San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-07-15
ELECTIONS IN GREECE.
The Voter Uses a Lsaden BuIiet
Which is Cast Into Queer


Athens Letters in New York Post.
was much interested in the Greek
method of conducting q "csmpaign."
The newspapers, excepting, perhaps,
the Astu, the more immediate organ
OF Mr.. Trlcoupis, allow themselves all
lengths in vituperatien and abuse;
they have q splendid ATistophanic
instrument In the modern language,
and there Is no limit to the inven ton
of effective epithets. They Guido In
this respect anything that we are
accustomed to In the United States.
On the other hand, was surprised
and pleased to see that, on the Tri-
cOupis side at least, the speeches of
candidates were brief, temperate and
diguified to remarkable degree.
They confined themselves generally
TO simple statement of the .impor-
lance OF the Interests at stake and of
their programme for the future.
There were no appeals to passion, no
assaults or innuendoes on the reputa-
tion of there opponents. A half 9
column or column at most sufficed
to report them fully. Such speeches
addressed TO such an assemblage as
I saw at Nauplia, for instance, CON-
rposed largely of peasants In their own
picturesque costume, certainly do
great credit to the methods OF the
canvass. can hardly believe that
they are typical. However the news.
papers are the real battle field of the
elections, and every one, 1 am told;
reads the newspapers; at any rate,
the nine-tenths of the population
who cen read impart the news to the
One-tenth who can not.
do not know how much weight
the demonstrations" have In the
actual results; but it is quite certain
that nothing would induce the people
ut large to dispense with them.
Night after night they occupy the
minds and bodies of certain hardy
sleepless workers." for nearly q
month before election day. In
Athens, during that period, they
make life burden to all lovers of
piece and quietness. Every night q
fresh procession, either small or large
makes it's appearance, not differing
much from our displays, except that
it Is accompanied by q noisy crowd
shouting "zstor and "kato"
for friends and foes The
torches and carriages vanish before
midnight, perhaps; but large part
Of,the assemblage con tinues to huZzs
and to howl until 2 or 8 o'clock In the
morning. the exercise is responded
TO antiphonally by rival gathering
OF the opposite party, until the lungs
ct one or the other side are exhausted.
i have before me a cutting from the
a cropolis, which describes several
such "demOnstrstions" as going on
tue same night. The reporter adds,
with naive, pride, that q single patrol
kept the peace" IL that expression
y he used, between the contend
ing factiOus, aud that all had retired
from the field without bloodshed by
8 O'CLOCK 10 the morning.
The fact Is, that to the uneventful
lite Of the provinces the parade and
preliminaries of the elections are q
great treat and excitement which
they could not lightly part with.
There are other practices in vogue,
however. which are much more
questionable than the childIshness
of excessive Recommendations" IT.
used to he the custom in the rural
districts for each candidate to keep
open house during the candidate to
keep open house during the canvass,
and to entertain all corners on q scale
which ressmbled the good cheer of
the palace of Odysseus. This custom
is vanishing, but. on the other hand,
the indifferent voter is always sure at
this season OF an unlimited supply of
ret-ingo and of creature comforts. If
he ts in debt, he may be accommodate
with loan; If he must travel q long
distance TO his voting district, his
expenses are paid. Moreover there
are certain districts, such as those
0t Spetsa, aid hydra, and Psara in
Euo9 a-"rottOn borOughs," they
may be called-which were granted
Oy the National Assem- bly, OF lS43, as
reward for herbic services, the pri-
ViIege of sending a representative.
although their population is much
mailer than the required number of
10000 souls These districts are
a natural source of corruption; for
here money can be spent to obvious
advantage, and there is reasonable
nope OF buying up a majority. In
general, the Indifferent voter NAV
sell his vote as high as or even higher
than with US. A great deal of money
is spent by each candidate. Few
spend less than $1,000; heard credib.
OF one who expected to spend
$4,000.
Moreover, the mode of voting at the
polls gives large opportunity for per-
sonsl Influence and inspection for
seeing to it that these extrayagant
Gums are not wasted. At the polling
place each candidate has his name
and mblem THAT of Mr.. Tricoupis
was the olive painted on a separate
urn, from the upper part OF this pro.
jects funnel into which the voter
thrusts his arm when depositing 8
small leaden bullet or ballot. The