St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-27

LhuVai, the Guy ana county committees
VIII help you get it. Call on them.
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The Australian ballot law was de-
signed to cut off all attempts at fraud in
the big cities, where fraud always crops
out, if at all. 1t is perpleXing in its III
tnracieS and most exact in its provisions.
That law is now in force i'm Minneapo-
lis. and balloting under it will take
place this fail for the first time. Deep
study and some knowledge of law is
necessary before one can thoroughly
understand this Australian system. 1t
is not to be wondered at, then, that
there will be good deal of misappre-
tension of its provisions among
the mass of the voters, and
in consequence. the Acknowledgement
of large numbers of menswho never had
an opportunity TO attend law school.
Mistakes will, therefore, he made,
despite the eXertiOnS made by press and
bar TO explain the law. There is now
in the minds of the best lawyers in the
state little doubt but that portions of
the Australian law. especially those
sections relating tOregiStratiOn and GER
tIficates of removal, have been misin-
terpreted. The misinterpretation is of
such nature as to bear most heavily
upon theworkingman, who can't afford to
buy home or who Is unmarried. Under
force of circumstances he moves from
one portion of the city to another, as
occasion requires and as his occupation
demands. Then, too. this man can
spare but little time for running about
after certificate of removal. But,
under the present construction put
npon the law. he cannot register or vote
until he has secured such certificate of
removal. OF course, this is unjust
to the w0rklngmaD. and all the more
because il is due TO improper interpre-
tation ST the law, but it is a fact. The
law, unjust though it be. is in force and
must be followed. But the greatest in
justice arising from the election law is
not the task imposed upon the working
man by the certificate OF removal
clause. The voters of Minneapolis gem
orally. and the Woodworking, tuiling
voters in particular, to-day stand face
wrong which will be put upon
them if scheming politicians carry out
their plans-a wrong to be perpetrated
through fraud by taking advantage Of
the intricacies and perpleXities of this
new election law with which the peo-
pie are, as yet, unfamiliar. The Re-
puOlican city and county committees
are at the bottom of this plot, Matched
i'll the darkness, to thwart the will of
the people.
For several days the Republican city
and county committees have had in
their employ large force of men work
ing up0n the preliminarieS of this con-
Spiracy against the rights of the people.
These clerks have been at work copy
ing the certificates of removal already
in the hands of the judges of election.
They take these certificates of removal,
go over them carefully, copy the name
of the voter, the number of district in
which he voted two years ago and
the district in which he now
lives, in a word, all the
information to be secured about than
particular man from the certificate of
removal The affidavit upon which the
certificate WAS issued is then examined
carefully. If the slightest omission. the
least defect, the most insignificant tech
nicality, appears in that affidavit, it is
noted. Next the certificate of removal
is again carefully Scrutinized. A close
search for tecbnicalitieS in that. no mat
ter how insignificant is made and every
one found is noted. Then comes another
step. The names of the voters in whose
certificates or affidavitS exists the slight
est error are next compared with the
canvass lists in the possession of the
committees. On those lists the politi-
cal faith of each man is noted. If this
comparison with the canvass lists dis
closes that there has been an error in
the certificate of a Republican the slip
containing the note OF the error is de-
stroyed; if the error occurs in the Ger
titicate of Democrat the note concern
ing it is carefully put away for further
use.
What is the object behind this work ?
1t is to secure the election of the Re-
publican candidates. through the old,
time-worn expedien.S OF the Republican
party-through the agency of trickery
and fraud.
The very nature of this scheme is
evidence Of the desperate straits to
which the Republican party i'm Minnea-
polls has been driven. 1t finds itself in
| a corner. 1t has been driven from the
open field in fair fight to the last in
trenchments, where it is completely
hemmed in, and from which it can
escape only by artifice and ways OF
| darkness. All pretense Of fairness and
openness has been abandoned. Its lead
| erS realize at last that they must reSurt
| to fraud and intimidation in order to
| win.
On election day, so runs this plan of
| action. a challenger will be placed at
the polling place in every district. The
vote of every man in whose certificate
of removal OF affidavit there is the
slightest technical flaw will be thrown
out. In that manner they hoped to have
| enough Democratic votes thrown on,
to eject the Republican ticket.
| Democratic voters should take every
| precautIon to leave the Republican
| chaIlengerS without work to do.
The question naturally arises. whence
! comes the authority for the Judges OF
| election to give the Republican com
mittee access to these certificates of re-
moyai? There is none. In fact, 1t is
almost certainty that they have VIC
| lated the law in SO doing. Their reply
| is: I'VE have "a majority of the judges
and the clerks, SO what are you going t6
do about it? How are you going tt
prove that we have done anything
wrong?" Yet the fact remains that the
| work outlined above has been going on
and that the committee intend stealing
the election in the manner indicated
Should contests arise. Republican re
turning boards will look after the re
| suits.
For several days Republicans, wher
asked why they hope for victory in the
face of the hopelessness of their cause
have replied, you'll see how we'll dc
it," They are putting their trust solel,
in the operation Of this dishones
scheme.
1--WE cannot win by votes, but we will
try TO win by theft" is the shibboleti
of Minneapolis Republicanism in thu
year of our Lord 1890.
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Register tomorrow between noon ans
9p. m. and defeat the attempt of Re
publicans to win the election by trick
cry.
| Another piece of work which reveal
the state Of desperation into which tn
local Republicans have been thrown
was the publication in the Tribune yes
terday of an article proving that p. B
Winston takes good care of his mother
and designed to prove that he is not
citizen of Minneapolis. When a met
ropolitan newspaper, which prides itsel
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