The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1874-11-26
RenisfratiOn,

The Columbia Union Herald throws cold
water upon the demand for registration laws
as protection against frauds in elections, and
cites Philadelphia and New York as instances
where the registration laws have been used as
engines of polical tricksters. We do not deny
the facts stated by our cotemporary, nor will
we undertake to say that registration will ab-
solutely prevent dishonest practices in every
locality But it is manifest that the present
means of checking frauds are decided failure
in South Carolina, and something must be
done to wipe out this stain upon thC purity of
the ballot-box. The Constitution of this State,
framed by the Republican party, expressly dl-
rects that a registration shall be made, and
this provision has been totally disregarded.
Now, in the rural districts, it will not be dlfl-
cult to secure fair and honest registration of
voters, especially if the requirement is made
that every voter shall register and vote IN his
own township, ward or other political division
of territory. We have no populous centres
like Philadelphia and New York, where the
facilities for repeating might be the more easily
attained. And most assuredly we can find
pure, honest and capable men to conduct the
registration, without fear that they will resort
to the infamous practices cited, where fictitious
names were entered by hundreds and thou
sands upon the registration books. The main
difficulty to be apprehended, in this connection,
is the selection Of incompetent and dishonest
men, and the responsibility for this selection
will fall upon the Republican officials. A fair
and equal division between the political parties
on the boards of registration will certainly
prove check upon illegal devices of profes-
sional politicians, and it will rest with the
executive officers to provide this means of
safety and security.
The argument that extra trouble to get the
privilege of voting would intensity the apathy
and Indifference of the good citizen does not
amount to much, in our opinion. Every we'll
meaning and liberty loving citizen knows that
the fraudulent practices of the last few years
have kept the Republican party in power in
this State, whereby innumerable evils have had
monstrous growth, and we are inclined to
think that the future will reveal wiser deter
mination than to succumb to the despondent
and discouraging views entertained by far too
many in years past. A greater vigilance will
be manifested, and the enactment of whole
some laws, intended to protect and assist them
in securing a just proportion of political power,
will increase that watchfulness so necessary to
the healthful state of the body polite. Should
the contrary prove true. then it will fasten the
responsibility for corrupt and unprincipled
officers upon those who are so thoroughly in
different to the genuine welfare and prosperity
of the commonwealth. We want the registra-
ton laws as an onward step in the pathway
of reform, and it is with regret that we meet
with the farcical objections from the organ of
the Republican party, whose advice and coun-
sci is deemed so potential, in the minds of
many persons, including its own editors.