The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-11-05
TALMAGE ON THE BALLOT
EDUCATION AS A QUALIFICATION
FOR SUFFRAGE.

to Assassinate the Republic - De-
famation, Intimidation and Bribery
Other Foes of the Ark of the Ameri-
can Covenant
BROOKLYN, Nov AT the Tabernacle
this morning the Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage.
D. D., expounded some passages of scripture
about ancient politics. He gave out the
hymn:
"Arm of the Lord, awake, awake.
Put on thy strength, the nations shake"
The doctors text was: 1.-TWO cubits and
a half was the length of it, and a cubit and
a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and
half the hight Of it."-Exodus, xxxvii., 1.
He said:
Look at 1.-THE sacred chest of the an
clients. 1t was about five feet long, three
feet wide and three feet high. 1t was
within and out of pure gold. On the top Of
it stood two angels facing each other with
outspread wings In that sacred box was
the law, and there were In it a great many
precious stones. With that box went the
fate Cf the nation. Carried in front of the
host tie waters of the Jordan parted. Di-
vinely charged, costly, precious, moment
Gus box. No uuholy hands might lay hold
of it. 1t was called the ark Of the cove
nant But you will understand it was a
box, the most precious box Of the ages.
Where is it now! Gone forever. Not
crypt of church or..museum Of the world has
a fragment Of it.
But is not this nation Gods chosen people2
Have we not passed through the Red Scar
Have we not been led with a pillar OF fire
by night9 Has this nation no ark of tie
covenant9 Yes, the ballot-box, the sacred
chest of the nation, the ark of the American
covenant.
In it is the law, in it is the divine and the
human will, in it is the fate of the nation.
Carried in front of our host again and
again the waters of national trouble have
parted. Mighty ark of the covenent, the
American ballot-box! 1t is a very old box,
In Athens, long before the art of printing,
the people dropped pebbles into it to give
expression to their sentiments. After that,
beans were dropped into it-a white bean
for the affirmative, a black bean for the
negative. After that, when they wished to
vote man out of citizenship they would
write his name upon a she'll and drop that
into the box.
O'Connell and Grote and Golden end
Macaulay and Gladstone fought great
battles in the introduction Of tho ballot
boxes in England, and to-day it is one Of the
Businesses of that nation. 1t is one of the
corner-stones of our government. 1t is older
than the constitution. In it is our national
safety. Tell me what will be the fate of
the American ballot-box, the ark Of the
American covenant, and l will tell you
what will be the fate of this nation. Give
the people once year or once in four years
an opportunity to express their political
sentiments, and you practically avoid in
surrection and revolution.
Either give them the ballot or they will
take the sword. Without the ballot-box
Milton visiting in Italy noticed that on the
sides of Vesuvius gardeners and farmers
were at work while the volcano was in
eruption. and he asked them if they were
safe "Yes," said tho farmers and the
gardeners, ait is safe all the danger is be-
fore the eruption; then comes earthquake
and terror, but just as soon as the volcano
begins to pour forth lava we all feel at
rest" 1t is the suppression of political
sentiment, the suppression Of public opin-
ion, that makes moral earthquake and ma
tional earthquake. Let public opinion pour
forth, and that gives satisfaction, ard that
gives peace and that gives permanency to
good government. And yet, though the
ballot-box is the sacred chest and the ark of
the American covenant, you know as well
as | know it has it's sworn antagonists, and
propose this morning, in Gods name and
as a christian patriot TO set before you the
names of some of the sworn enemies of this
sacred chest, the ark Of the American COW
enant, the ballot-box.
First, | remark, ignorance is a mighty
foe. Other things being equal, the more
intelligence man has the better he is quail
flied to exercise the right of SUFFRAGE. You
have been ten, fifteen twenty, thirty years
studying American institutions, you have
canvassed all the great questions about
tariff and home rule and all the educational
questions and everything in American pol
ltics you are we'll acquainted with. You
consider yourself competent TO cast a vote
in November, and you are Competent You
will take your position in the line of cleo
tors, you will wait for your turn to come,
the Judge of election will announce your
name. you will cast your vote and pass out.
Well done.
But right behind you there will come.a
man who cannot spell the name of comp
troler, or attorney, or mayor. He cannot
write, or if he can write, he uses a small Il"
for the personal pronoune. He could not
tell ON which side of the Allegheny noun
tains Ohio is. Educated canary birds, edu-
Gated horses know more than he He will
cast his vote, aud it will balance your vote.
His ignorance is as mighty as your intelli-
gence, This is not right. All men of fair
mind will acknowledge that that is not
right. Until a man can read the declara-
ton of independence and tho constitution
OF the UnIteQ OLdbeS, anu CdlCulhUo Jte In
terest on the American debt, and know the
difference between republican form OF
government and monarchy or despotism,
he is unfit to exercise the right of suffrage
at any ballot-box between Key West and
Alaska.
In 1879, in England, there were 1900, 900
children who ought to have been in school.
There were only 1888, 900. in other words
about fifty per cent, and Of the fifty per
cent not more than Ave per cent got any
thing worthy the name Of an education.
Now, take that foreign ignorance and add
it to our American Ignorance, and there
will be in November thousands and thous-
ands of people who are no moro qualified to
exercise the right of suffrage than to lee
ture on astronomy. bow are these things to
be corrected! BY laws of compulsory edu-
cation we'll executed. / go in for
a law, which. after giving fair
warning for few Years, shall
make ignorance crime. There is no ex-
cuse for ignorance on these subjects in this
land, where the common schools make
knowledge as free as tho fresh air of
heaven. | would have a board of examina-
ton seated beside the officers Of registra-
ton, and let them decide whether the men
who came up to vote have any capacity
to be monarchs in a land whore we
are all monarchs One OF the most awful
foes Of the American ballot-box to-day is
popular Ignorance. Educate the people,
give them an opportunity 70 know and I'M
derstand what they do. III they will not
taka tho education DENY them the vote