officers, eitherin re T
ceiving bad votes, or otherwise, should not
deprive the people Of any divi-
sion OF their votes; that the votes good
and bad, in anelectiOn division, where there
was simply some iITcgularity or misconduct
of the election officers, ought not to be
swept away at a breath, as had been done
by Election Committees at Harrisburg and
Washington, and by Courts in Philadelphia.
Last winter, in the case of Mcclure
against Gray, we said the same thing pre-
cisely, and the former report was quoted.
Although, as | have already stated, the
legal proof of fraud in ten election divisions
of that city were such that we set aside the
returns yet the sitting member, Colonel
Gray, was permitted to call witnesses to
prove what his vote was in those divisions,
and the Committee sat day after day, in
some cases late at night, hearing testimony