Smyrna times., 1888-12-05
SMYRNA DEL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON DECEMBER 1885,
One Step to Honest Elections.

The Democratic demand for legisla-
tion to prevent corruption at the ballot
box in New York and Indiana is the
best side of the pOst-electiOn regret of
the party. IfDemOcrats at Albany and
indianapolis will vote for such laws
they will pass. In Indiana the Repub-
lican party has long urged state reg
istry law and at Albany the last Re-
publican Legislature passed a stringent
election law on the " Australian plan -
which a Democratic governor vetoed.
The last Massachusetts Legislature
passed such a law, in Wisconsin it was
applied to Milwaukee, and in Michigan
part of its provisions were in effect
in Detroit and some of the smaller
cities of the state.
AT its last State Convention the Re-
publican party in New York State
pledged itself to pass the law, and un-
less Governor Hill VetOes it again it
will be in operation before another
election. 1t proposes three reforms
the printing of all ballots by the state,
their distribution by state officers and
a secret ballot, each voter marking the
names he votes for in list of ali the
candidates nominated, which is printed
on each ticket. Any certain number
of citizens, fixed by law, can by petit
ton have the name of any candidate at
low rate per thousand.
This law wipes out all party ex-
penses as far as printing and distribu-
ting ballots are concerned it enables
any body of men to put a candidate be-
fore the people without printing tickets
and p" manning the polls" and it make
1t impossible to know how any voter
has vOted-as he is alone in room bv
himself when his ballot is marked and
cast. The present necessity for prOvid-
ing ballots at private expense practi-
cally limits a voters action to the par
ty candidates unless an independent
organization is formed. The result is
that party reform is always running
into party revolution in New York
State, to the loss of the Republican
party, whose members furnish ninety
five out of every one hundred boilers.
Manning the polls" i'll New York
City involves paying wages election
day to from fifteen to thirty men at
each Of $50 polling places. The mum.
Der of these men is estimated in a re-
cent address ct So, 900, or 80 per cent of
the vote. The number is undoubtedly
10000, and $5OO,OOO would be a low
estimate for election day expenses in
New York City. The vast share of
this is paid to men who would vote for
the candidate that pays them, but as
three-fOurths of the sum is supplied bv
city Office-holders who are Democrats
the expenditure keeps the Democratic
vote together. With the Saxon cleo
ton law we believe New York would
come to be a secure Republican state.
and but for Chairman Quay's vigorous
attack on corrupt voting in New York
City the state would not have voted for
Harrison.
Desirable as the law is, it will not do
all the work. 1t has not elsewhere
The advance made in Australia and
England towards pure elections under
the system is due to other causes. The
Australian colonies, like all our states
century ago, have property qualifca-
tions for voters. With us this has dis
appeared in twenty-eight states and
dwindled in ten to the requirement of
a state or poll tax. The English Elec.
ton law limits the entire expenses of a
candidate to $3.50 in a constituency
under 1000 voters, $1,000 if the voters
run over 2000, with $3.50 for every 1000
voters over and above 1000. This sum
meets not only the canvass, but the
cost of holding the election.
Lastly and most important of all, the
InnUpg fry aIpnfinrn -, i
and the proof of corrupt expenditure
by an agent without a candidates
knowledge throws him out of his seat.
and if the corruption is extensive NAV
leave the district disfanchised.
The new election law, therefore,
while it will be an improvement and
ought to be passed, will not do all that
IS expected, because a great deal laid
to its credit in England is due to other
causes in the act introduced bv Sir
Henry james under Mr.. Gladstone's
last administration PhiId. Press.