The record-union., 1892-12-09
MISUNDERSTANDING THE LAW.

An interior exchange says: "After
holding up the Australian ballot system
as the very perfection of law, fairness and
utility, now that the election is over the
Sacramento RECORD UNION finds the Act
full of flaws"
Nothing of the kind. The statement is
q flat misstatement, generalization that
has not particle of underlying truth.
Those features of the ballot law which
should be modified are things that were
thrust into it by the opponents of the
law in the last Legislature as the price of
their withdrawal of opposition.
The friends of the system were thus
forced to accept the law with excrescences
and handicap weights or permit the
whole scheme to go to defeat. They ac-
cepted the situation confident that the
essentials of the law would so COM
mend themselves on trial that the people
would be convinced of it's wisdom.
All this has come to pass. The attach
ments and riders now stand out so con-
spicuously that the common Judgment is
they must be stricken off and the reform
ballot system be left in its purity.
For instance, the Australian ballot law
has no ''illiterate'' provision in it. Again,
the clause that permits extravagant ad-
vertising officially is not a part of the
original system. The original idea was
that merely list of those who are candi-
dates should be officially advertised So,
too, with some other features that expe-
rience proves, as the friends of the law
knew it would, are non-essentials, mere
riders, and intended by the enemies of
the system to serve as handicap weights
to make the law unwieldy.
But in spite of these adverse features
the law has vindicated itself; proved to
be worth all its costs; to serve the purpose
of secrecy of the ballot for which it was
intended; to absolutely estop the stuffing
OF a ballot box, as its friends knew it
would.
Very many things that have been found
Objectionable are not of the ballot law,
but arise out of other election law pro-
visions that were not in the ballot law,
but were matters of separate and distinct
legislation. The counting system is the
old one, that which obtained long before
the Australian ballot law was thought of.
In short, we have not the Australian
ballot law in California; it might be
much better for us if we had. The
RECORD UNION has not changed or modi-
fed its views one particle as to what the
law should be. 1t objected to the form OF
the ballot as now prescribed and en-
deavored to prevent the adoption of it,
but was content to take the law as we have
it rather than suffer defeat of the bill as a
whole.
We still hold as we have from the out
set and as we shall to the end, that the
ballot will be infinitely better and
simpler if the party tickets are printed
upon the ballot side by side with party
vignettes or designations at the head OF
each in order that straight tickets may
be voted, or straight tickets except such
names as are scratched by the marking
of names opposing in other tickets. But
take it as it is, with all the snarling and
growing objectors make, and the law is as
far beyond, above and better than the old
system as heaven is above, beyond and
better than earth. 1t has proved itself, is
a success and not particle of fear need
be entertained that it will be repealed OF
cripnled.