Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1890-03-13
WHO SHALL HAVE THE BALLOT
VISTA BAXTER.

| when our government first began, our states
| comprised only narrow strip Of Atlantic sea-
board. All our western territory was vast will
derness, even the widest dreams Of our FORE
fathers not extending our boundaries beyond the
mississippi But were they careless or uncon-
cerned about their laws and their officers MOI
How icalously they guarded the ballot, though
strange rs II seems now, not intelligence but
property was the qualification required of tho
voter.
During the FIRST eighty years OF national life
every nducement was held out TO the people OF
the Old World TO make their homes here, hence
territory and population increased rapidly and
America became popular abroad and prosperous
at home. Laws governing the franchise were
relaxed and with characteristic generosity every
body was invited TO take part In the government,
our country becoming the refuge for the oppress-
cd Of all nations, In our earlier history tho
foreigners were great aid In developing our
| continent, pushing our civilization westward and
becoming pioneer settlers on our frontiers, but
| OF late years the vast stream of humanity has
| changed for the worse. While our law.making
powers have been busy invcntng means to stop
| the Immigration from oycrcrowded China but
| little attention has been given TO the vast horde
of immigrants landing annually at Castle Garden.
1
| immigrants OF \ certain class arc an injury to
\ our country The later inmigratlons have In
| cluded large numbers OF paupers and criminals.
We have already drawn more largely from tho
better classes OF Europe than we can hope to do
In the future. The immigration Of those thrifty
people who make desirable citizens has FOR sew
| eral years gradually decreased. But the basor,
less desirable classes, continue 10 arrive and tako
| part In our government, and from being the aSy.
lum for the oppressed OF all nations tho republic
| has become the dumping ground for the on
| securing OF Europe. Although II Is hardly truo
| that most OF them do not know the alphabet 1t
| Ia true that large majority OF them are lgno.
rant-ignorant OF the English language, so dlner.
| cnt from their own, yet so necessary 10 them
| ignorant OF the laws and customs OF our country,
and profoundly ignorant of the spirit of our gov
| eminent. The vast extent OF our territory and
| the widely separated centers OF population
| awaken profound interest In the minds of states.
men and philosophers as 20 whether or not the
| republic can stand these varied conditions. Can
| Il do so unless wisdom stands at the helm?
GARFIELD has said 1--WE confront the dangers OF
suffrage by the blessings OF universal education"
| One who comes to be one of US, who seeks our
| shores for n wider field OF usefulness, ia worth
| more than million ignorant persons whose only
aim Is to live apart rs aliens In this, our common
home. Hut II Is not the foreigners alone who are
| ignorant Many, though II Is disgrace TO our
government TO say II, who are born aud raised IN
| America east their ballot when they can neither
read nor write. IL tho commonwealth safe In
| the hands OF such people?
The safety OF the government depends upon
| the Intelligence OF the common people II Is the
duty OF the state TO provide for the education OF
tho people, and " schools are provided should
not attendance be compelled? should the care
lessness on avarico OF parents be allowed to de-
prye the young OF al education? All the inter.
ests OF the state rest directly In the hands of the
people. The officers are chosen by the people,
from tho people. What the character of tho
voter Ia, that also will be the character of the
government, Ignorance may DO displayed on
tho one hand as well rs intelligence on the other.
There Ii no more fruitful source OF crime aud
poverty than ignorance and when intelligence Is
promoted moro than ono evil IL destroyed.
Even more dangerous than the common crimi.
nails and ignorant peasants are the dynamitcrs
and anarchists. They think they have found
here safe place to practice their doctrines of
hate and revenge, murder and plumber and have
carried on their schemes with such success that
for u time they threatened tho foundations of
social order. They are dangerous element In
our political life lifting their hands against
government which they can not understand, and
which thoy hate, not because II Is oppressive
but because II Is q governing power. II IL tho
right and duty OF the state 10 protect Itself
against its foes, and are not these men Its foes?
Is an ignorant or vicious populace qualified to
choose wise rulers? How easily they become
the tools OF corrupt politicians. Often the state
and national elections have been decided by
few thousand OF these persons who have not
lived In our country long enough TO read or wrlto
Its language even II they could their own. Is
the intelligent voter rs apt 10 be Influenced by
local considerations AZ tho unntelllgent2 Many
foreigners are entirely unsuitcd for citizenship
In u republic.
American consuls TO different parts Of Europe
agree In their official reports that people emil
grating from the districts In which they arc 10
Gated are not NJ 10 become citizens of the United
States. Tho idea OF unqualified suffrage Is OF
modern origin. by none OF the constitutions OF
the original thirteen states was the nero fact Of
citizenship qualification to vote for public Of
ncers. Citizenship Invested certain privileges
but the right TO vote was not among Them
What Ii 10 10 cast q ballot? IL Is the token Of u
privilege, and Involves great responsibilities
the exercise Of o power for good or evil. The
ballot Is n trust reaped from fields OF suffering
and bloodshed On the voter rests n duty--a
duty not only for the present but for the future.
The qualification for such duty Is twof0ld-
capacity 10 act and good intention. Every In
telllgent man knows that the spirit OF our gov
eminent has been undergoing rapid change
during tho past quarter Of u century and no
thoughtful man believes that things can con-
tinue as they now are, We hear great deal
| about civil service reform but why attempt the
| impossible task OF Purifying the stream and not
the fountainp Why not adopt some means of
purifying the fountain and thus prepare the
stream TO cleans itself2 One-third the voting
population are hopelessly ignorant OF their du'
ties. To stop this downward progress two meth
DDS might be suggested. One, system OF COM
pulsory education by the government to educate
the masses up TO given standard OF intelligence
the other the restriction Of the privileges OF tho
ballot to persons qualified to use II wisely
! Tho Spanish Republic disappeared in blood
shed because II was not sustained by an intelli-
| gent ballot. The first and second French Re-
pubcs fell before the Bonapartes for the same
/ reason and all history has blazOned forth tho
truth that government OF the people, by the peo-
pie and for the people, must come from an In
telligent people. The ignorant and foreign votes
axe the greatest menlce 10 our lTec lHstltutlOHS
Yet all these, foreign criminals, dynamters aud
anarchists are permitted to use their voices In
making the laws by which we, as American clti-
zens, must be governed. There are no classes
In oil this broad land OF ours, who are excluded
from the power OF elective franchise excepting
Indians, idiots and women, With these, chris
tian men, you are chasing your mother, your sis
ters, your wives and your daughters. Can you
preach liberty to captiyes In foreign lands, when
you have captiyes at home? How dare you
boast OF equal rights when you are denying them
to half your own people? Vile men, who them
selves could neither read nor write, have ex-
pressed their opinion that women didn't know
enough to vote. Thoughtless men have said,
women don't want TO vote, Tyrannical men,
ignoring her capabilities have said she shall not
vote But thoughtful, earnest noble men have
said" Every human being has right to work
out his or her own destiny subject only to those
restraints OF society which are applied to all
alike. That each human being shall be free to
SOW and then to reap what he or she has sown.
II men have natural right to vote, why women
have also, for II Is monstrous to suppose that
sex creates a difference In natural rights. So