The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-05-04
NOT MUCH A BLUNDER.

We assert the simple proposition that
free right to vote Il. Cordiug Ia law AID
H. have the vote counted is the iourda-
ton of american representative govern
mcnl. Representation i'll congress and
la Tia" electoral college is appOrllomcd
on the basis of population, and Il large
portion of that population in certain srr-
tons rs VIGOROUSLY excluded from the
exercise of the suffrage. a narrow ma
ioritv of the house Of representatives. is
thus maintained, which threatens to en-
act radical legislation hostile to the in
tere>t> of our country. Such govern
ment is no longer free, but Lyramnical.
With due consideration for the difficult
ties al the situation, we demand of con-
or, So that it enact such legislation as
shall secure fair elections for members
Of congress and the electoral college.
The above is from the PENNSYLVANIA
Republican platform and til" Minnrap"-
lis Star has the assurance to call 1t the
"waving of the bloody shirt" AMI "ays
it is great blunder for the Republican
party To uphold such sentiments. The
editor of the Star had better be careful
how he advocates ballot box stufling aud
wholesale suppression of the rights of
voters and should remember that he
does not live in the solid South where
such methods and practices are popular.
He SAYS:
1t is just such ill-advised threats
as that embodied in the above quo
tation tiat keeps the Sbuth S"!id.
Self protection sug .ests the solidarity of
~ If nf nal
control Of elections be Withdrawn, and
last weeks Democratic majority in
Louisiana of 50, 600 will gradually he re-
duced by the natural force of cream
stances.
In this the Star man upholds the mon-
strous crime by which thousands of
voters rs much entitled to have their
votes counted as is this editor ar" dis
franchised; and not only that, but by
this crime the vote of IL Southern Demo
crat is made to count five or ten tunes a.
much in the election of Congressman as
a Northerner's, and through that fact
the Solid south is enabled to retain con-
troll of the House of Representatives..
That the perpetrators of this outrage
upon the country should have sympa-
thizers in the North is no more sur
prisiug than that when the South at
tempted to destroy the Union il should
find friends in the loval states. Bat it is
surprise that the editor of Il paI er
which expects the support of freedo;a
loving, loyal community should openly
uphold the crime by which lic admits
the negro vote of the South is suppress
ed. 1t is not TO be supposed that Na-
tional inter ference with elections in
Minnesota will ever become necessary,
from the reason that public scntiment
in this state would prevent he occurrence
of such frauds and election methods AS
are allowed to 20 on in the name of
"self protection" in the South Bat if
the tune ever came when the honest
people OF the state were not able t. pre-
vent such crimes they would not he
slow to invoke Federal aid, and that is
just what should be given Southern
states. This question is one which will
have to be solved in the near future as
the people of this country will not much
longer submit to so terrible Il wrong, and
if to denounce it and demand its remedy
is waving the bloody shirt" it Is likely
to become a familiar sight, even though
it may provoke such bursts of condemna-
ton as the Star INDUCES IN. 1t is being
pretty clearly demonstrated that senti-
mentality don't go with the bulldozers
IN Louisiana and there is need of a more
severe remedy.