West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-11-15

| Is often the case that by the time n man Comes
90 an ONCE to which he has been elected he
IS from the crown OF head 10 the sole OF foot
mortgaged with pledges, and the man who
| goes 20 Albany or 10 Washington 10 get an
oisce Is applying for some position which
was given away thres months befor the cleo.
ton Two long lines OF worm fence. one
worm fence reaching 10 Albany and the other
TO washington, and there a great many
citizens astride the fence, and they are
equally poised, aud they are waiting to see
on which side there is most e~molument, and
on this side they get down. But bribery
kicks both ways. It kicks the man that OF
fers it and the man that takes II. Bribery
to-day you will admit to be one of the might
lest Toes OF the American ballot box.
Another great enemy OF that sacred chest
IS defamation OF character. Can you find
out from the newspapers when two men are
running Tor Office which is the besti How
ottcn IN the nutumnal elections the good man
IS denounced aud the bad man a~pplauded. so
mat you can come sometimes to no lust
opinion rs 10 who is the best man, and there
arc hundreds and thousands OF electors who
go up 10 vote so utterly befogged they know
not what they do. Is not that a fearful in
huence 70 DO brought upon the ballot box OF
this country IL has been so ever since the
foundation OF this Government.
Defamation 1t is the curse of the Ameri-
can ballot box. Just as soon as i'm the great
cities a man is put up for Office he Is made
the target. The fact that he Il up is prima
,acle evidence that he must be brought down.
1919 49, AAAa ANn ~ ~ aA0 AAU NV = Y
nized, and all the electric lights are turned
on. How often it Is that men have gone
down under such things. In every autumnal
election the air is filed with carrion crows
scenting carcasses. Cawl Cav! Cawl There
are newspapers in the United States that in
tho great autumDal elections take wild
license Tor liberty. They are filled With
calumy. The editorial columns of such
papers reek with IL; their columns are
stuffed with II. There are newspapers In
the United States which in the great popu-
lar elections breakfast and dine and sup on
ln~decency. They wallow I'm IT, Swine like
the miro. They give more for one Quill full
OF NJ than a whole hogshead of decent pro-
duct. There are in these great autumnal
eiections men sitting i'm editorial chairs who
write with n quill, not plucked from the stu
pld goose or the sublime eagle, but from a
turkey. buzzard! Ghouls! Ghoulsl They
tip the city sewer into their editorial ink.
stands OF character is one OF
the curses of the American ballot box TODAY.
In your great presidential elections who can
tell from what he reads who is the man he
ought TO vote fort Bad men sometimes ap-
plnuded, good men denounced.
Another powerful foe of the sacred chest.
cue ark OF the American covenant, the bal.
IoJ box, Is the rowdy and drunken caucus.
Inc ballot box docs not give any choice to
a man when the nominations are made in the
back part OF n g~roggery. When the elector
comes up he has to choose between two evils.
I'm some OF the cities men nave come TO the
ballot box To vote. and have found both
names such a scaly, greasy and stenchful
crew they had no choice. You saw vote for
somebody outside. Then they throw away
their vote. Christian men OF New York and
brooklyn, honorable men, patriotic men, 90
ami take possession Of the caucuses. First
having saturated your pocket handkerchief
with cologne or some other ~disinfectant. 90
down 10 the caucus and take posses
SION or it IN the name of the Lord God
almighty and the American people, though
after You come back you should have to
hang your hat and coat on q line in the back
yard Tor Ventilation.
Now, how are these things to be remediedl
some say by a property qualification. They
say that after a man gets "A certain amount
Of property-a certain amount OF real estate
-he Is financially interested in good govern
menJ, aud he becomes cautious and conserve.
I've. reply, a property qualification would
shut Off from the ballot box a great many az
the best men in the land. Literary men are
almost always poor. A pen is a good Imple-
ment to make the world better. but it IS a
very poor implement to get a livelihood ordi-
nartiy. have known scores OF literary men
who never owned a foot Of groun1 and never
VIII own a foot OF ground until they get
under II. Professors of colleges. teachers of
schools, editors Of newspapers, ministers of
religion, qualified in every possible way 10
vote, yet no worldly success. There has been
many a man who has not had a house on
earth who wilt have a mansion in heaven.
There are many who through accidents OF
fortune have come to great success while
they are profound in their stupidity. as pro-
found IN their stupidity as n man Of large
fortune with whom I was crossing the ocean
who told me he was going to see the dykes OF
bcotlandi When a member OF nv family
asked a lady on her return from Europe Ii
she had seen Mont Blanc, she replied: "tVell.
really, L don't know; is that in Europep5
ignorance by the square foot. Property
qualification will not do. The only way
these evils will be eradicated will be by
more thorough legal defense of the ballot
box and a more thorough moralization
and C"hristianization OF the people. That
ark OF tho covenant was carried
into captivity to Kirjath-iearim, but one
day the people hooked oxen TO a cart. and
they put this ark on the cart, and the
cart was taken to Jerusalem-the nrk OF
the covenant coming with the shouting and
Thanksgiving Of the people. And though
the American ballot box, the ark OF the
American covenant, our sacred chest. has
been carried again and again into captivity
by fraud and iniquity and spurious voting. I
believe it viii be brought back yet by pra YER
and by Christian conservation. and will 10
set down in the midst OF the temple OF
Christian patriotism. Whose responsibility
You have not only a vote, you have a
prayer. The prayer may be miQhtier than
the vote. oh, as citizens OF this BEAUTIFUL
city, and OF this State, and OF this nation. let
US DO our whole duty. We cannot live under
any other form OF government than that
which God has given us in his country. TIE
stars on our flag are not the stars OF a thick
ening night, but the stars sprinkled amid The
bars OF morning cloud. We are goiug to
bave one government on this entire coutf.
nent. Let the ~despOtisms Of Aisle keen
their feet on the Pacific coast and let the
yrannies o. Europe keep their feet OF
the Atlantic coast. We. are going 10 have
one government. Mexico will follow Texas
into the Union, and Christianity and civili
zaton will stand side by side ia the halls Of
the hontozumas. And IL not in our dav,
then IN the day OF our children, Yuca.
tan ana Central America will como in do
minion, while on the north Canada will bs
ours not by conquest-oh, no, American and
English swords may never clash biades-but
We VIII WOO our fair neighbor Of the North.
aud then England viii say 20 Canada; 'You
are old enough for tho marriage day and
baon, turning will say: Giant q the West
60 take your brioe." And then from BaHnis
Bay 70 tho Carribean there will be ono gov
eminent under one Gag, with one desfinV-a
Tree, u~ndisputed, Chrfstianized American
continent God save ths city Of Broekivni
Sod save TIE commonwealth Of New York.
God save the Unioni