The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-05-15
sneaker Reed and Pure ELECTORS

Speaker Reed and Pure Elect.ocs-
s. fair inference from Speaker Reeds
Pittsbnrg speech is that he doesn't want
pure elections. He said in that speech that
the Republican party wanted authority to
register, count and certify its own vote.
With that authority it could keep itself in
power. The bills providing for federal
election law virtually give it that authority,
because if any one of them should
become a law the election officers
would be republicans. 1t is well under
stood. of course, that the republicans do not
expect that the election law they purpose to
pass would be enforced in the north. They
intend that it should operate only in the
south. Thai is the reason that each of
the bills that has been introduced
provides that the law can become opera
tive only on the petition Of certain num-
Der of voters of county or congressional
district. The republicans know that
there will be no such petitions in the north,
but they propose to have ignorant black
voters get up such petitions in the south,
thus placing congressional and national
elections in the southern states in the hands
of agents of their party.
Nobody hears OF any effort being made in
Maine in behalf of purer elections. There
is no sentiment in that state in favor of the
Australian ballot system. Why is thisa
Are not voters in that state corrupted by
the tens of thousands
A correspondent of the New York Times,
writing from Lewiston, Me-, says that at
every important election from 20 to 25 per
Is 81. T..
Speaker Reeds district, particularly, the
purchase of voters is open and
shameless. The names of the purchase
bic voters are placed upon list,
together with the amount that must be paid
each voter. These purchasable voters are
then divided into squads and placed under
the supervision of local political leaders.
The amount of money required to secure
their votes is made known to those who
have charge of the campaign funds, and it
is furnished on election day.
1t is asserted by the correspondent of the
Times that Mr.. Reed could not be elected
without money. and it is fair to presume
that Mr.. Reed knows that he owes his cleo
ton to the corrupt use of money.
The fact that he does not dem and pure
elections in any of his public utterances is
pretty good evidence that he does not dare
to make any such demand. He confines
himself to demanding that the black vote in
the south shall be counted for the Repub-
hcan party. Perhaps if the Republican
party were to use the means for getting
the black voters in the south to vote the
republican ticket that are used to get
majority for Mr.. Reed in his district, a
much larger republican vote would be
polled in the south.
1t has been stated frequently, and the
statement is true, that the black vote in the
south is small because the blacks do not
care to vote unless it is made worth their
while to do so. 1t is noticeable that in local
political contests, where there is money
paid for votes, the black vote is a larger one.
The black voters, and white ones also, are
very susceptible to such influences as are
used in Speaker Reeds district to secure a
republican majority. Why doesn't Speaker
Reed advise the use in the south of the
means employed in his district to win re-
publican victories, instead of insisting upon
a federal election lava Does he hope for
better results from partisan returning
boards than from the corrupt use of money?