Morning journal and courier., 1891-02-24
CONNECTICUT,S SITUATION.
Has She Been Defrauded of Her Sow
ereisn Rfghtsl-To What Extent-

CONNECTICUT,S SITUATION.
Has She Been Defrauded of Her Sow
ereign Rfghtsl-To What Extent-
by Whom and for What Purpose.
To the Editor Of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
The present condition of our affairs of
State, as it has been, and is now llustrat-
ed at Hartford, is without parallel in the
history of this or of any other State or
country. So strange and anomalous is it
that it admits of no classification with
that of any of the groups of half-civilized,
fermenting populations, acting without
definite aims or worthy motives, but
whose minds are beginning to grope in the
diminishing darkness, and to feel after
the still unknown elements of civil organ
ization. Nor can it be classified with that
of any group of disorganized people
known to history, whose lives have been
SO long at variance with all laws and
against the peace and public morality of
every civilized community that, by the
common verdict of mankind, they have
been expelled from human fellowship as
outlaws against society.
But, belonging as it does to neither one
of these classes, how appalling it is to see
this once honest, proud and goodly State
of Connecticut: the first political organiza-
ton upon the earth to frame and adopt
written constitution-the home of one of
the great seats of learning on the continent
with a reputation, once deserved, of in
Guiding among its ordinary population so
great number of educated and
highly cultivated men and women
that in successive generations it has
given tone and character to many larger
communities, how sorrowful to every pa
triotic mind is the sight of her present
degradations How lamentable is it that
this once foremost State, once an honored
leader in the councils of the nation now in
her second century finds some of her
trusty sons secretly practicing the prima
ry steps and the reasonable acts which
will surely lead to her ruin. This solid,
grand old State of Connecticut, of which
it is not too much to say, she has always,
whether as a colony or a state, been
among the very first to respond heartily
to call to arms in defence of our com
mon country, and always putting into the
field the earliest and larger numbers of
troops than any other State in proportion
to her population finds herself to-day
through the perfdy of some of her sons,
and the culpable negligence of others in a
condition of degradation and bondage, ont
of which there seems now to be left for
her but a single mode of escape.
Will the State reassert and defend her
independent sovereignty: Will she find
some effectual way to punish as they de-
serve the reckless plotters against her
peoce, and against the right of every citi-
zen to cast an honest ballot and have it
the house silently steal away to their
homes, confessing that Connecticut is no
longer worthy of the companionship of
even the youngest of her sister State:
Do [ hear you say 'These be very strong
words, my master!"
Listen for brief moment, and l know
that you and all other honest citizens will
agree with me that no language can dc
justice to the subject, or fitly portray the
critical exigency now existing in our af-
fairs of State. 1t will be apparent to
every reader, that the time in which mere
words can be of any avail to preserve to us
our liberties and civil rights Is rapidly
passing; and the day may be nearer than
you tuluh WHICH, VIC WILL Dc COlupcllcu uS,dlL
to appeal to the tribunal of last resort.
Look at our situation. Through the
agency of conspiracy formed among some
of the Democratic party in 1889 or proba
bly, earlier, and having its leader and head
center in Hartford, the Republican legisla
| ture of that year was induced to adopt an6
without even ordinary care to enact into
| statute law ga bill concerning elections,
| the reputed author of which is the owner
and editor of the Hartford Times. Tc
numbers of Republicans and not few
Democrats it seems very strange that bill
| for public act to promote reform in oul
system of ballotting, and emanating from
that source, was not at once regarded will
suspicion and critically examined, but i
evidently was not. Yet by means of it
sovereignty of the state; and the right o
every citizen to the free exercise of tn
suffrage in full faith that his ballot vii
be honestly counted, has been successful,
assailed, and is now practically abolished
He has to-day no such right in this state
1t was a very peculiar crime that wa
perpetrated by these conspirators in Hart
ford; and it would have done credit to tn
manipulators of ballots among the sam
political party in the most lawless state i
the black belt; but the Connecticut metho
is infinitely meaner.
This crime against the right of free an
honest suffrage was planned and plotte
in open day, under the very eyes of n
publican managers; it was ostensibly
measure to secure the sacred inviolabilit
of the ballot, and was professedly based o
the approved lines of the Australian Law
it made great parade of swinging dool
and enclosed stalls to secure the privacy {
voters; but through the cunning work {
certain conspirators the election law
1889, instead of affording security to IL
J honestly cast ballot, was converted to
machine of deadly power, by which evel
republican vote cast in certain places
the state, was changed to a ballot in fav'
of democrat,
Thus it is provided in section 8 of Il
'Act concerning elections: ''If any e.
velope or ballot shall contain any mark
device SO that the same may be identifs
3 in such manner as to indicate who mi
have cast the same it shall not be counte
but shall be kept by the moderators al
1 returned to the town clerk in separa
a package, etc " What could be on its ia
Z fairer and more honest than this!
whatever trick of necromancy these pc
pie expected to show that any mark
i ink or pencil made upon a ballot in Il
' strict privacy of the water closet system
I booths, and further protected by enclosu
in sealed envelope, could convey info
nation as to the nature of the ballot,
Q remains for the accused to show.
: But SO cunningly devised and artful
worded is the bill and securely prepare
: for the commission of this crime, tn
n scores of ballots bearing names of Repu
/ lican candidates were thrown out and n
: counted by reason Of, ,fy-specks, ink bic
and other accidental defects snch as I
a adhesion of flying notes and small objec
y on the cylinders of the printing machir