The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-10-15
THE SUFFRAGE QUESTION.
Pure Elections and Household Suffrage
Ex-senator Doolittle's Panacea for Bal
lot-Box Stuhng.

lot-Box Stuting.
We reproduce below that portion o.
Hon. James II. Doolittles recent address
before the Winnebago County Gil. Agri
cultural Society relating to the suffrage
| question
How shall we save the republic from the
dangers Of frauds at elections, as now con.
Quoted, especially in the large cities Fraudu
lent voting, fraudulent counting and fraudu
lent stufing of ballot boxes IN large cities, from
New Orleans to Chicago, have come TO be prac-
ticed as Que of the fine arts of legerdemain
How shall it be arrested There must be 9
remedy for this growing evil, or republican in.
stitutions will prove to be cheat and sham
The essence of repubcanisul is that govern
ments derive their just powers from the con
sent of the governed, and that rulers are
chosen by the people That choice is expressed
through the ballot-box. If thousand votes,
honestly given by thousand freemen, arc
nullitied and beaten by thousand false votes
the ballot-boX Is made to speak, not the truth.
but 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 be-
comes an aristOcTacy of the meanest kind an
aristocracy of swindlers of cheats, OF liars of
traitors to republican ideas. OF 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 successful in
large cities they will spread into all the larger
towns. IL there no remedy? | answer Yes.
there is there must be remedy. Take a
large city-Chicago for example. Let the city
be divided into precincts 50 small that all the
voters not exceeding say $50 in precinct
can meet in one hall on election day. III
there is no hall large enough to be obtained
put up temporary shelter of boards, or pitch
tent. In addition to other provisions OF law,
make election days legal holidays, and require
every voter, without valid excuse. to attend the
elections and do his duty az a citizen, and thus
aid in guarding the purity and sanctity of the
ballot-boX. ! hold in my hand copies of the
records of town meetings in Massachusetts,; of
Woburn in 1G40, and of Reading in 1867. They
imposed fine on every voter who did not at
tend the town meeting by o'clock in the
morning, or who absented himself without
leave until they adjourned. Do you think
there was any false voting, or false counting,
then They made it their business to attend
in person. and to discharge their whoe duty.
Why cannot we do ours Are liberty and
country less dear to us? Let the laws provide
that the voters may themselves at one cleo
ton, choose three of the Judges and Clerks to
receive the votes at the next no voter being
allowed TO vote for more than one, so that the
minority may select at least one of the Clerks
and one Of the Judges of Elections in every
precinct. Let it be provided, also, that the
Judges of Elections shall be upon raised
platform, that the ballot boxes and the Judges
shall be in full view Of all the voters Of the
precinct during the elections In all cities of
more than 30, 900 people, to guard against re-
peatlng, false counting and stuffing Of false
votes in ballot-boXes let the law provide that
the name and place of residence OF each voter
shall be written upon his ballot and publicly
read in the assembly before being put into the
box. And, if challenged require his identity and
place of residence to be proved by the affdavits
of at least two electors then present, who, If
either Judge demands it. shall on oath. be fur
tner examined a. to his identity and place of
residence in presence of all the electors. This
provision would require a change in the Con-
stitutions of many of the States. These pro-
visions once adopted, in addition TO the present
legal requirements. would secure the ballot
box against fraud in voting and fraud in count
ing. The Judges of Election, aided by the
police and by the presence of the citizens,
could preserve perfect order, and make the
elections as quiet in the city as in a country
town. 1t may be said that this last provision
impairs the secrecy of the ballot in large
towns. That il true to some extent. But the
necessity of preserving the ballot-box against
fraud in large cities overbalances III supposed
advantages of the secret ballot. The argu.
ment for secrecy is this that the laboring man
may be inundated by the capitalist if he
knows row he votes. But the day for that
reasoning is past in all large towns. The la
borer no longer fears the capitalist The
greatest writer upon government we know,
Baron Montesquieu az well az Cicero who
spoke from actual observation, says that the
laws which rendered the suffrages secret il,
Rome toward the close Of the republic, were
the cause of its decline. quote their very
words "By rendering the suifrages secret IN
the Roman Republic, all was lost And why
Secrecy became the cover for fraud. bribery
and false counting in that great city. Gibbon,
also, the great historian am philosopher, dates
the decline of tie Roman Republic from the
introduction Of Secret voting. Besides. the
open ballot. publicly given, shows courage,
manhood, freedom. 1t tends TO make men
worthy to be free. But, gentlemen, there is
another great reform in suffrage, which, AZ |
think all thoughtful men should favor.
When fully considered in all its bearing il
will. | believe, command the assent of the
great majority of all political parties. lt will
do more than any other one thing to bring
good government to our large cities by placing
1t upon the true basis of human society. We
have adopted in all the States universal man
hood suffrage. The reform suggested accepts
hat, and does not propose to change it. 1t,
however, recognizes the most essential element
of modern Christian civilization-the family
its rights it, duties and its powers 1t pro-
poses to give 10 househOders and heads of
families who, for such time IA shall be fixed by
law-say one or two years-have lived with and
supported their families in the district where
they vote two votes-one TO represent their
i'm common with all other men. and
one to represent the household, including
women and children. The term householder.
or head of family in the great majority of cases
will, of course mean married men but not i'm
all cBses A, for instance. a man may be the
head of family and householder whose
mother or sister keeps house.
The reasons why the head of family
should have a double vote when men without
families have but one may be stated briefly as
follows /. Because the man without family
but one human being while the
head of family represents always two, and
generally more. 2. Because a man without
family has not more than one-half AZ much at
stake in good government a. the head of
family. 3. Because, other things equal, the
man without family il only half as well edu-
Gated in all that concerns the good of society
"A the head of family, living with them and
them by his own exertions. 4. Be
cause the man without family has had little If
any experience in governing in human society
whereas the bead of a family, by the laws of
God and of man, is trained to govern. In the
family the man is king and the woman is
queen. 1t is q little nation by itself. Within
its government all human beings are reared,
trained and governed for twenty-one years
half and more than half OF the average years OF
human life-those years during which charac-
ter Is formed and children are nodded into
men and women. Il there a single man with
out family who hears me who does not