The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-17
THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE.

Iue American people must De the rlSnJ OF
suffrage. If there is anything in republican
form of government it depends upon the
right Of every citizen to vote, and to not only
have his vote counted and honestly returned,
but to have it weigh as much as any other
mans vote. The detected and exposed frauds
in Indianapolis, and the system which now
steals ballot-boxes and now breaks ballot
boxes open, and which counts tickets never
cast and tickets not as they were cast, is but
a part of a stupendous scheme to destroy the
American ballot and relegate this coun-
try to government of fraud and
violence. If this system has gained stronger
hold in Ohio than in Indiana, it is only be-
cause the beginnings were better nurtured.
The attempt to count in Democratic officers
in Columbus, O., by forgery-changing '.2'
to 49," thus adding 300 much-needed votes
to the Democratic side; and the holder and
more extensive frauds in Cincinnati, in which
one precinct returns 342 more votes than
names appear on the poll-books, and in an
other precinct an excess Of 43, and in another
precinct change by forgery of a figure 81"
to figure ''9" in all, as developed so far, MAX
ing difference of more than 700 in this way
only, not to mention other devices now
estimated at not less than 5000 in
Hamilton county, are all the legitimate
outgrowth of the pardon, by the President of
Mullen, the Democratic manipulation who, in
1884, was convicted on his own confession of
imprisoning on the day of election, 112 ne
groes, to keep them from voting. At the
present, Cincinnati seems to be awake. A
committee of one hundred, half Republicans
and half Democrats, are at work to expose
these Frauds but they are working under diff
fculties. One Of their number, Hon. Julius
Dexter, is under bonds to the grand jury on
the charge of perjury for swearing out a war
rant against one of the offenders, and the En-
quirer and every member of the corrupt gang
are throwing every possible obstruction in the
way of investigation and punishment. To
such an extent is this obstruction purely a
Democratic movement that Capt. W. p An
derson, a Democratic member of the commit
tee, said the other day:
"The only organized fraud against the reg
istratlon and election laws at the last election
has been within the Democratic party; the
only organization shielding and protecting the
perpetrators of these frauds, and endeavoring
to hinder and persecute those engaged in ex-
posing and bringing their perpetrators to
justice, is also within the Democratic party"
Captain Anderson says that he voted the
entire Democratic ticket at the late election,
and that on all questions that divide the
parties he is still Democrat, but he is not in
favor of election frauds
Shocking as this class of facts is it is not
the worst form of Acknowledgement. 1t may
be detected and occasionally so punished as to
deter vile men in some degree; but what do
American citizens think of the class of facts
alluded to few days ago in the Journal, by
which two late rebel soldiers are equal to
three Union soldiers? The figures produced
from official sources show that, taking the
eleven rebel States, and taking all the States
not in rebellion, this is the caae In some cases
it is much worse than that. Take the following
figures as one illustration. At the late presi-
Dental election the total vote of Arkansas was
125, 500; of Georgia, 2479; Louisiana, 1O9,-
35l; Mississippi, 12O,O19, making a total of
1917 These States cast thirty-six electoral
votes, yet Indiana, with 495, 2O6, cast only
fifteen. In plain English five late rebel SOL
diers have the same power in the government
that twelve Union soldiers in Indiana have
1t is folly to assume that because these men
all vote and always vote the Democratic ticket,
that even the Democrats of Indiana will con-
sent to be counted less than half a man when
enjoying and exercising the greatest right of
American citizenship. Too many of them
proved themselves quite the equal of Southern
bloods in the struggle of battle to quietly
take such back seat. They broke away from
party managers then, and they will do it now
The nett war in this country will be for free
and equal ballot. To assume that the Ameri-
can people will allow the palladium of their
liberty to be wrested from them by ballot-box
suffers or ballot-box smashers, by fraud or
by terrorism, is to regard them as towards and
imbeciles. The American people conceded
much to the rebels when they allowed them
to lay down their arms and resume their
rights as citizens, without visiting upon one
of them the punishment which their rebellion
well merited; but they never intended to saw
that five of them should be equal to twelve
Indiana soldiers in the election of President
or in the government Of the country. This