Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-02-03
.4BUsES OFTHE RIGHT OFF PETITION

The denial of the right of petition was
one of the causes of the original rebellion
of the American colonies against British
rule. and that right is very properly es-
teemed as one of the most sacred which
belongs to the citizens of the republic.
Yet there is no right that is more gener-
ally and shamefully abused by all classes
of our citizens, and as a consequence it has
fallen into great disrepute.
Everyone knows how easy it is to get up
petition and have it numerously signed,
no matter what the purpose of the petition
may be. Nine out of every ten men, when
asked to affix their signatures to docu-
-ment of the kind, do so rather than argue
the question. 1t may be petition for the
pardon of criminal, for a new street
grade, for prohibitory law, for female
suffrage, or for any of the thousand and
one purposes for which petitions are got
ten up; it is all the same. Men say to
themselves that one name more or less
will make no difference, and that the
chances are two to one that the prayer of
the petition will be disregarded. At any
rate, if they do not sign it they are sure to
be bored by the person presenting
the document, and business man
will sign a thousand petitions for thou
sand different purposes sooner than sub
nit to being bored for ten or fifteen min
utes during his business hours. The
chances are that he never reads the petit
ton, never knows for what it asks, nor to
whom it is addressed, and cares nothing
whatever about these matters as long as he
gets rid of the opportunities of the can
vasser. Thus it happens that governors
are harrassed by long petitions from repu
table men for the pardon of noted crimi
nails who have no claims whatever to exec
utive clemency, and legislatures have
miles of petitions in favor of prohibition
and woman suffrage thrust before them.
These are by no means representative of
the sentiments of the people, and it is no
wonder that governors and Legislatures
have ceased to regard these documents in
any other light than as so much paper.
In addition to these means by which the
promoters of certain objects hope to Sc
cure favorable action, they not infre-
quently ressrt to downright fraud. Petit
tions have come before our legislature
signed by the names of persons who never
had an existence. and some one person has
not infrequently signed the names of
scores of others without authority, simply
for the sake of swelling the
size of the list. Congress is now
being deluged with petitions of
this fraudulent character praying for ap
preparations for education at the south.
Some Of the signatures to these petitions
were analysed the other day, and it was
found that few persons had written ma
jority of the names; that many of the
names were fictitious, and that all the pc
titions had emanated from the same source
and bore the same earmarks.
A cause which requires bolstering by
such means does not deserve considera-
ton at the hands of Legislative bodies, and
those who resort to forgeries such as these
should be forever denied the right of petit
ton. 1t is altogether too easy to procure
genuine signatures to any form of petit
lions, and there is no necessity for a resort
to forgery. Those who abuse privilege
so as to bring it into disrepute are deserv-
ing of the severest censure and punish
ment, no matter what the merits of their
cause may be, and the cause itself deserves
to suffer by reason of their misdoings.