The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-02-08


immemoral usage has given US. The
ruling to suppress fihbustering which
Mr.. Reeds Republican associates in
the House has sustained, has the sane
ton OF the highest parliamentary au-
thorlty, and is the law of the land. and
as MIR. Reed forcibly says. "it ought to
be, if good government is not to perish
from the face of the earth"
blot Reform Demanded by the
People.
$hile the Democratic managers at
annapolis are endeavoring to defeat the
passage of the modified Australian Bal
lot Law on the grounds that it disfran-
chises illiterate voters, it has been
clearly demonstrated, that this class of
voters will be better able to vote under
the proposed law than under the pres
ent system simply because the Official
Ballots will be published in the news
papers in advance of an election, and
the voter who cannot read, but who
desires to vote with his party, can easily
famlliarize himself with the ballots, so
when he enters the private voting com
paItment he can select the candidates
he wishes to vote for. Ex-Judge Fisher
whose Democracy, no one who knows
him will doubt, accompanied delega
ton to Annapolis ON Tuesday, and in
very emphatic language urged the a
doption of the Australian System not
only because it practically prevented
bribery at ell ctions, but because his
party had pledged itself to the adoption
of such reformed ballot system at the
last election. Given If there had been
no promises" says Judge Fisher, "wby
should not this committee give US this
law7 We cannot shut our eyes to the
evils that have clustered about the
franchise in the past. Take the subject
OF bribery. IT is notifying to be com
PEELED to recognize such a thing in
Maryland, but brides, masked under the
name of election expenses, have been
effective. Those in politics know that
for years there has been use of money
to get members of their own party to
vote, to say nothing of winning votes
from the other side. This law is not
for the purpose of Furnishing election
frauds, but for the higher purpose of
.2reventing frauds before they have
chance TO occur.
"Under the Australian system the
voter goes into the room, receives an
official ballot identified by the signature
of the election clerk. He goes then
to window privately and marks oppo
site to the names of those for whom ne
desires to vote, and then casts the bal
lot as now provided. Take the other
system. A bribed voter has the agent
of the brlber with him, who sees him
cast his ticket. By the Australian sys-
tenn the voter and the agent are separa-
ted, and even if voter is found who is
willing to prostitute his integrity and
honor, will he be trusted1 The lncen-
tive is gone, for the briber does not
know if the bribed has kept his bargain.
The eye of the employer and the mas
ter follows the employed under the
present system. Here that watchful
eye is removed and great strings of men
cannot be made to vote by employer or
landlord.
1t is enough to make man blush
with shame to see the preparations
made before elections in the getting up
of false tickets. You know that on
election days the newspapers are plas-
tered over with warnings against fraud
uent tickets. This is serious matter,
but it is small beside the debauching
of the public conscience by bribery and |
cheating. Things first looked upon
with horror soon become to be looked |
upon as right by continuance and repe
tition of these wrongs.
One of the most threatening of cries
to-day is that of plutocracy. We hear
the cry from Congress down, Money
money ! until no man will dare
to run Tar office except the man who
has large bank account. The young
man of talent, the patriotic man, are
barred from office because of election
With the official ballot,
there are no longer excuses for the ex
penditure of money for distribution of
tickets and for pretended tlcket-holders.
| and some of you remember twenty
years ago in Baltimore, when the voter
had to walk SIX hundred feet between
double line of ostensiEle ticket holders.
By this Australian law there is no excuse
Tor solicitors of votes about polling
places. The voter gets his tickets in an
orderly way from the proper officer.
Some persons appeal to the prejudices
Of the Legislature. They say this is a
orelgn system. When you reflect that
almost every law under which we live
S derived from other English speaking
people, from the holding of property to
is bequeathment, this cry will be found
lot to hold good. Surely if ever it was
oreign, it cannot be called foreign now.
Let me read what the distinguished
Governor Campbell. OF Ohio, says
Eighty five millions of people use the
Australian system and would not return
o the OLD system. Belgium, Canada,
Australia, Massachusetts,, Indiana, Wis
:onsin, Mississippi, Tennessee, Mon
ana, Michigan, Connecticut and part
# Kentucky use the SYSTEM he says,
With the best results. Call that foreign
The United States marsh
/ in a political party opposite to that
# the Governor says it Is admirable !;
hat there is no bulldozing, and factory
wners cannot now march their men up ,
0 the polls to vote one ticket. j
The whole country IS full of this cry
Or ballot reform. In the city of Balti-
more every one of the daily papers
'armly presses it, and no paper that |
now opposes it. We hear that there
so much illiteracy that OHIO, forsooth
r Mississippi, or the other states can
dept this system and progress SO fast }
hat MARYLAND cannot keen SteD with