The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1875-09-21
open voting aud Household suffrage

open foung and Household Suiirnge.
Two OF the features of our present
system OF government are receiving
vigorous blows from able critics That
Is the boosted right OF PERSONS accused
OF crime, to he tried by IA jury of their
peers and the secret ballot system in
voting. A recent article appeared
from the pen of DIR. Holland, on the
former, In which he d~emonstrates
peers, according to the meaning once
attached to the phrase in England,
has NO proper Application In this
country. In feudal times, when there
were lords, barois and vassals-castes
In society-there was some reasun in
the demand to be tried by ones peers,
owing to the prejudice existing be-
tween the lurdly and lowly classes.
But since, In this country, the practice
OF packing juries has grown to be a
fine art in many localities, DIR. Holland
thinks that society would be the gain
er II very many persons, accused of
crime. were tried by their moral and
intellectual superiors. We do not
know that his views are shared by
any great number of lawyers or states
men Mt the present time, but the jury
. system has fallen in the estimation of
n number of advanced thinkers on
government, during the last twenty
years.
Upon the suject of open voting,
there has been, and is yet, much di-
versity OF opinion. That it would
promote honesty in the expression of
preference for candidates for office,
there is little to doubt. Hon. j..
r. Doolittle expressed the following
views on the subject, ut Rockford,
ILL.,, on the 18th inst:
LYING BALLoT-BoX.
But I cannot dwell upon this theme.
i pass directly TO thnt other question
stated In the beginning. as u topic for
consideration to-day, viz: How shall
we save the republic from the dangers
and frauds of election, as now con
Quoted, especially in the large cities
Fraudulent voting, fraudulent count
ing, and fraudulent stutfing of ballot
boxes in large cities, from New Or
leans to Chicago, aave come to be prac-
ticed as one of the fine arts of legerde-
main. How shall it be arrested?
There must be n remedy for this
growing evil, or Republican institu-
tions will prove to be a cheat and a
sham.
that governments derive their Just
powers from the consent of the gov
erned, and that rulers are chosen by
the people. The choice is expressed
through the ballot-box.
II a thousand votes, honestly given
by a thousand freemen, are nullitied
and beaten by a thousand false votes,
the ballot-box Is made to speak, not
the truth, but n lie. 1t no longer
speaks the will of the people, but the
will of the few who usurp office by
fraud. 1t ceases to be Republican. 1t
becomes an aristocracy of the mean
est kind ; an a~ristocracy of swindlers-
of cheats, of liars-of traitors to Re-
publican ideas.
or two things, one is certain.
Either these frauds at the ballOt-boX
must come to an end, or the republic
will perish. If these frauds are sue
cessful in large cities, they will spread
into all the large towns.
Is there no remedy? l answer
Yes, there is there must be n remedy.
Take a large city-Chicago, for ex-
ample. Let the city he divided into
precincts so small that all the voters,
not exceeding. say seven hundred and
fifty in a precinct, can meet in one
hall on election day. If there is no
hall to be obtained large enough, put
up a temporary shelter of boards, or
pitch q ten In addition to other pro-
visions of law, make election days
legal holidays, and require every voter,
without valid excuse, to attend the
elections and do his duty as a citizen,
and thus aid in guarding the purity