Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1888-11-11

ment-The Origin Of the Ballot-Pecui-
inritics of Presidential Campaign.
BROOKLYN, Nov. AT the Taberna-
Gle this morning, the Rev. T. De Witt
Talmage, ID. d., expounded some pas
sagcs Of Scripture about ancient politics.
He gave out the hymn:
Arm of the Lord, awake, awakei
Put on thy strength, the nations shakei
The doctors text was: Two cubits
and half was the length Of it, and a
cubit and half the breadth of it, and a
cubit and cubit and a half the height
Of it."-Exodus xxxvii, /. 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 Of the nation. Carried
in front of the host, the waters Of the
Jordan parted. Divinely charged, costly,
precious momentous box. No unholy
hands might lay hold Of il. 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 nowl Gone forever. Not a crypt
of church or museum of the world has a
fragment of il.
But is not this nation Gods chosen
peopleI Have we not passed through
the Red seat Have we not been led with
Il pillar of fire by night! Has this ma
ton Nc ark Of the covenant; Yes, the
ballot box, the sacred chest If 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
covenant, the American ballot box! II
is very old box.
In Athens. long before the art Of print
ing, the people dropped pebbles into it to
give expression to their sentiwsnts.
After that beans were dropped into It-a
white bean for the affirmative. black
bean for the negative. After that, when
they wished to vote man out Of citizen.
ship they would write his name upon a
shell and drop that into the box.
TIE MiGHTINEss OF THE BALLOT Dox.
o'Connell and Grote and Golden and
Macaulay and Gladstone fought great
battles in the introduction of the ballot
boxes in England, and today it is one Of
the Businesses of that nation. Ii is ont
of the corner stones of our government,
1t is older than the constitution. In it !:
our national safety. Tell me what will
be the fate Of the American ballot box,
the ark of the American covenant, and |
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 insurrection and revo-
luton.
Either gi7e them the ballot or they
will take the sword. Without the ballot
box there can be no free republican in
stitutions. Milton visiting in Italy no
ticed that on the sides of Vesuvius gar
deners and farmers were at work while
the volcano was in eruption, and he
asked them If they were safe. "Yes, -
said the farmers and the gardeners, ''it
is safe; all the danger is before the erup-
ton; then comes earthquake and terror,
but just as soon as the volcano begins &c
pour forth lava we all feel at rest" II
is the suppression Of political sentiment,
the suppression of public opinion, that
makes moral earthquake and national
earthquake. Let public opinion poul
forth, and that gives satisfaction, and thai
gives peace, and that gives permanency
10 good government. And yet, though
the ballot box is the sacred chest ana tn,
ark of the American covenant, you know
as well as know II has its sworn antago
nists, and ! propose this morning il
Gods name and as a Christian patriot L
set before you the names Of some Of th'
sworn enemies of this sacred chest, tn,
ark of the American covenant, the ballo
box.
IGNORANCE AS An ELEMENT IN POLITICS
First, remark, ignorance Is n might,
foe. Other things being equal, the NOR
intelligence n man has the better he i
qualified 10 exercise the right Of suffrage
You have been ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty
years studying American institutions
you have canvassed all the great ques
tions about tariff and home rule and al
the educational questions, and everything
in Americans politics you are well ac.
quainted with. You consider yourself
competent TO cast vote next Tuesday,
and you are competent. You will take
your position in tie 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 viii come a
man who cannot spell the name Of comp
troller, or attorney. or mayor. He can
not write, or II he can write he uses a
small "i' for the personal pronoun. lie
could not tell ON which side Of the ALLIE
gheny mountains Ohio is. Educated
canary birds, educated horses know more
than he. He will cast his vote and IL
will balance your vote. His ignorance is
as mighty ns your intelligence That Is
not right. All men Of fair mind will
acknowledge that that is not right.
Until man can read the Declaration Of
Independence and the Constitution OF the
United States, and calculate the interest
on tho American debt, and know the diff
ference between a republican form OF
government and a monarchy or q deepot-