The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-11-16
THE BALLOT BOX.
Dr.. Talmege Discourses on an I'm
portant Subject

Americas Mighty Ark of the Coyenant-
The Nations acknowledgements IL
legal Voting and Bribery Denounced
The Duty OF All People.
On Sunday before the general election
DR.. Talmage preached ar Brooklyn from
| the text: "fwo cubits and q half was the
length of it, and a cubit and a half the
breadth of it. and cubit and a half the
height Of it," Exodus xxxvii. 1. He said:
Look at 1.-THE sacred chest of the au-
cieIeS- IL 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 of the nation. Carried in front OF
the host, the waters of the Jordan parted.
Divinely charged, costly, precious, mo-
mentous box. No unholy hands might Law
hold Of it 1t was called the ark of the
covenant. But you will understand it was
box, the most precious box of the ages.
Where is it now, Gone forever. Not a
crypt Of church or museum of the world
has fragment of it.
But is not this Nation Gods chosen peo-
pie? Have we not passed through the Red
sea? Have we not been led with a pillar
of fire by night: Has this Nation no ark
of the covenant, Yes. the ballot box. the
sacred chest of the Nation, the ark of the
covenant In it is the law, in it is the d.
vi nd he hny will in, is tho "a
OF the Nation. Carried in front of our
host again and again the waters of Ma
tional trouble have parted. Mighty ark
Of the covenant, the American ballot box
1t is a very old box.
In Athens, long before the art of print
ing, the people dropped pebbles into it to
give expression to their sentiments. After
that, beans were dropped into it-a white
the negative. After that when they
wished to vote man out of citizenship,
they would write his name upon a shell
and drop that into the box.
O'Connell and Grote and Golden and
Macaulay and Gladstone fought great bat
ties in the introduction of the 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
1 will tell you what will be the fate Of this
Nation. Give the people once year, or
once in four years, an opportunity to ex-
press their political sentiments and you
practically avoid in surrection and revolu-
ton. Either give them the ballot or they
will take the sword. Without the ballot
box there can be no free republican insti-
tutions. Milton visiting in Italy noticed
that on the sides of Vesuvius gardeners
and farmers were at work while the vol
cano was in eruption. and he asked them
If they were safe. Yes" said the farm
ers and gardeners, sit is safe; and all the
danger is before the eruption; then comes
earthquake and terror, but just as soon as
the volcano begins to pour forth lava we
all feel at rest" It is the suppression of
political sentiment, the suppression of
public opinion. that makes moral earth
quake and national earthquake. Let pub
lie opinion pour forth, and that gives sat-
isfaction, and 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 1 know it
has its 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
covenant the ballot box.
First 1 remark, ignorance is a mighty
10 hair 81 tha
intelligence a man has the better he is
qualified 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 every thing in
American politics you are well 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 electors, 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 can not spell the name of
or attorney or mayor. He
can not write, or if he can write he uses
a small ''i' for the personal pronoun. He
could not tell on which side of the Allie
ghany Mountains Ohio is. Educated can
ary birds, educated horses know more
than he. He will cast his vote and it will
balance your vote. His ignorance is as
mighty as your intelligence. That is not
right. All men of fair mind will ackuowl-
edge that is not right. Until a man can
read the Declaration of Independence, of
the Constitution of the United States, and
the interest on the public debt.
aud know the difference between a repub-
lican form of government and a monarchy
or despotisn. he is unfit to exercise the
right of suffrage at any ballot box be-
tween Key West and Alaska.
In 1872 in England there were ., 6o0. 900
children who ought to have been in school.
There were only /, SS:;3, 00o-in other words
about 30 per cent, and of the 80 per cent.
not more than 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 thousands !
Of people who are no more quali- |
led to exercise the right of suffrage |
han to lecture on astronomy. How are |
these things to be corrected. By laws of |
education well executed. |
90 in for a law which, after giving fair |
warning for a few years, shall make igno-
-ance a crime. There is no excuse for |
ignorance on these subjects in this land,
y here the common schools make knowl-
.dge as free as the fresh air of Heaven. / |
would have a board Of examination seated |
beside the officers of administration and
ct them decide whether the men who
,ome up to vote have any capacity TO be
nonarchs In land where we are all mon