, 1889-03-13
WANTED, A PURE BALLOT
Justice Saufley's Charge to a Grand
Jury.
He D%enounces Violations of the
Suffrage Laws.
The Statute on Naturalization
Clearly Interpreted.

Here is the Laramie B~oomerdng's re-
port of the characteristic charge delivered
to the grand jury in session at that place
by Associate Justice Saufey:
There is one other thing" continued
Judge Sau1ey, that has thrust itself I'M
der m nose and the noses of the people
here, and it has reference to your cleo
tions. At this courthouse at the election
last fall at least $50 illegal votes were
cast. | do not mean to say that the per-
sons who cast them were conscious of the
fact that they were doing SO illegally, but
there are certain qualifications for an
%elector and l want to call your attention
to them.
1T has been the common impression
that a foreign born person who has taken
out his first papers is entitled to the right
of suffrage here. Whether this is correct
or not depends ~ where the first papers
were taken out. Both the statutory laws
as enacted by the legislature and the laws
Of congress prescribe the qualifications of
an elector. They prescribe that all citi-
zons shall have the right of suffrage who
have lived in the territory six months,
also all naturalized citizens who have
lived here six months, as well as all for
eign born persons over 81 years of age
who have declared their intention to be-
come citizens before some court of record.
The practice has been to permit a person
TO vote who goes before a clerk of a court
and makes declaration of his intention to
become a citizen. Such a person is not a
voter.
Il declare so with emphasis. Yet hun
dreds of people of that sort did vote here
last fall, and have been voting here right
along. The impression that such persons
fusion resulting from the amendment of
the naturalization law, but the law of
suffrage has never been amended. IF a
person wants to vote before he becomes a
full citizen he must go before a court of
recol& and declare his intention to become
a citizen, but II he is willing to wait he
may go before a clerk and make declara-
ton which entities him to go before a
court and take out his final papers. The
law does not admit of any other construc-
ton.
"All who have voted upon making
declaration before only the clerk of the
court are liable to indictment aud convic-
ton, and if they were indicted l can see
no escape for them. 1t is ignorance of
some fact and not OF the law hat excuses
a man. Yet l would not advise finding
indictments now for this %offense, because
there has been SO much confusion as to
the provisions of the law. 1 have dwelt
upon the matter because there is to be
aLother election the first part Of next
month, and 1t ought to be looked into.
On that account l am not sure that l
will discharge this grand jury when it
gets through with its general investiga-
tons"
The use of hired carriages at elections
next received an expression OF judicial de-
nunciation. The Judge declared the
practice to be one of the most barefaced
and fragrant violations of law ever haunt-
ed in the face of the people. He branded
it as a species of corruption and a scandal.
The carriages in Laramie flew around at a
l%ivelier rate on election day thar they did
on the Fourth of July, or on the occa-
sions of celebrations generally. In whose
employ were the men who drove these
vehicles2 The livery stables in town
were bought by the day by a fund con-
tributed to each party for the purpose of
public corruption. Republicans and Dem
ocrats alike, party candidates and those
who had political aspirations, and the
morning carried his bible on one arm and
his hymn book on the other were respon-
sible for it. There were good church
members who winked at the offense-
even encouraged the insidious evil.
Judge Saufey declared that if the prac-
tice Of using hired carriages was enacted
at the coming election, or at any election
while he was Judge, he would see that
there was a grand jury in session at the
time, He didn't propose to have the
law violated in such a vital way. 1t
would soon come to pass that no one but
a rich man could hold an office in the ter
ritory. He was a Democrat, but he had
heard that one livery stable had been
hired by the Democrats at the last election
for 81, 200. Those who were hired on
such occasions were Just us guilty as those
who Clipped in.
The judge grew very emphatic in his
denunciation of the practice, %pronouncing
it an indictable %offense. And then he
sailed into another election evil. 1t was
the misuse of 'stickers" by candidates
and the imposition hat was practiced by
means of them upon voters who were IN
able to read. He had some ballots upon
which .Judpe Garey's stick ero bod haon