Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-10-10
FAC-SIMILE OF GEORGE r. TOPP'S LETTER.

, biggest lie, the most unmitigated, unconsciona-
| BILE falsehood that has ever been perpetrated
| on me-and that means a great deal, for the
| last time ran for Congress I used to get from
! three to six columns day in the Commercial
| Gazette-the worst one is the insinuatioR in
| that paper and which was made indirectly .
| dozen times in the speeches Of a fellow-citizen
| OF yours-the insipuation the charge that
have anywhere, at any time or any place. said
| one word against the Election laws or Regis
tration laws or Election Board or the Police
Board of Cincinnati. [Applause.1 will tell
/ you what have done: have ripped up the
back, :" as the slang phrase is, the attempt Of
| Governor Foraker to make partisan boards out
| of what the law and the people intended should
| be non-partisan boards. [Applause.1 I have
! attacked one feature only Of the Election laws
Mr.. Jordan explaine ed why. It is perfectly under
| stood. I have attacked the right of a man who
| is running against me having
THE CONTROL OF THE ELECTION BOARDS
| OF the State when are candidates for the
| same office. I don't care how good man he ia
| The worst Election Boards he would appoint
the quicker the people would see their danger
and get rid of it. have said that favored any
thing that would purify the ballot. don't oare
If it is the Australian system or the Chinese
system, if they have one, or any other, that will
enable the people under an actual non-partisan
Board to have their ballots cast and counted, I
am in favor OF any such law. EApplause.J Now,
I charge here, and have charged every where
upon the Governor that while the law compels
him, far it IS possible to do to make his
Election Boards bipartisan, that he, SO far as
lies in his power, has attempted to mako them
partisan. Who passed the non-partisan elec-
tion lawi Why, there sits Judge Wilson, one
of the gentlemen, who has been elegantly de-
nominated by the same newspapers that have
complimented highly as one OF the -four
frauds" [Laughter.l
Don't blush, Judge, am proud Of you. Whyf
For various reasons, but for one that you and
the other three gentlemen who have been
sTIGMATIZED IN THIS MANNER AND LIED ABOUT,
Have put actual nonpartisan election law
on the statute book. But as soon as they got
you out and the Republicans in they COM
menced to tinker with the non-partisan board.
Before that the Election Board in this
city, and at the time it was the only one
existing had the right to select its own clerk.
They changed all that, looking not to the city
of Cincinnati alone, but to other cities in the
State which were subsequently bound in the
ordinary course OF events to be taken charge Of
in some manner. and their elections also regu-
lated. Thereupon they inserted in that statute
a provision that the Governor should ap-
point the clerk. Now, tell me why that
was done? You have two Demo
Gratis and two Republicans on your
Board. You have four excellent men on your
Board. Are not those four men of different
politics more likely to select a clerk who will
attend to his business and let the people alone
and not meddle with their rights than one ap-
pointed by the Governor. who has diseased
ambition to remain forever in Office. lApplause.l
II they had intended that the election laws
should do their duty as they ought to- and as they
do where the boards are left alone they
would have left that provision remain in the
statutes; but they did not. and what did the
Governor do? They created altogether seven
teen Boards. AS Mr. Jordan had said the Gov
ern0r appointed seventeen clerks for the
seventeen Boards, and seventeen Of them were
Republicans. ALI the rest we're Democrats.
Laughter. i Because I criticise this as
NOT FAIR EXECUTION OF THE LAW,
Because l said the Governor. if he wanted non
partisan Boards. such the people wanted,
would occasionally have found Democrat or at
least Prohibitionist to take the place, he
said that my opposition to the execution of the
law was because OF the character of the clerks
be had appointed. ] don't know any thing