The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-06-05
III o;vs Won no.ition.n That is the form of

| to an Office to which he has been elected he
is from the crown of head to the sole Of foot
| goes to Albany or to Washington to get an
| Office is applying for some position which
was given away three months befor the cleo
| ton. Two long lines Of worm fence, one
worm fence reaching to Albany and the other
| to Washington, and there q great many
citizens astride the fence, and they are
equally poised, and they are waiting to see
on which side there is most emolument, and
on this side they get down. But bribery
| kicks both ways. It kicks the man that o.
fers it and the man that takes it. Bribery
to-day you will admit to be one Of the might
lest foes of the American ballot box.
Another great enemy of that sacred chest
is defamation of character. Can you find
out from the newspapers when two men are
running for Office which is the best9 How
often in the autumnal elections the good man
is denounced and the bad man applauded, SO
that you can come sometimes to no Just
opinion as to who is the best man, and there
are hundreds and thousands of electors who
90 up to vote so utterly befogged they know
not what they do Is not that fearful in
fuence to be brought upon the ballot box OF
this country? 1t has been so ever since the
foundation of this Government
Defamation! 1t is the curse of the Ameri.
can ballot box. Just as soon as in the great
cities a man is put up for Office he IS made
facie evidence that he must be brought down.
HIS public life and his private life are scruti.
nized, and all the electric lights are turned
on. How often it is that men have gone
down under such things. In every autumnal
election the air is filed with carrion crows
scenting carcaSses. Cav! Cav. Cav! There
are newspapers in the United States that in
the great autumnal elections take wiId
license for liberty. They are filled with
calumy. The editorial columns Of such
papers reek with it; their columns ara
stuffed with it. There are newspapers in
the United States which in the great popu-
lar elections breakfast and dine and sup on
indecency. They wallow in it. Swine like
the mire. They give more for one quill full
of it than whole hogshead of decent pro-
duct. There are in these great autumnal
elections men sitting in editorial chairs who
write with a quill, not plucked from the stu
pid goose or the sublime eagle, but from
turkey buzzard! Ghouls! Ghouls! They
TIP the city sewer into their editorial ink.
stands Defamation Of character is one OF
the curses of the American ballot box to-day.
In your great presidential elections who can
tell from what he reads who is the man he
plauded, good men denounced.
Another powerful foe Of the sacred chest,
the ark Of the American covenant, the bal.
lot box, is the rowdy and drunken caucus.
The ballot box does not give any choice to
q man when the nominations are made in the
back part of a groggery. When the elector
comes up he has to choose between two evils.
In some Of the cities men have come to the
ballot box to vote. and have found both
names such a scaly, greasy and stenchtul
crew they had no choice, You say vote for
somebody outside. Then they throw away
their vote. Christian men of New York and
Brooklyn. honorable men, patriotic men. 60
and take possession Of the caucuses. First
having saturated your pocket handkerchlefs
with cologne or some other disinfectant, go
down to the caucus and take posses
sion Of it in the name of the Lord God
Almighty and the American people, though
after you come back you should have to
hang your hat and coat on line in the back
yard for ventilation.
Now, how are these things to be remediedi
Some say by property qualification. They
say that after man gets certain amount
OF property-a certain amount OF real estate
he is financially interested in good govern
ment, and he becomes cautious and conserva-
tive. reply, property qualification would
shut off from the ballot box great many Of
the best men in the land. Literary men are
ment to make the world better, but it is a
very poor implement to get livelihood ordi-
narily. 1have known scores of literary men
who never owned a foot Of ground and never
will own a foot Of ground until they get
under it. Professors Of colleges, teachers Of
schools, editors Of newspapers, ministers OF
religion, qualified in every possible way to
vote, yet no worldly success There has been
many a man who has not had house on
earth who will have mansion in heaven.
There are many who through accidents OF
fortune have come to great success while
they are profound in their stupidity, as pro-
found in their stupidity as man Of large
fortune with whom l was crossing the ocean,
who told me he was going to see the dykes Of
Scotland! When a member of my family
asked lady on her return from Europe if
really, l don't know; is that in Europe"
Ignorance by the square foot. Property
qualification will not do. The only way
these evils will be eradicated will be by
more thorough legal defense of the ballot
box and a more thorough moralization
and Christianization of the people. That
ark Of the covenant was carried
day the people hooked oxen to cart, and
they put this ark on the cart, and the
cart was taken to Jerusalem-the ark Of
the covenant coming with the shouting and
thanksgiving Of the people. And though
the American ballot box, the ark of the
American covenant, our sacred chest, has
been carried again and again into captivity
believe it will be brought back yet by prayer
and by Christian conservation, and will be
set down in the midst Of "the temple of
Christian patriotism. Whose responsibility
Yours and mine.
You have not only vote, you have q
prayer. The prayer may be mightier than
the vote. Oh, as citizens Of this beautiful
us do our whole duty. We cannot live under
any other form Of government than that
which God has given us in this country. The
stars OH our flag are not the stars Of thick
ening night but the stars sprinkled amid the
bars of morning cloud. We are goiug to
have one government on this entire conti-
nent Let the despotlsms Of Asia keep
their feet off the Pacific coast and let the
tyrannies of Europe keep their feet of
one government Mexico will follow Texas
into the Union, and Christianity and civili-
cation will stand side by side in the halls OF
the Montezumas. And il not in our day,
then in the day Of our children, Yuca-
tan and Central America will come in do
minion, while on the north Canada will be
ours, not by conquest-oh, no, American and
English swords may never clash olades-pps
we will WOO our fair neighbor Of the North,
and then England will say to Canada: You
are old enough for the marriage day." and
then, turning will say: "Giant Of the West,
20 take your bribe." And then from Bafin's
Bay to the Caribbean there will be one gov
ernment under one flag, with one aestiny-a
free, undisputed Christisnized American
continent God save the city Of Brooklynl
God save the commonwealth Of New York;
God save the Unionl
The late John Wentworth was man
who never had home. AS young
man he "roomed" and lodged" AS q