Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1882-02-18

The National Banks have now been
tried for twenty years, embracing a
period OF the seyerest strain upon
our monetary system, and they have
proved the system to be the very best
ever established. in any country
They have gone through war and
peace, initiation and panic, and they
are now fixed institutions of the Re
public. The party that attempts to
overthrow them will surely be over
Observation-Disclosures Times.
3. With SO many Democratic chicks
nestled under its wings as the hen
gathers her brood, we are surprised
at the candor of the Times in utter
ing such cutting truism, yet it can
claim no gift of prophecy as it's pre-
dietion has already been fulfilled for
a certainty. The Democratic party
has waged warm one way or another
against National Banks from the
start, and labored hard to secure the
taxation of bonds and capital. Like
religion, National Banks should be
kept out of politics, and should not
be interfered with by national legis
lation. No government furnishes a
better currency than ours, and it is
policy to let well enough alone. The
charters of nearly three hundred
banks expire within a year, and the
present Congress should make pro-
vision for renewing the same.
The State Tribune rightly thinks
that the Democracy fears an inva-
sion of their rights by the lndepen-
dent voters of their party at the next
campaign, and are preparing for it
by precautionary legislation. The
judiciary Committee of the Senate
has reported the following as an
amendment to the bill regarding
election offences:-
And whenever any ballot with a
certain designated heading shall con-
tain printed or pasted thereon, in
place OF another, any name not found
on the regular ballot, having such
heading, such name SO found shall
be regarded by the officers holding
any election in this State as having
been placed there for the purpose of
fraud, and said ballot shall not be
counted for the name so found and
it shall be unlawful for any person
to print or paste, or have caused to
be printed or pasted for distribution
at any place of voting, or distribute
or furnish, to any voter to be used
or voted in any election or knowing
ly vote any ballot, printed or pasted,
or written contrary to the provisions
Of this section. Provided that moth
ing herein contained shall be con-
strued to prohibit the erasure, cor
rection or insertion of any name by
pencil mark, or by writing or mark
ing with ink upon the face of the
printed ballot.
The fine for violation of this sec.
ton is not to be less than twenty
nor more than two hundred dollars.
After the passage of this act, our
Democratic friends of West Virginia
could no longer vote as they desired,
but as the bosses" ordered. at is
to find its main application in the
Third District where the Greenback-
ters and co-alitionists and party kick
ers are growing too numerous,
and threaten to tumble down the
happy prospects Of the respectable
majority. You can write as many
names in place of erased ones as you
choose, say the crafty masters, but if
after a convention in which fraud
has been used by machine leaders,
,a!large and respectable portion of the
party chose to put out another ticket
with the same "certain designated
beading" Democratic ticket and
print upon it. instead Of the objec-
,tional name, another or others equal
ly faithful to the party and more
honest to the community, it will
be violation OF the revised code
IN 1O so"