The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-11-29
WHO Il REsPOSrIBLE?

| the questions which Mr.. Yost has sen,
| out all through the Tenth congressional
| district TO his friends. with view to
| securing evidence upon which TO contest
| the recent congressional election. One OF
| them was this: Were the ballots printed
| In plain Roman letters: or was any part
| of IT printed In German text?' The ques-
ton is not tae only suggestion that this
| thing was done that we have met WIN
We have heard Il distinctly charged that
| 1t was done. We hear II also from an
parts of the State that a number Oh
different ballots were printed In eacn
county. Thus: If there were four cahui
dates for Cong. ess. there were four p"'-
lots. one ballot had at its head the maine
of one candidate and another 'he name
of another candidate. and so on eaci' one
OF the four having the names prlh'eu U"
IL In a different order from what they
appeared In any OF the others.
The isy makes II the duty OF the cleo
toral hoard In each county TO print the
tickets 10 be used in that county II Is
n, course possible that the electoral
hoard in each county hit on this trick
at the same time that the electoral
boards in all the other counties hit on
IT, but the thing Is not probable. III
seems absolutely certain that sugges-
ton or instruction to DO II was sent Out
by some central authority. The county
electoral boards are official bodies con-
stituted by the law and accountable TO
the law. They can take no Instructions
from any but officers Of the law. Is II
possible that any Of the States author-
tiles sent out orders TO the county eieC-
toral boards that they were to prepare
TIE ballots in the recent election so as 10
rdislead and deceive illiterate voters
Has any officer of this Commonwealth
dared 10 abuse and degrade the functions
Of his Office by placing the State OF Nlr-
ginia in the position of practicing lrau"
upon her own voters? This matter must
be explained sooner or later. ana the
sooner the parties responsible for 1t come
forward and avow their responsibility, the
better it will be for the correctness OF
the public judgment that Will be passed
upon 1t. 1t was no doubt inspired by
mistaken zeal, that takes success as the
great object in life. But such zeal is
none the less mistaken. 1t is not OF SUI
preme importance to win in anything
The supremey important thing IS 10
win rightly. and no victory can be worth
having that is purchased at the price
of dragging a great and noble State GOWN
into the the mire. and having her to set
her citizens the example of securing an
end by trickery and deceit.
Tuesdays New York Journal OF COM
merce. a paper that is the South's warm
friend, had an editorial article bearing
upon matters of this sort which we wish
every man in the South would read and
take to heart. We reproduce it here
The South Politically and Industrial
ly.-Southern newspapers are developing
a degree Of candor In the discussion Oh
local topics that promises we'll FOR the
future Of their section of the country.
The Columbia Is. Co Register lately SAID
of election frauds: They Will keep more
Immigrants out of the South than con-
VentionS and societies and bureaus can
bring in" Political intolerance does keep
immigrants away, and capital flows SLUG
gshly into a section toward which there
is little immigration. Political lntoler-
ance the manipulation of elections ana
outbuTsts OF lynchng. have occurred Just
often enough TO keep up the Impression
that law and order are not well pre-
served in the South. There has been
race issue in the South which outsiders
not assume TO say how far 1t afforded
justification for the peculiar political and
social condition of the southern states.
But there is no doubt that that condi-
ton has greatly retarded the Industrial
and commercial development Of the sec
ton. Happily the old things are passing
away. Several States are making Nlgor-
Gus efforts to put down lynching. At the
time of the recent attempted lynching in
Ohio some newspapers were so lll-adVlsed
as to say that the resistance 10 the
mob. even to the extent Of firing upon
il, distinguished an attempt at lynchlng
in the North from one in the South.
This was not true. year or TWO ago
the Virginia militia fired on a mob of
white Nirginians in defending colored
prisoner, whose lynching was attempted
Tennessee Is making sturdy e1ort now
10 convict the men who lately lynched
six negroes. The Governor OF Georgia
has taken strong measures 10 Vlndlcate
the law when violence mas been attempt
ed. The division of the white voters into
two or more parties affords a guarantee
that dishonesty in elections will not con-
tinue much longer-that is, dishonesty
encouraged by the officials and apologlzed
for by the better class Of citizens.
With these political and social reforms
the South will become the most attractive
portion of the United States for settle
ment, not only by foreign immigrants,
States. The change has been going on
slowly for some time, and has already
borne fruit. Northern capital has already
gone South in considerable sums. and
when il becomes evident to all that
man is in no more danger from white
Caps in Mississippi than in MassaChu-
sets and is no more liable to political
prescription in South Carolina than in
Illinois, there will be rise in the value
of real estate, and river OF capital will
flow into railroad and mineral and manu-
featuring and numbering enterprises that
will astonish the people of the South.
and afford them a vastly better assur-
ance against negro domination than the
control of election machinery and occa-
sional forays of rife clubs could posi-
bly give them.