Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-02-12
PURITY or THE BALLOT.
Some Reflections from Veteran in the
tigit--The Australian Ballot Law. the

Editof Gdzotte d, JourndI: With your
permission | will offer few thoughts
through your columns on ballot reform,
and may say that it is gratifying to
every one who desires the purity of the
ballot to see the interest manifested on
that question at this time.
1t is question in which your corre-
spondent has been using the limited
amount of talent allotted to him for
about 40 years, as he can show by let
tiers published in the Milford Beacon at
that time, or four years later in 1854.
He had letter published in the same
paper in which he advocated voting
screen precisely similar to the one he
now has on exhibition in Dover and in
the same letter he also advocated uni
form ballot, just such as was adopted a
few years later by the Delaware Legis-
lature, and is now in use. II was Gus
tomary at that time to buy votes on
marked tickets. The purchaser did not
see the voter deposit the ticket, but if
ticket read out had on it certain NUM-
ber or other device placed upon it the
amount agreed upon was paid. The uni
form ballot put stop to this, and no
doubt reduced bribery to some extent
for while. But of late it is unblush-
ingly carried on as publicly as the buy
ing of cattle or other merchandise. The
purchaser simply places u ticket in the
fingers of his chattel, and leading him
up to the polling window, uses him as a
pair tongs to hand in his vote, and by
virtue of the sum paid actually does the
voting only using the purchased voter
as legalized machine to pass 1t to the
inspector.
This thing has gone on long enough
and the thinking and better portion of
the community are getting tired of it, as
is shown by the desire manifested for a
change. Now, the important question
is, what shall the change be? What
system will most effectually put a stop
to bribery? 1t has been said that no
system can be devised that will not be
evaded, If that be so, then let us have
the system that will make it most diff
cult and reduce it to the lowest possible
point. The Australian ballot law
seemed to find great favor at first, but
there are but few that advocate it now.
They want something better. 1t is COM
plieated, tedious, expensive, open to
fraud, and is not secret ballot to the
hilO lllOSb HNNA ANs
The Myers voting machine finds favor
with large number of intelligent citi-
zens. But still there are large number
who are not convinced that it would
prove entirely satisfactory, and among
them are some of our most intelligent
citizens of both parties. 1t is altogether
new and to some it will not be altogether
satisfactory. There will for time at
least be suspicion by the defeated
party (no matter which that party may
bel that the machine had been tampered
with and did not tell the truth and that
the party had been cheated, and the
machine will come in for full share of
curses from some of those on the de-
feated side. Some think that the un-
educated cannot vote intelligently; that
can only be settled by a practical appli-
cation Of the machine. There are some
other points that might be made, but |
wish Il understood that / am not trying
to write down the Myers machine. 1t
is wonderful piece Of mechanism, and
if 1t is the best thing for accomplishing
the purpose aimed at, when SO proved let
us have it at almost any cost. But in
so important matter as this it may be
well to go slowly and try the thing in a
small way at first, and if found salts
factory we can obtain 1t on as good
terms two years hence as now. If it
will put stop to bribery its value can
hardly be estimated.
Your correspondent would respect
fully suggest that the Legislature author
ize conditional contract with Mr..
Myers for one or more machines for the
city of Wilmington, one for Dover and
one for Georgetown; these to be used
for municipal elections, Of which there
may be two at each place before another
session of the Legislature. By this ar
rangement the people will have an OPP
portunity of seeing the working of the
machine and its adaptation to this com
munity, and the Legislature Of 1893 will
be better qualified to represent their
constituents on the question than at
present. In the meantime, if the people
want a secret ballot, and that is hardly
question to be asked, for it is mani
tested by the endorsement of both the
Myers machine and the Coursey screen,
(the latter was unanimously endorsed
by the Farmers Institute long before
Mr. Myers machine was dreamed of
here) A secret ballot may be
had by that arrangement just
as secret as by the Myers ma
chine and will accomplish the de-
sired purpose at u very small cost, while
the Myers machine is being tested,
which at the same time will perhaps be
tested in other states, thus giving us the
benefit of their experience, which we
greatly need before adopting it.
The machine has points to recommend
it not found in any other system yet
offered. The most valuable, perhaps, lie
the counting of the votes as they ars
deposited, so that when the voting is
done the counting is done and is only
required to be transferred to the return
sheets. Another valuable point is that
it does away with the necessity of using
printed tickets. This, though an item,
is not nearly so important as the other
if it proves infallible. Tickets need not
cost one fourth of what they now cost
if there was a proper system OF. .distribu-
ton established. The tickets should all
be placed in the hands of one dis
tributor, who should be located at a
proper distance from the polls, and
SHOULD hand to each voter one ticket of
each party. And if the tickets were
colored, the same as by the Myers
system, yellow, red and blue, and
placed in a small envelope, it would
educate the people to some extent, so
that should the Myers machine be
adopted by the next Legislature the
uneducated man could vote straight
ticket without further instruction.
Now, as | said before, | am not oppos-
ing the use of the Myers machine if it
proves infallible and beyond the reach
of designing men to tamper with it and
make it cheat either one party or the
other, and l am not advocating the use