Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-10-24

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IN THE REFORMED BALLOT BOOTH
from ballet, but such, it seems to me.
could not have been the case. espe-
cially the secret ballot
The ancient Greeks selected their
magistrates or decided political ques-
tons by secret vote, for which purpose
they used different colored beans. At
one time they used only the pole beans
Hence the term, from the Greek, going
to the polls" 1t was one of the most
interesting and thrilling sights, we are
told, to see the Greek on election day
selecting his ballot from the bean bag
before casting it
In the selection of candidates certain
colored beans were chosen by the prima-
ries TO correspond with the candidates
they were to represent. Sometimes a
packed primary would decide on style
of bean to be cast for an unpopular can
didate, knowing that the last quart OF
that brand of bean had been eaten at
breakfast the previous Sunday. Had
that happened here style of vulcanized
rubber bean of the same general appear
ance would have been made in the night.
The Greek origin of Boston is established
by the history of the ballot, think
At Athens the dicasts-whatever that
may be--used in giving their verdicts
balls of stone called psephi, or of metal
called sponduh. whence comes the term
spondulix or money. which has also been
associated more or less with the ballot
throughout the history of the world.
Those pierced i'll the center or black in
color signified condemnation, and
though this, of course, was hardly politi-
Cal balloting it soon led to it.
Petalism, which was so popular in
Syracuse at an early day, term which
has nothing to do whatever with pessi-
mism, was system of voting by words
written upon the leaves of the olive. BY
using the plain leaf the voter signifed
al give you leave;" but by making GER
tain other Greek characters on the ballot
it meant Leave the Office alone" Or it
might be marked so as to mean I'VE
beleave not in you"
The Romans first monkeyed with the
divine right of suffrage in the year 139
B. c., using wooden tabellB placed in
the cista-a sort of basket or wicker
box. These We're marked q. r. (uti
rogas) or A. tantiquo) in the case of
proposed law, and l.. flibro) or d. dam
MOI in the case of public trial. The
Roman custom of using the word damno
upon casting the ballot has given rise to
the custom by which politics and profan-
| ity are still seen so often going hand in
hand down TO drunkard's grave, to
see if he is in it, and, if not, with the
idea of utilizing it themselves.
| have an idea that the Australian
ballot was also used in Rome at least a
certury before the birth of Christ, for it
| e c fact that at that period the wooden
| tables used as ballots contained the
names of both the candidates, and had
puncta or holes opposite the name used
] or voted for
| In Great Britain the ballot was first
used in 1862 by the Scots parliament in
| proceedings in the ''Billeting act, which
was measure for ostracising and other
wise disfiguring a few political oppo-
nents. Each member of parliament wrote
in disguised hand on a piece of paper
the names of twelve people whom he
didn't like and whom he would be glad
to ostracise, or at least help hold while
some one else did it.
These names were put in bag, which
was at once sealed up and sent to the
exchequer chamber. The king repudi-
ated this act, however, in 1905. At the
| present time voting is done in Great
Britain a good deal the same as it will
be done in this state hereafter. A cross
Is made after the name of the candidate
who is voted for, the names being in al
phabetical order on the ballot Each
voter has chance to go and commune
with himself while thinking who he will
vote for. For this purpose he has little
booth, to which he can secretly retire
along with his numbered or stamped bal
lot, and unless his thoughts are highly
vociferous they cannot be heard outside
the booth, or. if heard, they will be SO
indistinct that the law is really COM
piled with in spirit at least.
Australia has good method, which is
called the Kangaroo method, and has
worked so well that canvassing for votes
has practically disappeared there, and
sheep stealing is ON the decrease. You
are of course familiar with this method
more or less, Thorndyke, and SO l need
not go into detail, but the principle is
there as well as here, that even if you
buy voter you can never feel sure that
he will not be replevied by some one else.
A man who will sell his vote will also
lie, or leave his honor in the Grand Cen
trail depot; therefore you can never feel
sure of a vote unless after buying it you
see that it is deposited and counted,
or counted at least. This method will
insure secrecy, and also give the voter
while in the booth chance to think over
his past life. If permissible, thrilling
notices in red yarn could be hung up in
these booths, asking the voter If he has
used Blair's soap, and also bidding him
good morning in bright and clipper
tone.
Some murmuring is being done here,
of course, regarding the great expense
the city will be at or to in order to fit
up ballots and little retiring rooms or
considering places, but if we are doing
right we must not pause to reckon up
the expense
Inc tStlIlldttu CusJ Oh our Iali election
here is 1854, 743. and there is a great deal
of complaint over this, especially by
those who do not see any immediate
prospect of getting some of it. The
money will go almost directly to the
paper man, the printer and the carpenter,
at least as near as you can make half
riillion dollars go in New York to the
man it was destined for Naturally
some of it win stick to those whose adj
hesive palms are extended especially in
the fall of the year: but am betting ON
the beauties of this ballot. and now if
the good men who battle viii also ballot
there will be a great light dawn on the
future, and its rosy rays will even stab
their little ruddy promises into the dark
and noisome pestilential political pres
ent
Some day" as heard bright young
voice singing not long ago, ..some day
know not when the day may be-" the
time will come, Thorndyke,- when
elections will grow wider and wider
apart. One election viii do for as much
as two or three years, and the campaign