The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-08-08
FAIR ELECTIONS.

IL,
the Utah commission, signed that circular
on the 30th of July, "To the officers and
voters OF Utah territory" he must have
chuckled aloud and his associates on the
board presumably laughed outright. Brave
old General MCCLERNAND was not present,
otherwise scorn would have been depicted
On one countensnce N the board AS we
now read the circular seems very funny
funny enough to induce less humorously
inclined individuals than the commission
ers to indulge in hearty laughs. The paper
starts out by declaring that 1.-The COM
mission is DESTROYS of having, and, so far
as it has authority by law, is determined
to have fair and impartial election; that
everything like fraud shall be put down
that every lawfully registered voter in the
territory shall have the privilege of de-
posting his ballot freely as he wishes, and
without intimidation, and that none who
are not legally registered shall be per-
mitted TO vote, no matter what may be the
circumstances.
The declaration and profession here put
forth read well, and by themselves would
have tendency to make the reader think
that the Utah commission was made up of
good, IL not great men, who were really de-
sirous Of having honest elections. The hu-
NOR of this circular appears when one re-
calls how much pains Colonel GODFREY and
associates had taken to see that there
should not be precisely what they claim to
want. We respectfully ask how there can
be fair election when the REGISTRATION off,
GERS are carefully selected, first on account
of their rank favoritism for one party, and
second with regard TO their financial ire
sponsibility, the object being 10 make il not
worth the while of any individual to pro-
coed against them. GODFREY and the ma
iority of the board knew they would about
as soon cut of ther right hands as sign the
commission Of a registrar whom they knew
would be absolutely erect and fair in the
performance of his duty The men
wanted by the commission as registration
officers are such as the commissions mas
ter, the Liberal party, designates-men
who can be relied upon to arrange the list
in such q way that Liberal frauds may be
practiced and the parties opposed TO the
Liberal party may be deprived of its rights.
The depIorable condition of the registra-
ton list as to honesty was only partly ex-
posed by the party committees.
If the commission were DESTROYS OF hav-
ing "a fair and impartial election" why
was it so careful to place the contryl of the
polls in the hands of VIGOROUSLY unfair
and partial organization, notori-
ously partisan judges and denying repre-
sentstion TO the other parties who asked
only that the eledtion should be fairl
IL il were an honest election that
Colonel GODFREY wanted, would he not
have done something more to bring it about
than issue circular which would have
caused only smiles among those who were
familiar with the persistent and outrage
ously partisan course pursued by the COM
mission ever since the gentleman named
has stood at its head.
The closing paragraph of the circular is
enough to make horse laugh" It is this
1.-THE commission takes great pleasure in
bearing witness to the fairness In all cleo
tons heretof ore held under its authority
and management, ard with great confidence
looks to the same result in the approaching
election
The commission knows there has never
been fair election in this city since it has
had control; it knows that most outrageous
and bare-faced frauds have been COM
mitted, and It knows that the public thinks
it responsible for the acts of unfairness; in
that the commission is ever so careful to
place the control Of the election machinery
in the hands of those who are constitu-
tionslly opposed to fairness and honesty in
politics.
The Utah commission must go. 1t is an
institution for which there is no legitimate
place. We can never have honest and i'm
partial elections while it exists.