The examiner., 1882-02-18
I.

slon or the people at the polls? Let us see. There are few people who pay for a vote before the vote is cast As rule the man who buys, or agrees to pay for the vote of another, has so little conf dence ill the honesty or integrity of the man who will sell his vote, that he de- mands to see the vote cast himself, or that some one in whom he has confidence shall see it cast, before he pays the considera- tiOn.
 By the provisions of the bill before the legislature it becomes an impossibility for one man to know or see the vote an- other casts, for the elector is required to enter room where no human eye can see him, and there enclose the ballot he shall vote in his electors envelope and seal the same before leaving such room, and no matter how eagle-eyed man may be his gaze cannot penetrate the folds of that envelope and see what is enclosed therein. When the security of 8 purchase is de- stroyed, the desire to purchase, or at least the custom of purchasing is destroyed with it. No man would buy houses, lands or property of any kind, except he could be secure ill the possession and enjoyment of the property bought. No more would any man pay consideration for vote without some security that the vote bought would be cast as directed. By the provisions of this bill no such security could be had, therefore if the bill was passed the custom of buying votes in our state would be stopped at once and for ever.
 It would prevent the bulldozing of em- ployees by their employers, for under the operation of this proposed act the em- ployer might indicate to his operative in any manner, by threat or otherwise. that it would be for has interest to vote a cer- tain ticket, his promise would convey no hope of reward, his threat would be dis armed of it's terrors, it would carry no danger, it would convey no menace. for the operative would know that i'll that secret room he could assert has manhood and vote the ticket he pleases without danger to himself or family, for no eye but his own could see the ballot he had enclosed in his envelope.
 Nooc it is these t,co things, the buying of the roter and the intimidation of the voter, that is corrupting our people, that is pre- venting fair elections, and that must be stopped if the government is long pre- served. It is at the life of these two things that this bill strikes. Pass it and the ille- gitimate use of money in elections will be stopped. Pass it and the buying of the voter and the intimidation of the voter in our state will instantly cease, for there will be no security for the purchase or effect to the intimidation. Laws that shut the door against the commission of crime are much wiser and much better for the people than those that leave the door open for the crime to be committed, and then provide for the punishment after ward. If the desire to sin could be de- stroyed, providing penalties for sin would be useless. The object of this bill is to destroy the security of the purchase, and therefore the desire to purchase, for if there were no anticipated or actual profit in buying there would be no buying.
 But there is another thing this bill if passed would prevent, and that is the pos sibility of stuffing the ballot-box. Under our present system of voting there are many opportu mites for the interruptions and designing Especially if in collusion with the box tender), to cast double or even more than double ballots, with scarce a possibility of detection. This matter was practically illustrated to the committee at the hearing they gave the visions of the bill, no elector can secure more than one electors envelope to be used at one election, and as all ballots are to be enclosed in the one envelope, with scarcely possibility of committing fraud in the counting, so the possibility of stuff ing the ballot-box would be destroyed. This consideration alone ought to be suf1- | legislature.
 The provisions of the bill are indeed simple, and while it would not in any manner interfere with the rights of the voter it would secure fair expression of the people at the polls and an honest cleo tion, for in the absence of corrupting influences, whether enforced or otherwise, our people are proverbially honest. It IS a1, arions that aohere the fountdin is impure, | tue SLTeuHI UEuSt Oe fHtpNTS. 1uo IOuutdlu of power in a republic is in the people. If the people become corrupt the govern ment must soon become corrupt, and as corruption works destruction the govern ment must soon fall. The perpetuity of a republic then, depends upon the honesty, the integrity of the people. The right to the ballot is indeed ''the right preseruatiUe of au rights" How necessary then that it should be pure. and how great is the responsibility resting upon the legislature to provide for that purity. Will the leg islature meet this responsibility? Are there enough of them who really love rep lblican institutions who desire to pre- serve and perpetuate them. who will for once sink the politician in the patriot and pass this bill to provide for the purity of the ballot? We shall see. Gentlemen, we call for the yeas and nays.
 | The Connecticut humane society got James Wilson of Parkville fined $1O and costs recently for starving COW and stabling her in cold ricketty shed, and