Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-08-10
1ancaster fntelhgenrer.
WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUG. 10. 1881.

AdnCdSIer knteltt4enrff.
"WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUG. 10. 1881.
Tinkerfng at Reform.
The Republicans of this county have
become SO universally disguised with
their present corrupt, demoralizing and
expensive system of making nomina-
tions that they are, in good faith, we
have every reason to believe, casting
about for some new device. After some
ten or twelve years of trial the Crawford
county system is found to neither secure
honest practices nor good results.
Many, in whose minds the log-rolling
and corrupt combinations of the old
delegate conventions are fresh, hest
tate to return to that system, know
ing that with the increase of political
deviltry the manipulation of conven-
tions, like the management OF return
judges and county committee meetings,
could he easily effected by the trick
sters. The editor of the New Era pro-
poses All improved plan, in substance in
operation elsewhere and known as the
Clarion county system, which combines
features of both the others, and is
claimed to afford some relief from their
evils. 1t proposes to nominate by dele
gates, WHO shall in county convention
poll the total Republican vote cast at
the last gubernatorial election in their
district for the candidate who
at the primary receives a plural
ity of the votes of their respective
districts /; that after 4 certain time the
lowest candidates shall he saccessively
dropped, and whenever the plurality can
didate of any district is dropped its total
vote shall be cast for the one who had
the next highest vote in the district.
This system has some good features,
though under it.. as pointed out by a
correspondent of tie Examiner, it would
be as likely IS not that minority candi-
dates would often defeat those who had
a larger share Of the popular vote and
it is hard to see upon what principle the
whole of districts vote-and that, too,
of vote polled at the general and not
the primary electiOn-should be given
to the candidate who happens
to have plurality, instead Of assigning
it to the candidates in the proportion in
which it was cast for them. Then in
districts where 4 home candidate had
nearly all the votes, though he was weak
in the country at large, after he was
dropped, the second highest candidate in
the district might pool its 500 or GOO
votes by virtue of IL or 20 cast for him.
1t is easy to see how, under this system,
inducements would be offered for com
petition among the desperate men en-
gagged IN the trade Of our local politics
that would engender greater corruption
than now prevails, and only combine in
results the evil aspects Of both the dele.
gate and primary systems, instead Of
eliminating them in better plan.
1t may be, however, that no better sys
TEN than the Clarion county mode CAL
be devised to meet the existing local diff
ficulties. Certainly no device can Sc
cure fair and honest elections, unless il
is administered by fair and honest men
No laws hedging about the ballot-bo,
will be ellicac iOus unless enforced, and
they will not he enforced unless backed
by healthy sentiment and resOlute
men. The rogues will break through
them, and will beat the honest people
every time, too, unless that sentiment
and resolution are organized. Individ
ual effort counts for little against organ
iZed fraud.
We believe there are certain evil prac
tices in our political system, responsible
for most of the corruption pervading it
which can bc eradicated by the agree
ment of few men of all parties, all O
whom have equal interest in suppressins
them. 1t is for this reason that We hav'
advocated and again propose joint action
by representative Democrats and Repub
licans of both factions s--active politicians
we mean, who know these evils and how
to suppress them. TO he specific, w
believe that if the system of payins
voters taxes, Ofhired ''poll committees,
of assessing candidates or OfficehOlders
and of giving any sort of valuable in
ducement to voters at primary or gener
al elections for their votes, were abated
most of the political abuses to which W.
are subject would vanish, and almost an
decent system of nominations would b
satisfactory. We believe that a com
mittee of one hundred, equally divided
say, between the Democracy and the tw
Republican factions, with its chairman
chosen by lot from three persons, seIecte
one by each of these wings of the whole
could abate these evils. Such com
mittec could readily lie named, and if it
members would agree to work together
to give their individual efforts and eA
ample to the suppression of these things
and to enforce the laws strictly an,
punish every viOlator of them, a lon
way would have been Travelled towar
the necessary reforms, our election
would no longer be" carnivals of fraud,
the expenses Of them would not be
burden for people who take an interes
in politics, and money would not h
poured out here, every Republican o
general campaign, for the demOralizatiO