The weekly tribune., 1894-10-19
FREEDOM OF THE BALLOT.

NO one can PICK up copy OF tne f1ei-
ena papers or the Butte Miner, but that
his eye is greeted with a rhetorical essay
upon the rights and duties Of citizenship
and the freedom Of the ballot. II the
papers and the cause they espouse we're
in earnest in these declarations it would
be all right. No true citizen will ques-
ton it. 1t is the fundamental principle
of the government that each man is a
sovereign and that he shall enjoy an
equal political right with every other
sovereign, that freedom Of speech and
the freedom to vote as bis conscience
dictates are his constitutional and in
alienable rights, and that in the exercise
of these rights no man shall interfere.
This ia the spirit and the letter Of our
law. 1t is not necessary for the Helena
advocates to preach daily sermons upon
it, nor would they do it except they had
an ulterior purpose to subserve.
Their talk is the rankest hypocrscy
and their fine-spun sentences are mask
behind which to conceal their own in
famous conduct and to distract attention
from their own cowardly and unAmeri-
can methods. They shout in heroic
tones against corporations while the city
of Helena is the hot-bed of corporations,
all dominated by one gigantic corpora
ton, the Northern Pacific. They shed
tears over the alleged use Of money by
Anaconda and at the same time are
pouring thousands into different centers
to debsuch and corrupt. They have left
no stone unturned and have hesitated at
no falsehood in their efforts to injure
Mr.. DAILY and the Anaconda company by
declaring that all in the employ Of the
company were ablect slaves, and that all
who did not obey the mandates of the
company would be discharged. While
they were promulgating these outrage
GUS stories the Helena men and their
friends all over the state we're engaged
in acts of intimidation and coercion to-
ward their employe. The famous
edict of Mr.. Allen Of the Butte & Boston
that none of the employees should advo-
cate Anaconda under pain of dismissal
is freeh in the mind Of all. The Northern
Pacific has not been quite 30 bold, but
it's subordinate officials in this state have
very broadly told the employees how they
are expected to vote. In Great Falls
the management of the two smelters
have not been at all delicate in taking
charge of the vote of their workmen and
preparing to turn over to Helena. So
pronounced has been the position that
these managers have assumed that q
word uttered in behalf Of Anaconds
makes the utterer marked man. Al
the silver smelter it has even gone
further. Those in authority there real
lied that the sentiment of the men wat
for Anaconda and it was concluded thai
this must be checked by making a terri
BILE example. The affidavit Of Nils Bord
sen in another column tells how it wa
done. A head man was selected to b.
beheaded in order that his fat
might be a warning to others VIII
dared to have and express opinions
These are facts, yet in the face Of then
the Helena papers dare to talk abou
the freedom of the ballot Fortunatel
for the workingman, his bulwark is tn
Australian ballot. With the protection
, that affords him, he can, il he must
{ keep bis mouth shut; he can be muzzle
3 as to speech, but as he enters the votin
! booth the terrors of bossism are left be
hind, his ballot is his own and he ca
q deposit as he sees fit, free from pryin
8 eyes.
q The victim of this outrage, Mr.. Bor'
a den has lost his job but he has retxine
\ his manhood. Those who robbed hir
:, of his right to earn living may feel ths
1 they have made an example that wi
9 bear fruit. So they have, but it will /
dead sea fruit. 1t is an example tht
r will be resented at the polls.