Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-06-16

i he needs witnesses, their names, &C.
!. You would thereby have an almos
). iniallible proof of identity and safe
0 guard against fraud, in the voters au
5 tograph and handwriting, Then WIN
Q not compel him to read the ticket b,
t votes In these days of books ant
D newspapers, and telegraphs, and tole
a phones, and electric light, and almos
q universal knowledge, why should (
Q man vote who cannot read or write
How can he express an intelligent
opinion on the financial and com
: mercial questions which are agitating
{ the world I How can he keep abreas
) or even in sight Of the great triumphl
Of genius which ars'Ehaking opinions
and creeds and everything? Without
the ability to read and write he is {
} mere automaton-an instrument in tn,
hands of demagogues a mystica
number to swell the poll a cipher
which is nothing by itself bat counts
when put with other igures.-
Neither minors, nor paupers, nor crmi.
nails, nor insane, nor those who can { read
nor write, should vote. 1t is the duty
Of States and Governments TO draw q
line here and enforce it for their own
preservation.
1t is the next great primary duty oi
the Government to educate all its peo
pie, so that they may be able to vote
The best men OF the Nation are wax.
ing up to the great patriotic necessity
of educating the masses in view Of the
effect upon this suffrage question.
At the meeting of the trustees OF
the Peabody education fund, the most
distinguished body of men on this con.
tinent, in October last, Bishop Whip
pie, the President, said, awe could
readily employ part of our income
to the greatest advantage at this mo-
ment in more direct attempt to pro.
vide for the seasonable instruction Of
those masses of children, and particu.
larly colored children, who arc grow.
ing up to be voters without the slight.
est preparation for an intelligent exer.
else of the great franchise of freemen.
There is nothingin the immediate con.
dition and prospects Of our country
which calls more cmphatcally for con
sideration and action than this state
Of things in 80 many Of the Southern
States. Nor is it by any means a con.
cern of the Southern States only. 1t
is a National necessity of the highest
exigency that something should be
done without delay to qualify for its
intelligent discharge those on whom
the elective franchise for better or
worse has been bestowed by one of the
amendments TO the Constitution of the
United States. Our free institutions
rest upon intelligence and virtue, and
can survive almost anything except
ignorance and the vice, corruption and
violence, which are so generally the
results Of ignorance"
Society" says Mill, is "the vast un.
rolling Of the web of human life." In
this age its rapidity of development is
vyond~rfnl In the ages thau nave
gone, the web unwound so slowly that
sometimes it could scarcely be said to
move at ALL There are whole cpochs
which the historian has passed over
and marked them dark, as the an.
cient geographers did with unexplored
and unknown countries. But there
is a new spirit stalking forth in the
world now.
"There have been periods" says
Brougham, "when the country heard
with dismay that the soldier was
was abroad. Thele is another person
abroad now, less important person
the schoolmaster is abroad. And |
trust more to him, armed with his
primer, than | do to the soldier in full
military array for upholding and ox-
tending the liberties of his country"
(See Lacon, 353.)
But why has not the intelligence
qualification been placed upon suflrage2
Mr.. Calhoun partially answered the
question when he says at is an ab.
straction to indulge the folly of sup
posing that the party in possession of
the ballot and the physical force of the
country can be unsuccessfully resisted
by an appeal to reason, truth and
justice, or the obligations imposed by
the Constitution"
The supremely selfish politicians who
control the destinies of the Nation by
keeping the ballot in the hands of the
ignorant and unthinking masses pre-
vent all appeals to reason and justice
from having any effect. Like the
Hibernian in the story, when told that
he would get justice, justice is not
what they want. In their cases DR.,
johnson was not wholly wrong when
he declared that patriotism was the
last refuge Of scoundrels."
The highest interests of society are
neglected and subverted by the demo.
gogues who dare not permit reform
for fear il will tear their unholy grip
from power.
Edmund Burke characterized these
people when he declared that "Among
the n0bler animals whose blood is hot
the bite is never poisonous except when
the creature is mad but in the cold.
blooded reptile race, whose poison is
exalted by the chemistry of their icy
compilations, their venom is the re.
suit Of their health and of the perlec-
ton OF their nature. Woe to the
country in which such snakes, whose
primdm mobile is their belly, obtain
wings and from serpents become dra-
gons, to rise into power. They never
yield anything but to their own cold,
sordid selfishness. When the waves
of public Indignation rise and beat
against the doors of the Capitol, thoy
make q virtue Of necessity, and crying
"reform" concede only that, the with
holding of which would precipitate
revolution and anarchy. Their plat
form is q miserable orawfish conserva.
tism, which is always rratng about
"a happy medium, Gust enough and
Sufficient" &c. The iailor who bruised
the hemlock for Socrates, as he handed
the venerable philosopher and dcmlgod
the poisoned cup, said, ave only
bruised as much as we thought suf.
fioient."
lfit be conceded, however that suf.
fragc is a question of intelligence, aud
that this should be its basis and cri.
terion, the inquiry next arises, is it a
question of sex2 We answer unhesi.
tatingly that it is not. If woman
has all the other qualifications she has
the right to vote. Whether she should
exercise that rights a question of ex.
pediency and circumstances which we
cannot now discuss. But il is q piece
of unblushing inconsistency for the