, 1875-05-02

ant, salary, or Office, or even the title OF
Count, Baron, or Duke, from any foreign
Government that may choose to confer it.
There is at least one " Count in New York,
and there arc hundreds Of Americans who are
in the receipt OF salaries from foreign Gov
ernments for professional and official work.
FRAUDS n POPULAR G0VERNMENT5.
We agsin call the attention Of the people
Of Chicago to the serious consequences OF
tolerating for one moment the abuses OF
fraudulent elections We do not speak OF
this evil because by such frauds one man
may obtain an Office to which some other
man is entitled We think the loss Of Office
and OF its profits and emoluments to the man
honestly elected, while an outrage, Is Of itself
but small portion Of the crime of fraudu-
lent elections. So far IS it deprives man Of
honors and profits to which he is entitled, it
is robbery Of an individunl; but this is
limited part Of the crime, which reaches d.
rectly the political and personal interests of
the whole community.
In other Governments tho people aro pro
tected by the strong hand Of power, employ
ing for that purpose the professional soldier
and standing army, subject to the arbitrary
command Of hereditary executive. For
standing armies, hereditary executives, abb
trary authority, and royal pzerogative, we
have the sole defense and protection Of writ
ten laws, expounded by civil magistrates. To,
make these laws the people elect represents
ives, and to e1pound and execute these laws
tho people choose civil magistrates and other
officers. An election, therefore, in this coun-
try is something more than the mers choice
between Individuals it is the popular e1er-
else Of the power to make laws and establish
governments for their own protection.
While the general mass Of citizens are in
different as to the personal question whether
SMITH Or Brown holds Office, they are all keen
II interested in the honeat and faithful nd
ministration OF the laws, and in the enact
ment OF wholesome laws to promote the
public welfare and protect the rights of
person and property. They are, for instance,
deeply interested in the question whether the
men temporarily in Office b. clothed with
authority to impose taxes necessary to meet
all honest and necessary expenditures Of The
Government, or whether such persons be
clothed with unlimited power to tax, and un-
limited power to s1pend the taxes thus levied
and collected In an election to determine
this question stuh6ng the ballot-boxes and
making forged and fraudulent returns are
matters which have no plaoa, and which, #
pfncticed aud tolerated, must destroy public
confidence in elections, bringing Govern
ments into disepute, and inviting resort to
violence to defend the public rights sgainst
subyersion by the criminal class.
The case OF the vote On tho 23d Of April
for or against the charter OF 1872 Is ons in
point For several months it WAS conceded
that that charter Was not to be adopted It
was never diBcussed, and never published;
tho Common Council did not even take
tho pains to submit the question Of
its adoption or rejection IN a Ia
gal form. Assuming that NO ono would
vote for it, the submission OF ths question at
all Was regarded as mere pro Joruao matter,
neceasary to get it out Of tbs way. But, &C.
cretly, and within a few days before the cleo
ton, the criminal CLASSES, aided by soms
members Of the Common Council, resolved to
take advantage Of tie general impression
that it vaa to be voted down, and force its
adoption For this purpose these people So
lected the Ffrzt Second, Seventh, Eighth,
Ninth, Eleventh, and Twonteth Wazds in
which to perpet1ate such frauds Is, it suc-
eeakfu1, would secure majority for the char
ter. To render this fraud more successful,
there vera no clerks appointed, and no lists
OF voters kept; in these wards thexs was
comparatively but small legal vote poued,
and, taken together, the majority Of this le-
gal vote was against the charter. But the
returns showed different resclt they show
ed that an unprecedentedly 1args vots was
polled, and that there were several thousands
minority for the charter. It is unnecessary
to repeat the details Of the Illegal manner IN
which the election was conducted. What VI
wish to call attentionto to is theuniversally con-
ceded fact that in these wards there were
several Thousand votes counted for the char
ter which, II cast, were Illegal, or, if not
cast, were thrust into the boz dishonesty and
counted. The effect Of this proceeding, if
tolerated, il tenfo1d moro serious to the peo-
pie Of Chicago than tho election of legion
Of dishonest and disreputable o{Hcars. What
is the result produced BY this atuting Of the
ballo-boxes. "a the acceptance Of Illegal
votesi
II tolerated End upheld, these ba1lotbox-
suffers have abolished the existing charter
and laws Of ths City Of Chicago, including
the legislation Of many yearA They have
not only abolished snd repealed the charter
and constitution Of ths city, but in single
hour have substituted therefor a1 entirely
new constitution, which practically revolu-
honizss the City Government, srander1mg
al power from the people, Mayor, and other
elective officers, to q majority Of thirty-kix
Aldermen That majority VIII eonaist Of
nineteen,-a number TINT II both historical
and ominous in Chicagol
Here, then, Is q complete revolution in the
Government of <it5 Of 4so, 900 peopls, with
$3.50, ,ooo, 900 Of taxable property, accom-
pliahed not by ths votes Of the people, nor
By tbs votas of any considerable portion Of