The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-09-23

the United States, (the greatest leg
islative body in the WORLDLY whatever
it pleases to make it. Under the force
bill it can certify any candidate as
duly elected a member of congress. no
matter if he received only 5000 votes
while his opponent receives $4,000, for
the board has the right to throw out
votes and from its action there is no
appeal. Under the existing system
which has prevailed from Washington
to the present time, certificates of
election of members to congress are
issued by the governor, In Kansas
the election boards chosen by the peol
pie return the number of votes cast
for each candidate to the county
boards; the vote of each precinct is
tabulated as reported and certified to
by the county clerk. The clerk certi-
fies to the secretary of state the num-
Der of votes received in the county by
each candidate for congress. The sec
rotary rectities to the governor the
result and commission issued by the
governor, to the candidate having re-
ceived the highest number of votes
upon the face Of the returns. 1t will
be seen that under the existing system
all election officers from the precincts
to govern are chosen by the people.
But all this is to be wiped out of eXis-
tence with force bill, if the republic
cans carry the next election, and the
entire election machinery of the
country will be placed in the hands of
lifelong, self-perpetuating federal
office holders.
There is another provision in the
bill which beats knownothingism in
this country, with u small slice of
hades, (Which means hell, thro wn in.
The bill requires the supervisors when
instructed by the chief to compile a
list of all foreign born persons who
have been naturalized with the dates
thereof, their place of nativity and
present naturalization papers, aud all
applications made to the court and
file the same with the chief supervisor
for preservation. The bill virtually
establishes political espionage over all
naturalized American citizens, most of
whom have been in this country thirty
or forty years. If this infamous bill
should ever become u law it would
create an army of election officers, not
less than two or three thousand, at a
cost to the county for every congress
ional election, not less than twenty
five or thirty million dollars. To carry
on an election in Kansas under this
system would require at least fifteen
thousand subordinate supervisors. If
these supervisors were on duty twelve
days which the law fixes as their per-
diem, it would cost for one election
in this state, the cnormus sum of two
hundred and seventy five thousand
dollars. To The army of republican
heelers another army of deputy mar
shals to be added at a cost of five dol
lars day, swelling the total expense
indefinitely. There is one man in this
country who bears the same relation
to politics that PinkertOn bears to
organized labor, and that man is the
notorious John Davenport of New
York. This notorious political thug
will be fortified with II commission as
chief election supervisor, who will
cause the arrest of thousand of honest
citizens and detain them in prison on
election day, with no other object in
view than to prevent them from exer-
cising their rights as American citi-
zens at the polls.