The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-03-24

The action Of the House of Representatives
at Augusta today will decide whether Maine
is to join the column of the states that have
wrought the great reform In their ballot laws
or whether, for another two years, the state
must lag behind. A refusal to pass the bill
sent over by the Senate, or to come to some
terms with the Senate for the framing of
suitable measure that shall embody the feat
ure OF the secret official ballot, will, we be-
lieve, be misfortune to the State In general
and an especial misfortune to the Republic
can party In this State. No party can afford
to put itself in the position of opposing re-
form so indisputably wise and expedient.
We have yet failed to find in any state where
it has been tried a single piece of reputable
and authoritative testimony that tends to
discredit the Australian system. Journals
and public men Of both parties approve most
heartily the new ballot laws in Massachu-
sets, in Rhode Island, in New York, and,
even in Connecticut, where the system is
only partial adaptation of the Australian
method. The opposition in this State comes
only from those who have no acquaintance
with the practical workings of the system,
but who fancy they can foresee difficulties
which as matter Of fact have been proven
to have no existence. The Republican party
of Maine cannot afford to put itself In the
position of an director to reform favored
by 50 much reliable testimony and mature
experience, and opposed only by speculative
objections.
There is another consideration of such a
practical nature that 1t may appeal to those
who profess to be opposed to the bill because
they fear it will cause the defeat Of the Re-
publican party at the polls. The last defeat
the Republican party experienced in this
State was in the gubernatorial election of
1880. The chairman of the Republican State
committee at that time was Mr.. Blaine,
whose knowledge OF the practical workings
of that campaign cannot be disputed. Mr.
Blaine declared that the Democrats won in
that campaign by the aid Of large corrup-
tion fund sent into the State by outside par
ties Probably never since that time have
the Democrats repeated that maneuvre. or
at least never upon such scale. Should
they do it there is reason to fear that money
might tell now as it told then, unless in the
electoral system Of the State there shall be
some device for making such bribery diff
Cult dusk uuCtTbaius Inc Austrdllan Dall0L
is considered adequate to do this by those
who have witnessed its workings. More
over, and perhaps more important still, if
Maine adopts the system the Democratic
leaders in the nation, never ready to squan-
der any Of their campaign funds on the hope
of carrying this State, will find all the more
objection to diverting any of their resources
to the satisfaction of the proverbially unsuc-
cessful leaders of the Maine Democracy.
But without the Australian ballot there may
be some temptation for them TO try Maine
throughout the nation the Democracy is more
confident and insolent than IL has been for
years. Maine is almost the only State
holding its elections before the general No
vember election. And while the result In
Maine is not always Indicative Of the result
in other States, it is nevertheless quite an
advantage for the managers of a campaign
to have good report from an early State.
The whim may seize the Democratic man.
ayers in 1892 to do what the managers did in
1880. We know what the result was in 1880
under the present electoral system; and
Maine Republicans do not want another
such scare. They will do much to avert the
possibility Of it by adopting the Australian
system Of voting.