Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-01-09

as GneV no. he never uSeu Ine StlOl-Suu
as they have done. He never dared to
strike off names from the registry list as
has been donein the Southern States. We
are peculiarly Indignant over the gerry
wandering of several Electoral districts,
or the opening of polling places in such
and such locations as made them exceed
ingly inconvenient for black citizens
But that word ,gerrymandering l believe,
originated in Massachusetts,. ESensationl.
We must go further down than TO the
cipher dispatches of 1876, if we are to
reach the root of our. difficulty. I sup
pose it to be true that great number of
average voters in both political parties
expect, to sell their votesin closely con-
tested elections. Riding down the Hud
son the other day with a prominent poll
tician, he told me that with his own
eyes he saw, in city outside of New
England, church members going about
with their hands full of currency and
paying 50, $3,$5, for votes on election day.
An important measure was up, and these
church members were determined to car
ry it through, and in the case to which
am making reference, they did carry an
Important reform in a city of $4,000 or
$4,000 inhabitants. Carried it by open
bribery at the polls. Now, what are the
churches to say in such case? { A voice ::
s.Shame on them!''l Are you ready to
indorse actions of that sort in men who
profess to look to the Holy of Holes for
leadership? was told by leading pol
itieian the other day, not far from New
York city, that when he put the question
to q Democratic manager: 'tHow many
of your day laborers, minor mechanics
and men of small means refuse to be
beught?' the reply was: s'Not over a
third. In close election we can buy
two-thirds of all the votes cast by this un-
fortunate class. The wealthy do not
sell their votes, but those who need to ex-
ert themselves a little severely to make
the years ends meet, sometimes put down
among their assets their votes. Father
and four sons in a family, put down $25
for their votes, among their assets" l
have heard of that being done, and of a
man being elected to Congress who bought
| 250 votes, and was carried into the office
by them; and he kept list of the men
he bought and used to show it to his
| friends as matter of pride. Political
clubs of the lower order sell themselves
in bodies in most city elections; and this
infamy we sleep over; but am pointing
out the more surprising fact of the bribe-
ry of the pinched and unusually honest
country side.
There is akind of stupidity, a sort of
jocose indifference concerning this bribe-
-ry of election and even church members
who bribe escape any severe condemna-
ton, but deserve to be smitten by the
thunderbolts of church censure. A voice,
ssAmen" and applausel. I had almost
said that the answer I should be tempted
to make to the offer of bribe would be a
blow.
The Rev. DR.. Dale, from England, in a
public address at New Haven, defended
the proposition that under free repre-
sentative government, any church mem
Der who has right to vote, and will not,
deserves to be censured by the Church
and, without repentance, should be ex-
PEELED from church communion. Now, ]
do not go as far as that; but, in the pres
ence of an audiencetha understands this
subject in it's relations to manufactures,
and in State which has been accused by
the foremost orator of the Commonwealth
of intimidating workingmen, undertake
to say that when church members are
found with their fingers full OF filthy
lucre, peddling it out in the way of bribes
around the polls on election day, and
their attention is called in private to the
| %17ovv I.o Eri,, IN hoI7ca
and they do not repent, they ought to bC
elected from church communion. Loud
applause.l
You say we shall get rid of this evil by
our growth. That growth is sure to in
crease the temptation to election frauds
1t has been my fortune again and again
to point out here that the political prizes
in the United States are now greater thar
they were in the Roman empire, and tina
they are doubling in fatness and valu'
every thirty years. Caesar and Anthon!
and Lepidus were meyer tempted by spoil
as great as will dazzle and perhaps de
range the American political future. w
are as honest as most men can be expected
to be under our present immensely mis-
! chievous civil service. A hundred thou
sand men turned out and put in ever!
time we change our national Executive
soon 200, 900 to be turned out and put in
if you allow the accursed spoils system
You expect men to be honest with thi
immense patronage to be won by purchas
ing a Canvassing Board in Louisiana, o
Florida, or South Carolina, or Oregon
. Statesmen of the first rank will be honest
, but to expect fUurth-rate politicians to b.
+ so in the presence of these temptations
to fly in the face of the teachings of al
! history.
You say the young mems movement il
: politics will watch the polls in the cities
and that good registry law will brin!
: us out of all these difficulties. Yes; bu
: our cities are growing faster than the res
of the country. We have heard over an
over from all kinds of public authoritie
that fifth part of our population no.
live in cities, and that cities are the no
J beds of greed and fraud. The young me
of Boston may take care of this city, it
/ small place; possibly the young me
+ might take care of New York--it is
small place yet; but how are they to tal
a care of a couple of LondOns in this coul
: try, one on the seaboard and one in Il
If Mississippi Valley, and perhaps Of a thiI
d London on the Pacific Coast?"
t. These immense difficulties are risiu
V before us; and church members sleeE
dare not criticise open bribery in the
N own circles; participate in it; sift o.
at poisonous bribes publicly between Il
le fingers. will not say of deaeons, but
I'd able men, and persons in high social p
IN sition. "Why," they say, "we must carr
IN through our measure. Are we to be bea
e. EN- by the slums? The slums bribe, WI
e. should not we?' The reply is: t'If yc