The Portland daily press., 1891-02-06
Especial to the Press.l

uau OcTn dccuSLOmcu bO tudb custom IO
| years. 1t all showed the actual working OF
the system. he also read experiences oi
| police, other officials and citizens in usinl
the new form OF ball0ting. Mr.. Garner In
| conclusion read from speech delivered BY
Mr.. Josiah Quincy. before the Common
wealth Club. he healed with the commit
tee TO report in favor of this bill. 1t ma:
| proved successful wherever tried and is M
longer an experiment and Maine should moi
be bshind her sister states while her motto
| Mr.. Cason then called upon Mr.. Looney
| of Portland, who was the chief promoter OF
the bill of two years ago. Mr. LO0ney said
that he would ask the indulgence of the com
| mittee for only few minutes. As he un
| dersto0d the Clasou bill it was substantially
| similar to the Massachusetts, law, which was
| the result Of the labors OF men who had Civ
| en- the greatest attention OF any in this cOun-
| try TO become familiar with the workings oil
the Australian system. Mr.. L0oney de-
scrihed what he saw at recent election 10
the Faneuil Hall precinct in Boston. There
Mr.. LO0ney remained for about an hour and
half and in that time saw many voters.
mostly wOrkingmen. cast their ballots under
| this system. Three of these men who tcoB
the most time did not use more than three or
| four minutes In doing so. One point, tC
which Mr.. Looney called attention, was that
under the Australian system the practice OF
vote distributing vas entirely done away
with. A voter did not receive his ballot un.
prepared 1t ana after casting it left
the enclosure and nobody knew how he
bad voted except the voter himself and his
God.
Mr.. Looney, as his first reason for the
passage of the bill, said that it would pre-
vent bribery, but here he was met at the
outset by the statement that while bribery
existed in other states there was none in
Maine. AS an answer to this, Mr.. Looney
called attention to the letter of Hon. James
Blaine. written in 1880, declaring that from
$4,000 to 100000 was spent to carry the
state in that year for the Fusionists. In the
city of Portland it was we'll known that
there were many fioaters, aud that they were
bought.
In the city of Biddeford, Mr.. Looney had
been told that in one municipal election
$4,000 had been expended by each party, or
$4,000 In all. York county was noted for
Its political rottenneSs, and the same thing
was true, in less degree, of Cumberland
county. Mr.. LoOney had been told that in
the large town of Brunswick $1,000 had been
spent in an election. He had been informed
that there was no city in New England
where bribery was more prevalent than In
Bangor, a city in which paper was oppos-
ing the bill, whose opposition would make
honest men the friends Of the measure. Mr..
LoOney was willing to admit that these sto-
rieS of bribery were exaggerated, but after
making allowances for this exaggeratioD,
bribery existed in Maine, Notwithstanding a
law now on our statute books for its preven-
tiOn. The Australian system has stopped
bribery throughout England and in many
places in this country.
Chairman Walton wanted to know IL Mr..
Looney knew personally OF any bribery.
Mr.. Looney said he would answer legally,
no; morally, yes.
Other questions were asked but attention
was called to the fact that several men who
desired to speak wanted to go on the after
noon train so the questions were postponed
for a while.
Mr.. Walter c. Emerson. president of the
Young Mems Republican Club Of Portland,
followed Mr.. LoOney. His remarks we're
confined to an argument to disprove the ex-
aggerated statements of certain opponents Of
the Australian system as to the expense Of
putting 1t into operation and maintaining 1t.
Certain writers, Mr.. Emerson said, who
have been arguing against the recent ballot
with more persisteDcy than truthfulness,
have stated that it would cost between $780,
600 and 100000 to put the state OF Maine In
readiness for this new method of voting.
These statements are absurd and they need
contradiction, not only because they are an
absurdity, but because thev are an imposition
on the intelligence of the tax payers of the
state. Take the lowest figure, $50, ,000-and
| we are told 1t could never be less than this
Mr.. Emerson showed by actual experience
that it was ffty-one thousand, six hundred
wide of the mark. or that sum more than the
actual cost The speaker then went on to
show by letters from the Selectmen OF some
| 20 towns In Massachusetts that on an aver
| a9e they had paid $14 for the fitting out OF
| polling places under the new law. The COR
| dltiOns In Massachusetts and In Maine are
| similar, What applies there applies here.
| On the same basis it would cost to put the
| state OF Maine In readiness for the secret bal
lot law, not S1O0.00O, not $50 600, but $500,
or i've cents and half for every voter.
| Mr.. Emerson then went on to show, by
taking more figures from Massachusetts, that
1t would cost the people of this state not a
| cent over $1,000 to carry on elections under
this system, $4,000 for the extra inspectors
and $4,000 for printing. advertising aud dis
Of many thousands of dollars, for the ex
pense now to the people Is many times that
| sum.
Judge Stearns of the committee closely
questioned Mr.. Emerson on mis- opinion as to
whether or not the $14 voting places
would do for cities and towns of Maine.
Mr.. Emerson replied that this average
only showed what was necessary. that they
would do for Maine unless the aldermen and
selectmen desired something better. They
| were to decide the matter of expense. As 9
matter Of fact In many of the towns which
pense could be even less than this. There
Is hardly town hall that has not already
| the materials ready for use. 1t was an ex
tremely simple matter.
MI. ID. W. Snow of Portland, made some
remarks quoting laws on the matter OF elec
tions and recommendations Of executive 9th
GERS. He showed 1t was necessary In the
early days Of the state to pass laws to pre-
| vent bribery. Bribery must exist, or laws
would not be made and imposed, but ht
could not find one case of conylctlon In the
mendatioas in favor Of ballot reform from
| Governor Dunlap In 1885, Governor Fair
/ field in 184l. Governor COnn0r In 1870, Gov
| ernor Garcelon In 1879, Governor RoDie II
1888 and 1885, and Governor burleigh to the
present legislature. He read letter from
James g. Blaine, and strong letter from
| Joseph III. Manley. who opposed the bill a.
the last legislature for the reason that the
law had not been tried, and he wanted othel
states which had already adopted it to give
1t practical trial. but now ges In favor Of
the law. Mr.. Snow told OF instances Of
bribery in Ward 5, Portland, where car
riage drove up and men got out. Each mar
| received a ballot, and when they came ou
each received bank bill. That was his
personal experience In the matter.
Mr.. A. Il. Talbot of Lewiston said he camt
here as Republican because this was 6
Republican Legislature with Republican
| and Republicans had right to come here a.
| did also Democrats. He was convert 10
this system because 1t was the faires
method Of voting ever devised. BE believed
that the citizens had right to impose the
| CAp0uo6 VI pTluLluB 4AAs IHlDO
paid his respects to those who have said tina
this bill will not pass because the Republi.
cans control its affairs and run the machine
Hon. Herbert NJ Heath said that he ha(
come here with great reluctance because he
knew that the COMMITTEES was perfectly
competentto deal with this question with
out any assistance from him. But members
Of the committee had been so persistent and
consistent in urging him to come that, like
the member in the Methodist class meeting
ne might speak of the faith that was in him
Mr., Heath said that he believed legisla
tor should heed the wishes of the people
Two years ago he had found u sentiment II
favor Of the law In the cities and larg.
towns, and had made a proposition to appl,
the law to them. This proposition was vol
ed down In the Senate by a bare majority O
Tour votes. He asked the members of tn
committee II they did not believe that toda,
Z maJority OF the. people of th- 90 .
the favor of this sy stem. Sa
sn ono are $4,000 voters in the state of whlc
ny HTy,uVo are Republicans and 60, 600 Democrats
Inc democrats, he said, were In favor 4