The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-12-02
The NrW MICHIGAN kLEC ZION
LAW.
BY WOLVERINE.

In the political war that has ragged
between the sections of u Union
since the late armed unpleasantness
closed, the election laws and customs
of the South have been a well stored
arsenal from which to draw mlsslls to
hurl at the Democratic hosts. Tales
of a tissue ballot told through party
press; tales of voters terrorized,
whipped, shot at, mutilated and muir
dered have been told in varied form
by press and rostrum; people who
tried making homes at the South nave
returned and filled the souls of those
who desired to go South with fear for
their right of suffrage, even for life
itself.
Two years ago a leading Detroit
daily professedly independent but
Democratic in s~ympathies, sent a
corps of reporters to Mississippi,
Louisiana, North Carolina and other
States and its columns were filed
with reports of terrorizing: of armed
military companies and cannon firing
at the polls; of ballot boxes so labeled
6uu SnuL4Ou bAGb GAO uA4ObgCAOO 4OSo
every time he bet which "hid the
ioker;" of voters escorted by guards
up stairs to vote; of election inspectors
hidden by screens, and many other in
g%enious devices for "getting there
with both feet" The supposed object
of all this being to defraud the Re-
publican party of a numerous vote, in
various shades of mourning, which it
had planned as a means of keeping it's
leaders at the public trough forever.
There is no denying that this caused
no end of i'll feeling at the North. A
disc Ased condition which the Alliance
is nobly striving to allay and heal
Meantime, while political war slew
its thousands of voters at the South,
peace "slewed it's tens of thousands
at the North with Doodle and whisky,
especially the latter has proved an
effective "slewer." So bold have the
buyers of votes become, so fearless
the whisky rings, national and local,
that a spontaneous demand for a re-
form in election laws has arisen
throughout the North. A demand so
plainly and vigorously made that even
the vast political and corporate inter
ests jeopardized may not say it nay.
The use of money by both great
parties in the campaign of two ear
ago was horrible throughout the
North, and in close States and dis
tricts most horrible. The celebration
by the victorious party was a wild de.
bauch that swept hosts of temperate
men into a drunken s~aturnalia.
In the reaction from this political
delirium tremens, better political
methods and purer election laws and
practices found hosts of advocates.
Mlchigan's Legislature took the mat
ter in hand, passed an election law
which is a modification of the Aus
trallan ballot and at the late election
it was tried for the first time. 1t
worked nicely. There are few crit
cisms and those favor a nearer ap
proach to the Australian system.
Now | am sure the hosts of readers
of The Pro 5REssIvE FARMER want to
know just how it was done, because
the manners and methods of different
places differ and re all, in the re.
formed time coming, want the pest.
First, then, the new law require /
the Secretary of State to furnish all
the ballots for all the parties. These
were to be of uniform size and color.
Heretofore the local party committees
had them printed where they chose,
usually by their most partisan paper.
The new law prohibited the having
or circulating of ballots except those
furnished by the State. Heretofore
1t was a favorite trick to have ballots
differing in some way so as to detect
a mans vote; or to have spurious
ballots with q name changed; or a
letter of a name; or to steal and secret
the opposition ballots, which practices
often proved as effective as q Southern
shotgun or gruesome mask.
The new law provided that the
O. in which the election was held
should have a fence across it four feet
high with two gates, n for entrance
and the other for exit, guarded each
by a sworn gatekeeper. Within the
railing booths were erected, six feet
high, having each a door for entrance
and a door for exit and a shelf on
which were tickets of all parties and
slips of candidates in abundance
The voter approached the entrance
gate and was admitted if there was a
vacant booth. Entering the booth to
which the gatekeeper directed him, he
had from one to five minutes in which
to find his ticket, fix it to his liking
and fold it. Passing out the opposite
door he was in the presence Of the
officials of the election consisting of a
board of three inspectors, a clerk and
n challenger for each party if the
local party committee requested one
to be appointed. All others were ex
ol1,Anl Uo-AS-- L. EJl1 l. "