Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1890-08-01
THE SUFFRAGE FALLAcY.

A bit or Ill considered can't In news
paper writing is neither strange nor In
frequent. But articles which are pre-
pared for magazines with less haste and
revised more carefully should not exhibit
immature thought or bad logic. Strange
10 say, however, magazines often Illus
trate aud expose the worst faults Of the
modern pennya.liner.
A case In point is. in the Cosmopolitan
for August A writer, glowing with
enthusiasm, on our system OF govern
Iment as means Of getting the best men
in Office, says;
II you had group Of one hundred
roughs who were TO select I'll cir champion
for a sparring match, you would not be
in the slightest fear that they would
select the average athlete Of their mum
Der. Ii they had John Sullivan among
them they would certainly select him.
This would be due to their determine
tion to get the best. This is the FIRST
security Of universal suffrage.
Universal suffrage is not illustrated by
one hundred roughs who have a spec
ial fitness and special knowledge
for selecting the biggest brute
from among their number. Uni
versal suffrage embraces the ignorant,
the vile, the venal, the brutal and often
the criminal classes as voters on the
false hypothesis that they are equally
competent with the intelligent, the
noble and the virtuous citizen, to select
a man to ill the most difficult, most
honorable Office in the gift Of the peo-
| pie.
TO render suffrage capable Of It's best
results the illustration the writer uses
to enforce the plea of universal suffrage
proves precisely the contrary, namely,
that limited suffrage produces the bes
results One hundred roughs would b
more likely to select John L. Sullivan
than 500 people Of all classes, all degree
Of ignorance, vice and crime, togethe
with all degrees Of intelligence AM
virtue According to all know
phenomena such elements will not d
more than produce an average good re-
. sult-not the best man and often moi o.
} average man. Any one can easily ascer.
} tain that the extension Of the dut
, and the privilege OF suffrag
has not produced better results in tn
1 efficiency Of the service than Unite
suffrage produced. 1t win be admitte
, that there are bad, and even destructlv
4 elements among the voters Of this couI
try. The good prevails in spite Of then
but, only after struggl which no ma
{ would contend was necessary OF eve
o beneficial.
! Only those who are competent TO go'
. ern should be admitted TO the governin
Q claps, for 100 roughs-men with specl
. fitness and knowledge would be mo
/ likely to choose Jshn L. Sullivan, th'
d 500 miscellaneous men Of all classe
. with no knowledge and no fitness +
d anything.
d Thai proposition Is proved by Il
p selection Of Hayes over Sherman, Bristol
,e Conkling, Grant. Blaine, Edmunds Al
10 Hawley in the Republican convention
re 1876, and by the selection of HARRIS
I'd over Gresham, Allison, Depew, Sherml
at and Blaine in the Republican conventi
lg Of 1885, It is proved by a thousal
"a other instances, within the experience
or every intelligent man, where the wor
nd man has been taken, and many bett
" men have been left.
be Il is not fact that universal suffrs
ed is better than competent suffrage, bu
at this writer uses case Of oompete
.r. limited suffrage to prove the benefit
'se universal suffrage.