The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-11-08
BALLOT BOX OR SWORD.
DR.. TkLMAGE'S DISCOURSE ON A
MIGHTY INSTITUTION.

The Ballot Boxes Of the Apcsents-The
Importance of the Ballot In Govern
inent-The Origin of the Ballot-PecuI-
iarities of Presidential Campaign.
BRooELYlS, Nov. AT the Taberna-
Gle this morning, the Rev. T. De Witt
Talmage, D. D., expounded some pas
sages Of Scripture about ancient politics.
lie gave ct tie hymn:
Arm q trc lord, awake, awake
ius oJ tJ 5.rsngth, the nations shakel
Tic doctors text was: 1.-TWO cubits
and half was the length of it, and
ca5it ard Ialf tie breadth of it, and a
cubit ard n cuhit and half the height
of it. t.''-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 outsprcad wings. In that sacred
box WIS the law, and there were in it
great many precious stones. With that
box went the fate of the nation. Carried
in front of the hest, the waters of the
Jordan parted. Divinely charged, costly,
precious momentous box No unholy
hands might lay hold of it. 1t was
called the ark of the covenant. But
you viii understand it was a box, the
most precious box of the ages. Where
is it now2 Gone forever. Not crypt
of church or museum of the world has
fragment of it.
But is not this nation Gods chosen
people? Have we not passed through
the Red sea9 Have we not been led with
pillar of fire by night? Has this ma
ton no ark of the covenant? 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
covenant, the American ballot box! It
is 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 bean for the affirmative, 9 black
bean for the negative. After that, when
they wished to vote a man out of citizen
ship they would write his name upon a
shell and drop that into the box.
THE RlIGHTINEsS OF THE BALLOT BOX.
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. 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 /
will tell you what will be the fate of this
nation Give the people once a year, or
once in four years, an opportunity to ex-
press their political sentiments, and you
practically avoid insurrection and revo-
luton.
Either give 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, lit
is safe; all the danger is before the erup-
ton; then comes earthquake and terror,
but lust 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 opinion, that
makes moral earthquake and national
earthquake. Let public opinion pour
forth, and that gives satisfaction, 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 we'll as know it has it's sworn antago-
nists, and | propose this morning in
Gods name and as Christian patriot tc
set before you the names of some OF the
sworn enemies of this sacred chest, the
ark of the American covenant, the ballot
box.
IGNORANCE AS AN ELEMENT IN POLITICS
First, | remark, ignorance is a mighty
foe. Other things being equal the more
intelligence a man has the better he i
qualified to exercise the right of suffrage
You have been ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty
years studying American institutions
Won 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
uuainted with. You consider yoursel
competent TO cast n vote next Tuesday
and YOU are competent. You will TAX
vour position in the line of electors, yo'
will wait for your turn to come, tn
Judge of election will announce you
name, you will cast your vote and pas
out Wen done.
But right behind you there will come
man who cannot spell the name OF comp
troller, or attorney, or mayor. He can
not write, or if he can write he uses
small ''i'' for the personal pronoun. ID
could not tell on which side of the ALE
chenv mountains Ohio is. Educate
canary birds, educated horses know NOR
than lie. He will cast his vote and
will balance your vote. His ignorance
as mighty as your intelligence. That
not right. All men of fair mind wi
acknowledge that that is not right
Until man can read the Declaration {
independence and the Constitution of tn
United States, and calculate the interes
on the American debt, and know the di
ference between republican form {
government and monarchy or despo
Ism, he is unfit to exercise the right {
suffrage at any ballot box between Ke
West and Alaska.
In 1872, in England, there were $500
600 children who ought to have been
school. There were only 1888, 200,
other words about 80 per cent, apd I
the so per cent not more than 8 p,
cent. got anything worthy the name I
an education, Now, take that foreie
ignorance and add 1t to our America
ignorance, and there will be in Nover
ber thousands and thousands of peop
who are no more qualified to exercise Il
right Of suffrage than to lecture (
astronomy. How are these things to
corrected? By laws Of compulsory ed
nzszsssss-....1 49, -