Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-27
TO PERPETUATE ITS POWER.

The federal election bill is urged by
the Republicans ostensibly for the pur-
pose of securing the purity of the ballot
in elections for representatives and presi-
Dental electors. But the real motive
that lies at the foundation of this meas
ure is to secure Republican returning
boards in every congressional district in
the country. 1t reverses the methods
which have for a century obtained at
elections, takes a power from the states
which rightfully belongs to them under
our system, and enables the party which
controls this vast and dangerous ma
chinery to keep possession OF the gov
ernment indefinitely.
On the high plea of election reform
this revolutionary measure is to be
forced upon the country. A party which
assumes to set itself up as an election re-
former and purifier Of the ballot ought
to at least e3lne into the work with
moderately clean hands itself in this re-
spect. Has the Republican party,
through the acts of its recognized
leaders, shown that it can be trusted
for work of this character? Is it not
notorious that Harrison was elected by
the corrupt use of vast sums of money at
the polls in Indiana and New York by
Dudley and Quay? The former, with
his ''blocks of five" in Indiana, bought
enough of the float vote to
I'm, ha % 1o
election, and Quay, having secured
the cooperation of Wanamaker, threw
money in immense quantities into the
lowest purlieus of New York, where
cash is more priced than an honest bal
lot.
Stephen w. Dorsey elected Garfield
by the corrupt use of money in Indiana
in 1880. Nice-President Arthur gave
this away in his famous post prandial
speech at the banquet given to Dorsey at
Delmonico's on the 11th of February,
1881, when he said: Indiana was re-
ally, | suppose, Democratic state. 1t
had always been put down in the book
as a state that might be carried by close
and careful and perfect organization,
and great deal of-;' the banqueters
filled out the blank by universal cry of
soap" To which Arthur added that he
would tell the truth to the assemblage
"as intimate friends and devoted adhe-
rents of the Republican party" if there
had been no reporter present. Suisse
quently Dorsey had a falling out with
the administration, and made public the
way in which he carried Indiana for
Garfield. A finance committee of
wealthy citizens of New York and Bos-
ton was apnointed to raise all the money
they could, and Levi P. Morton, their
chairman, and now vice-president of the
United States, and a staunch stickler
for election reform, was the disburser of
it. He was asked II much of this
money was used in Indiana. Every
largely" said he, 'about $500, 600
was used there But it seems
that the pivotal New York state was
we'll cared for too. Said Dorsey: "They
talk about fine work in Indiana. 1t was
not patch to that in New York, where
our chief implements were hot work,
sharp trades and quiet bargains, and
golden stream from Stephenson's bank"
We all know how ''the fat was fried
out OF the manufacturers at the last
presidential election to procure the
sinews OF war to buy votes for Harrison
and Morton. So bold and extensive a
conspiracy to turn the election by the
use OF money can only be likened
to the open sale of the Ro-
man empire by the Prsetorian
Guard. Indeed, the acts of Quay,
Wanamaker and Dudley are less
defensible than the open auction of the
Roman soldiers. The empire rested on
the will OF the military, whilst ours is a
republic founded upon the free ballot of
the people.
Yet it is party which has thus pros
tituted the ballot that has the audacity
to set itself up as the reformer OF cleo
tions. From Hayes to Harrison every
one of the three Republican presidents
was elected by fraud or by the cor
rupt use of money at the polls.
Does any one doubt that a party
which has profited by such methods,
will refuse to use the machinery of the
proposed federal election law to perpet-
uate it's power?