The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-11-30
REFORM NEEDED.

4 nC lOAAOHluA AACaA |lG ivy SllNA
draws q picture which will bs recog-
nized by most people who have made a
campaign for Office. aud mentions prac-
lices which every good citizen-eVery
one who has the best interests of the
country at heart-desires 10 be discon.
tinued. The Chief says:
"DurIng the past two or three years
| we have had occasion to speak of the
abuse which exists and is growing in
this country, and which should be
Topped of without further delay. 1t is
the wholesale selling Of votes. There
| are lot Of bummers who never pre-
tend to take position on any candidate
or ticket until they have received q
bonus; and now 1t has come TO pass
that hundreds OF voters in the county
actually sell their votes every election
It is not confined TO members
of any party. These men have no prin-
ciples except few dollars for their votes
or for their Influence" Every candl-
date nominated must submit 10 being
bled dry by them, or be defeated; and
when an independent candidate comes
on the track he makes a full calculation
OF how much It will cost him to pnr-
chase the bummers. This thing should
be dried up forth with and it could be,
il all parties would firmly determine
that not dollar should go to pOliu-
cal bummers; let them vote as they
choose, or not vote At all"
We may talk about our political
''bossea" in high places. but those which
figure at local elections are just as bad as
those which figure in state and ma.
tional politics In fact the boss system
perm Gates our political system, and If it
were not for the little bosses there
would be no big ones. The bosses ex-
ist for two obiects-one is TO make mon-
ey, and the other is To crafty personal
spleen and revenge. 1t has come to pass
to far too great an extent that when q
man appears for an important office to
which q comfortable salary is attached
that he is at once considered @ goose TO
be plucked, and too often rather than
fail he will submit to the ordeal pre-
pared by the political bummers and
vote sellers. There are certain legiIi-
mate expenses, of course, attending pO-
litical campaigns and elections. A re-
spectacle gentleman who ran for an Of
fee in Lyon county not many years ago
told US that he had been com
PEELED after getting into the
race to spend many hundreds of dollars,
and that he was utterly surprised at the
extent to which even men considered
heightened and respectable made de-
mands upon his pocketbOok. The or
deal of that campaign almost shook his
faith in humanity. OF course there are
cases where candidates escape all this,
but we fear the rule is on the side of the
evil influences in politics. Aud then,
too, a man undertakes a political cam
paigu at the expense of his good repuia-
tion. There are not wanting men who, to
carry their personal ends and to crafty
personal haireds, Will invent or circu-
late any sort of Islander or political COS
sip 10 the injury of candidate or party
they want Ia defeat. They are utterly
unprincipled as to the means they adopt
10 accomplish their object.
One of the crying evils OF our elections
Is the swarms OF hired bummers or
"workers" which surround the polls on
election day. Too often they are al
lowed to control the result of an cleo
ton. 1t has always seemed strange
thing to US that voter will approach
the polls and allow himself TO be con-
trolled in the important and responsible
duty of voting by men whom he would
not emplny to do any business for him,
or whom he would not consult about
he performance of any other duty. 1t is
a serious comment on our political sys-
tenn that the ''electiOneerins" business
carried on by irresponsible bummers
who are hired at so much day, or who
expect some personal benefit from their
action, is allowed to 50 largely influence
the result of elections These practices
will exist us long AS the voters permit,
and no longer. The act of voting is the
discharge of serious and responsible
duty, or at least it ought to be, and yet
it is treated, tor often, as a mere trifie-
as an expression of some mere personal
qualification, or an accommodation TO
some designing fellow at the polls, who
has Gan axe to grind" These evil prac-
tees in our elections ought to be re-
formed, and will be speedily if the vO-
tiers will determine that shall be.
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