Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-02-14
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Boatcm Herald, February 3.
This NTH OF the leptursH on municipal
government and reform, held under Tho
auspices OF tho Massachusetts Society for
promoting good citizenship, was deligered
Last night ut tho Old sonth meeting honsA
BY Mr.. Richard Fl, Daun The lecturer
described TO an attentive M iisnos "tha
new ballot system" Though my gddtess,
he began, will deal largely In dptalia tbs
question at issue Ia one that goes down
deep 10 the foundations Of our inatitn
tons, Il has sometimes seemed strange
to some that the Roman republic came 10
an end. Yet has II never occurred 10 Ne
here that our own Institutions rnay some
time come 10 DO thus chnnQed? II they
ever do, il will be because Of the corrup.
sion OF the individual voter. Il was cor
npiion in large part that brought the
Roman republic 10 an end. The law in
Massachusetts han provided that voters
Rhall vote by ballot. In many states
these ballots must he Of prescribed sizs,
color, typo, DO. But there The goyein.
menis have stopped. They have loft il
wholly uncertain as 10 who shnll
print those ballots, VIXEN they
shall be delivered at the polls or
whether they shall be delivered or
not. The lpw leaves TO anybody who hap
pens to want Il the work OF printing the
ballots, or Of bringing them TO the polls
Now there are 6aS different voting places
In this state, and The actual work In con
neotion with the ballots takes con
siderable time. These ballots msy not
appear at the right time, and the party
appointed 10 distribute them mty he
hired not 10 do so. Reckoning all the
tickets ecessary--psrty tickets. indie
pendent tickets, split tickets, oiHzsns
tickets--there are somewhere betwe.n
1000, 900 and 100000 printed in tao
state before election. The system is fer.
Their complicated By the fact that the bal.
lots ore not always the dsms-they are
different In different parts OF chs state
we need from 100 to 200 different kinds
OF ballots. A large party organization IL
required to do all this work 10 counao
ton with ballots, and the tendency Ia for
persons 10 get on this organization Who
are aotuated, not by patriotic, Int BY
selfish motives. The existing system Of
voting is thus unreliable. Time and time
egain ballots have been found imperfect,
names have been misppelled, It has
been possible TO substitute one ticket for
another; then there IL the bribery and
intimidation possible, and the want OF
secrecy.
The reform proposed In the new system
consists Of two thirgs-1fst, that the
government shall print the ballots, and
Ascond, that there shall be secrecy Of yot,
Ing. Ones first idea Is that = single
ballot would be yards long, bat that i.
a.. LII l., =. -
used last year in the national election :
which Ia Democratic ballot-which Il
not more than three or four inoheb long
leaving out the head aud tail OF the ballot
II contains the IA Presidential electors
and the usual number OF other candi
dates. The system by which Il Is pro
posed to print this ballot is called Tn
marking system. It is used iu all cit,
caueuses. In that system the nomina
tions are grouped together for the Office
for which they are nominated, 400 poo
pie put a cross or mark egeinat the per
son for whom they wleh 10 vote. TIN
lists are closed OF certain time 70
nominations. II Is the same in these re
spects IN the case OF the ballot not, tn,
one difference being, that instead Of max
~. ing IS -Iqany lists as there are kinda o
ballots, there ia only one list. IN
lists CLOSE IL days before htat
AZ 49, IN aaps before CITY
a,ecsion (lnAyor, aldermen, &c.) aNt
40, en- dsyB before other elections. Tn
next question is--who Is 10 make Oh,
nominations? There must be some Gmi
to nominations, otherwise ths state nigh
have 10 print frivolous nominations
Therefore, il IN provided that only con
ventions Of delegates elected by caucuss
of parties which have cast per can't o
the vote ia the last election, or conve1
tions called from csucuEes CATHERINE
under the new oaucug act, or any eaucu
Of 3 new party hold under that act cDl
make nominations for the districts con
oarned. Tho nominations are actually
made by tbs sending OF the certificate .
the chairman 30 many days before tn
election. There Ia another way of nomi
nsiiDg-thst Is, by number of voters
Our Massachusetts law proposes that IA
nominations shall be by per cent Q
the voters OF the district. But
do not think it mskea any differ
encs In which way we nominate
Only, II We take too many names, W
i'm pair the secrecy Of the ballot for th,
names show that certain number o
voters, at least, arc in favor Of q partition
lar candidate. The nominations mus, b
aligned by voters, with their addresses
In order TO verify these, one Of ta
EignerB must give certificate under oatl
that the facts stated arc. TO the best o
his belief, true. This silnnrs also have f.
be verified by the registrar OF voters Il
the names OF iegsl votors. AZ 90 tn
number Of ofiicars 20 bs elected, ~
smallest number In Boston would be IL
and the largest number, including Presi
Dental electors, 81. rhe lecturer her
pointed to the increase which had tsksi
place In the number OF Offices, Whsl
people found SO many, they often merel
looked az the head OF the ticket, IN
voted on the strength of thh., exceQI
perhaps, 10 some merely local fight; nc
infrsquently they knew nothing abnu
tho names OF the people they voled TO-
This gave an opportunity for the putin
OF names on the ticket which, under al
other system, would never be seen thers
The existing multiplicity OF cfiiaea was 4
not few cases unnecessary. what noe
was there, for example. Of mNklng "a
appointment of The registrar 81 deeds
question Of party?
Under the new plan, Mr.. DANE went o
TO say, the ballots, whom printed, orc ser
In two patches to the city pnd tow
clerks. By these the b,iiu.q are trans
mitted on the morning o. election to til
different voting places nt the sams ttm
the ballot boxes are hert. Then the bt
lots are opened for the titH. tine and %
trtbuted by two special ofiosFa TO IA
voters as they pass in. " might be oIhgi
wise proper to give tho voter blll05 m
let him mark il at his leislre, hat th'
YOU d destroy the sscrecY OF voting, M
permit bribery and corruption. Here Nj
Dana described tho polling cempAr
ments. But how was the voter to kno'
what names he ought to mark Pr0yisio
Rnn IlnI i,nd l.aa., do In Log Al 500