New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-17
THE GOVERNORS NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..

THE GOVERNORS NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
It is hardly worth while to follow Governor
Hill through his tOrtuous Misrepresentation OF
the Saxton Balot-Reform blu. One Of them,
however, should be exposed. 1t is contained
in the following paragraph:
90 far as | hayo been able 10 learn, after somo.
what careful inquiry, the fact is that in England, Can
ada and Australia where the system has been in opera
ton tho At election is ordinarily called upon
to designate his choice Of candidate for but one Office
namely Member OF Parliament or Legislature. There
is therefore, but one ballot and that small ono with
rarely moro than two three names upon H. ana out
ono ONCE TO be filed. The system may be adapted
TO An election so simple that but the greatest care
should be exercised In attempting to enGrah that sys
tenn upon our own, which Is now so complicated
The conditions Of elections in the countries
named do not differ from those here so much as
the Governor wishes to make it appear. ~
School Board elections in England there arc
sometimes as many as twenty-five candidates.
making tho ballot quite as complicated as any
which is likely to be presented to orr electors
inaSmuch as the SaXtOn bill provides for tho
separate grouping of tho candidates OF each
party. The ballots cast in elections in canada
and Australia show the same thing. II IL very
seldom found necessary to reject ballots bo-
cause OF errors.
The Governors objections are so palplbly
sophistical and nSinccro as TO make his course
utterly contemplate There is not one which
cannot be answered over and over again from
the actual experience OF other countries. For
exanrplo. he dwolls upon tho fact that 500
electors might make nomination for state
office. fifty electors for n municipal or district
hn yVpud
ballots down with "a mutitudc' of bogus nom
nations insuring the defeat Of the party in
whose interest they were oStensibly made. The
Governor entirely ignores the fact that this
system has had thirty years Of successful opera
ton in Australia, sixteen years In England and
fourteen years in Canada In England ten
electors can nominate r candidate for Parlia'
ment, and in Tasmania and Now-Xcaland two
electors In Victoria candidate may be put
in nomination by ten electors, IN West Australia
by six in the Dominion OF Canada and Quebec
by twenty-five, and In Ontario by single
elector. Yet il has not been found that men
thrust their names upon the official ballots sim
ply out Of love OF notoriety, or, as the Gov
ernor so profoundly suggests, in order to adj
vcrtise their business. II is not tho habit
OF the average man to make himself ridiculous.
and the printing of his name whore ii ought
not 10 be with the word tailor" or butcher"
added would not be likely to help his usineSs
Governor Hits theory that no public officer
would perform his duties. or rather that all tho
laws Of human conduct would be abrogatcd, IL
the Saxt0n bill should pass, would be amusing
il there were any sincerity in it, II his logic
held good to-day there would be no such thing
,i,,il nj no Ne
not create courts, because there would be no
certainty that judges would mt in them. We
would not pass laws affecting crimes, because
there would be no certainty that policemen
would make arrests. or that iailors would keep
their prisoners or that observation-disclosures would
prosecute, or that iurioS would convict, or that
Judges would sentence We would rot count
votes that might be cast for David b. Hill for
Governor because there would be way Of
compelling him, if elected, to take the place.
This is pucrile. Men who arccpt Office do 50
usually with the expectation Of fulfilling their
duties II they do not. il is easy. as a rule TO
| fill their places with men who will. Legislation
| does not proceed upon tho assumption that all
| public officials are either criminals or lunatics.
II credits them with an ordinary degree Of in
| tclligcnce and fidelity. But if the Governors
| reasoning rs tO their conduct was we'll founded
! no mans rights, life or property would be safe
| for an instant We should 60 about IN broad
daylight with cooked rovOlverS in our hands
and this peaceful and prosperous Common
wealth would be a chaos of murdcrcrs and rob
| bcrs.
Among the more audacious Of the Governors
Misrepresentation is the claim that the bin is
| unconstitutional, because il provides for a form
Of ballot which the Constitution does not con
template. The BILL as every one knows, does
not Interfere in the least with tho right Of any
| voter TO write names upon the ballot. Another
! Is his repetition Of his former diSapproval Of
| the idoa that every political adventurcr who
| desires TO run for public Office should have
his ballots printed at public expense" The
use Of the words his ballots" * misleading,
and wo think intended 10 be so. The nomna-
ton Of an additional candidate would simply
mean another name upon the list, tho increase
in cost being inappreciable
But ii is not worth while to follow the Gov
ernOrs message in detail. His uttcranccs can
not be taken seriously because they do not
represent convictions Of any kind but are sim
ply verbal subterfugeS and prctcXtS without
real meaning
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| TRUSTS rs. PROTECTION
II WINS not " carplpssly stated nv TIE TRIp-