The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-11-16
IT WILL CORRUPT AND DEGRADE
US ALL.


The administration Of government IN
China is permeated all through, up and
down and all around. with corruption.
According TO all accounts, Ii Hung ChanS
is the solitary public official who does
not sell the functions of his Office Tor
money. Every other function Of service
an China is for sale. We read recently
1n an English newspaper published at
Kobe that a Chinese battalion of soldiers
had been ordered to move from one point
10 another for the purposes OF the war
when II was found that every soldier had
sold his gun This is only specimen
of the wholesale corruption that exists in
every department OF government The
consequence is there is absolutely no pa
triotism in China no love of country and
a handful of self-respecting. well-organ-
tied Japanese is Noverrunning 4o),0o0OO Of
people. occupying half of a continent and
subdung them as though they were
sheep.
We need not think ourselves exempt
from the possibility OF just such con
dition Of things as exists in China. The
same cause operating for a sufficient
length of time will produce here the
China. If we allow ourselves TO be aban-
doned TO corruption in government our
people will lose all patriotism, all love
of country, all self-respect, and we shall
become as enervated ana degraded n race
as the Chinese.
The first and the most certain step to-
wards that degradation and enervation is
cheating in elections If we permit that
everything else must follow. When the
citizens OF Henrico county saw less than
200 votes cast for the Democratic candi-
date at SmithCrs' precinct in November
1895. but so counted for him, what did
those citizens say? They naturally said
that they would not vote any more unless
all possibility OF such thing as that
happening again was removed They
naturally said TO themselves that ii was
a silly and q vain thing for them to go to
the trouble Of going TO the polls and
casting their votes If the officers of cleo
ton, after the election was over, were
10 take out of the box such ballots as
they pleased and put in such other bal
lots as suited them. They said they had
just as well stay at home and mind their
business. and turn the election over to the
whatever vote suited them, since that was
the upshot of the matter in any event
This must necessarily be the result at
all other precincts as well as at Smithers'
II cheating in elections is 10 be allowed.
Very We'll. If the elections are TO be turn
ed over TO set OF election thieves, they
viii, Of course. put into the Offices men
who Will do their bidding, and we shall at
once be In the condition of the Chinese,
with every officer selling for money ghe
performance of the functions of his
office and, If We do not rise up and force
another order Of things the same cause
will produce here the same result that il
has produced in China. These remarks
are called out by the statements we pub
hshed yesterday making specific charges
Of gross fraud in Norfolk county. in
Gloucester county and in Brunswick
county in the recent elections These
charges cannot be ignored. They are
specific and in detail, and those who
make them come into the open with them,
giving their names and making them
selves responsible for them. a white
Democrat. who is the registrar at the
precinct. and who voted for Tyler,
'AeN nc saw Alt JUICES VI tltH-
ton at his precinct put large number
OF fraudulent ballots into the box 4
well-known citizen OF Gloucester county
MIR. f. l.. Taylor, states that at his pre-
cinct 27 voters told him as they voted
that they had voted for Mcdonald. and
he and Mr.. II. ii. Hogg kept record OF
them and four told them they voted
for Morton. and that there were only "a
votes cast; yet that Mr.. Jones was given
Isl votes. while Mcdonald was given only
81 and Jones could by no possibility have
received more than 30. Statements OF this
sort cannot be ignored. We must meet
them and put an end TO the accursed
practice. or we must prepare ourselves
for a rotten rule Ike that which prevails
in China.
In this connection We must call atten-
ton 10 a report that comes TO us from
many quarters in the State, that the cleo
toral boards in many counties had the
ballots 50 printed as 10 confuse all voters
and make II impossible for an illiterate
voter TO mark his ballot correctly when
attempting 10 do so according TO advice
and instruction received by him before
IL L. -