The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-12-06
inconsistent Opponents.

What Is secret is always suspected; what is
The above terse sentence from the Presidents
message Is respectfully referred to the advocates
OF the secret ballot. The President was not dis
GUESSING the ballotlaw TO be sure when he penned
this truth, but IL is none the less pertinent in con
nection with the attempt now being made to CO.
epee the people Of this State into the adoption Of
Maine are satisfied with an open ballot, They
suffrage.
The above disquisition is from the Bangor
Wing. one of the few Maine papers that still
remain in the gall of bitterness and the bond
of iniquity. Ii the Australian system is to
be condemned because it contemplates a Sc.
cret vote, our present system is to be con-
demned for the same reason, because that
eontemplates secret vote also. The only
difference between them in this respect is
that the Australian system comes nearer ac-
complishing its purpose than does the exist
ing system. The people of Maine do not
have an open vote today. A rira coce vote
ballot was adopted by the makers of our
constitution instead of ricd roce voting was
because the former was comparatively Sc
cret. In Volume of Greenleaf's Maine Re-
ports, the justices Of the Supreme Court dis
ouss this question, and they say:
The word ballot may be considered as op-
posed to vote by word or by signs; as for in
stance vote BY yeas and nays, or the common
mode of voting by holding up the hands, or by
rising or standing till counted. 1t may well be
on account Of its vast superiority in point Of con-
venlence and certainty, to any other mode; and
also because 1t secures greater degree of indie
elective franchise, by enabling every elector to
express and give operation 70 his opinion, without
or knowledge OF any other person.
The Bangor Wing will be able to perceive,
we think, that the trainers of our constitu-
tion were seeking for method of voting
which should enable every man to vote
without anybody else's knowing how he
voted, ard this was one of the reasons why a
ballot was preferred to uiud uoce voting.
Subsequently our lawmakers decreed that
the ballots should all be printed on clean
white paper and be free from any distin-
gushing automatically further move
In the direction Of secret ballot. Experi.
ence has shown, however, that these consti-
tutional and statute provisions are not
sufficient to secure what the founders of
our State had in view. namely, a secret
ballot. Experience has shown that even
when voting is by ballot, under our present
regulations. the voter may be subjected to
the control, influence or knowledge of some
other person which, the Supreme Court de-
clares, 1t was the purpose of the makers of
our constitution to avoid. The friends of
the Australian system are simply seeking to
make such alterations in our present system
as will enable it to accomplish the purpose
which its founders had in view. In intent
our present system is secret, and person
who does not believe in a secret ballot to be
consistent should oppose our present sys-
tenn as well as the Australian system. 1t is
absurdly inconsistent to oppose the Aus
tralian system because it seeks secret bal
lot aud at the same time support the present
system which also seeks secret ballot.