New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-09
BALLOT REFORM.
GOVERNOR HILL TALKS ABOUT 1T.

BLISS DESCRIBES THE SYSTEM USED
IN ENGLAND.
tyRox TIRE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUTE
Albany Dec Ex-Governor Hill, IT is plain. is reading
carefully all that Is said in the newspapers ABOUT
ballot REFORM I'm view OF the bills on the subject which
VIII 10 submitted to the next Legislature. lie eA-
amined critically the interview with Senatoreec sax
ton respcctIne his noted bill which printed re-
Gently I'm The Tribune and he has read nearly all tho
newspaper accounts OF the Massachusetts election ndcr
the Australian secret ballot system, now In operaoh
In that State. Moreover, the Governor IS oota'h"s
Information from other States that are making expert
ments in any direction in respect to inc mehou vi
voting and It may be added that one OF the documents
which he reads with especial interest is the Australian
Ballot Reform Act itself.
A few days ago no made an important statement
70 The Tr,bune,s correspondent. 81 have been IN
CORRECTLY reportedp said Mr. Hill, to be In favor Oh
tho annual registration Of the farmers OF inc stare
Of IN fact every resident of the rural regions Vi III"
state That is a mistake. What favor is Inc On
nsion of the registration law OF the minor ci'o' VI
the State like Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, so 1t
shall cover IN, farmer voters. That Is mol
an annual registration act the registers transfer
mans name from tho list of voters OF one year W o
list OF the succeeding year without MS perso"a"' "P
pcaring before them each year. shoulu resau q"
act requiring the farmers annually 10 regis'or '
names as unnecessary. But. on the othor manu- !
limited way have mentioned. so as to orns 'hem
under the registry laws. | disagree with Mr' SdA'oh
when he saws that in rural communities every VoI'r
knows all the rest and that therefore voting OS hi""
not entitled TO vote Is impossible, or at lcas' ."
dangerous that It IS rarely attempted. Ihere y nv
class of men so interested in the question OF VINO
entitled to vote and how many voters there are IN
district As the politicians, and yet even they are
Ignorant both of the number and the character Oh
the voters in their districts. ] am speaking no" vi
the rural districts. Let me illustrate from my OWN
experience desire for instance. TO learn the names
and addresses Of all the voters In ChemuhE Nou",''
and therefore send to the town leaders and promise
each one so much money for a complete llst vi inc
voters in their towns-polltIcans don't do anything
nowadays without being paid for their work By-ahd-
by these leaders begin TO return with their isis is
this list complete p inquire of Mr. Smith. Yes SIT,
he replies 1T contains the name Of every voterF
continue. 1T does, he replies. Then TURN W '"o
vote in that town the year before and say But ho"
IS this Mr. smith find that there were 100 more
men voted in that town last year than you nave the
names of on your listl Where are the missing men
Have they moved out Of the district Then he Is sur
priscd and says: Give me back the lst' MI hil a'
will try TO complete It,. so he goes away ana ii ne
is a hard worker, returns with the names OF MY OF
sixty OF the missing men. How did he happen
TO miss them in the first place. 30
cause he did not know them or Know
Of their existence. How could he know that farmer
Jones upon the back road going over the big nil en-
ployed hand that the saw mill man had ehgssu
more men! 1t is impossible to keep track OF oil
the voters in a rural district affirm, and therefore,
1t is that I favor rural registration act hNo9
one is as much interested I'm knowing what names
are ON the registration lists in the rural dlsric's
a. 10 know what names are those lists in the
cities There may not be fraud in the rural districts
every year but | am convinced that there Is III
Presidential elections and that the Denocreuc parry
suffers ~ IT, especally on the borders Of Vermont,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Canada. moreover
the Massachusetts, secret ballot law, now so much
praised by the friends of the Australian ballot system
provides for the registration Of all voters ana inc
Massachusetts people is an essential part Oh
their new election law. IL we are
+, adopt the Australian system IN thi>
this State or something like 1t. It would seem Is II
we should pass law for the registration OF all our
voters.
| by tho way, SEQ that Mr. Saxton still SUCKS 20
his official ballot and will not permit in his bill any
unofIicial ballots 10 be used. Then we cannot come
10 common agreement, for l hold that the imita
ton Of ballots to official ones IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
The people Of Massachusetts, did not have one trouble
In this last election which Is sure to bother them LII
| the next and that l. multitude OF candidates ior
Offices As soon as the egpstical men in the state
realize that they run for office without any cA'
pene TO themselves that the State will pay for then
ballots they VIII come forward by the scOre-cOnteni
| only 10 be mentioned among the greater mch "i'
ara successful candidates for Office. That IS not Inc
Australian system. for under 1t no man can run io'
Office except he deposits certain sum oil money WIN
the Government officials to pay its expenses Ill print
| ing the ballots Nor can It be sail that the MaSSa
cbusetts Mailing places are arranged that absolute
protection from observation IS r1ven 10
| voters when they mark their ballots
am told that it i easy FOR ono
voter to look over the partition that dlVl",s uIe
shelves 10 which the voters go TO marx their OahoS
or to exchange ballots. Booths should De eiec'eu
similar to those I'm which man goes to use a 'eic
phone but with 70 windows through which to lock anu
! see what he dos The booth could have a swinging
door and be open at the TOP, TO admit ar and lght
In such compartmcn voter couh select his oaho'S
without fear that his choice would be known
Il have all along had belief that if could have
frank talk with three or four fall-mihu.u hepuoi
can leaders Of tn Legislature we could draw up
balot-rcform bill which would end most OF u'S co'-
upton at the polls, but they have spent u'e~ une
hitherto in drawing bills which would not sign Per
haps Il NAV lie otherwise the coming Writer athough
| have my doubts One thing BATHROOM Id"
should have and that Is provision thst al cihpiS''s
should give the men in their employ Se ' S9l6 Go"'0 The
democratic VOC Is east I'm the cities between IL all
o'clock-thus 1t comes with rIiah , T" ns nm
icIupulous Republican leaders would stauon incl
the polling places Just before II 0ei9S Ss S aap
continue Ly n pr,trXt OF not understanding INC nem
system IN nse mp that hour before the Democratic
voter, could 20: in the,r ballots II VIC seoyt nc
| Australian system We should also pass inc Mlsst
chlsctts law giving workinemen at last TWO hours Ill
which to vOte' ,,,. t,rs ago
ticorg. Bl.s OF New-YOrk was here a !, daS dso
to arm, a ~ letcre the Court of Appeals Al tlat
time h said 10 The Tribune h abic 10 c"no
TO an agreement about ballot reform tls Wu'eL, iV
the corruption at Tie polls has Geeons so a. The ina. s,
cca,gs be a party question and mas raec' , hist
II Icing a National peril politicians necd NOT lhinh
they have the last Of the puTcLa,e ~ pdant,i
| II timh
cccon-thc venal voter has tasted Doou anu ne VIII
have more. II Is the experience OF lesslau :, a,u
! Congressional districts where large sums OF money
have been spent In the purch base OF vo rs .t 1T
must pass before voters of low giale iors". INC Wn
| cry aid vote without expecting any icNdlu. Han!
year, elapsed f Inst anCe, before IN; Duth
Dia District recovered nom despI ate lolsrsssI ha