The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-08-31
"A FREE BALLOT.

While Journals are established and political
and defending the workingman's rights we
think it exceedingly unfortunate that the
chief and most Fundamental of those rights
, should be almost entirely overlooked, ignored.
To our way of thinking the wo:kingman's
chief right, is the right to his vote, to dispose
of it as he may see proper. Free ballot ana
free citizenship are about synonymous terms,
and when the entire members of a class are
hampered or inundated in the casting OF
their ballots it is exceedingly difficult for that
class to give a free expression to its political
preferences, or to obtain by legislation the
adoption of such measures of reform as eS-
p%erience may have shown to be necessary.
And yet this is precisely the condition OF the
workingmen of the United States, and all for
want of a secret ballot, a ballot that would be
secret in fact as well as in name. 1t. is all
very well for the poet to 60 off into a fine
phrensy when dwelling on the virtues of the
ballot and describe it as
A weapon that rails as soft as still
AS falls the snowflake on the sod
But executes the frceman's will
AS lightning does the will of God.
Tnls is very pretty, but when we emerge
from the region of poesy into the prosalc
domain of matter-of-fact life, and taxi a calm
and dispassionate view of the matter, how
are we impressed by the operation of the
freeman casting his ballot? How do we feel
when we visit the vast manufactures of the
East where we find drOves of workingmen
marched to the polls. colored ballots placed
in their hands and their votes cast under the
watchful eye of all overseer with the distinct
understanding that the mar who dares to
vote against orders loses his place? This is
the most common of spectacles in the manu-
featuring districts, and the thoughtful mar
who desires the welfare of his country, let
his politics be what it will, cannot possibly
witness it without feeling his sympathies out
ragged by the proceeding. Instead of sub
serving the purpose for which 1t was originally
Intended he finds the ballot perverted into
an fundamentally of oppression, into al
implement to be welded by monopolists and
bv them employed to deprive the poor man of
his most sacred privilege of citizenship-the
right of casting his vote as his judgment may
direct. AS a remedy for this state of things
those who deal in heroics will probably de-
clare that the laboring man should take a
firm stand on his rights as a citizen, that he
should proudly resent all attempts at inter-
ference with his vote, and cast his ballot
according as his patriotism and judgment
may direct, let the consequences be what they
will. This course is easy to prescribe for
others, but if we can imagine ourselves in.
the position of the poor man who finds that
he must either forfeit his right to a free vote,
or else expose his little family to the danger
OF being left without bread through his loss
of employment, re may understand that it is
not always very easy TO adopt. No man
should be placed in any such position. A.
free ballot should be the inallenabie right of
all, high or low, rich or poor alike, and the
attempt to add 10 the distress of the poor by
depriving them of even the privilege of voting
is the lowest and most despicable of political
crimes. Chief among the workingman's
rights is the free ballot, and to secure this
privilege the law should provide for an abso-
lutely secret ballot. Other countries are in
advance Of us in this respect, with all our
boosted freedom enjoyed by the citizen.
There are countries in Which the voting
tickets must be all of the same size and shape.
Those tickets must all be folded in precisely
the same manner, and placed in envelopes OF
exactly the same size, form and color. Al
open ticket is thrown out and counts fol
nothing, and any attempt at supervision, il
the way of opening a ballot envelope at the
polls, is an ofiense punishable by law. Will
such provisions as these, the poor man j:
secure in the enjoyment of his first privilege
as a citizen, and nothing short of them viii
secure him. Montana is at the dawn of it
railroad era, an era in which we may be SUR
''intluences will be brought to bear at TIN
polls, and as a precautionary measure on
election laws should be so changed as to pro
vide for a really secret ballot.
THE BEAVERHEAD TICKET.