The Opelousas courier., 1894-05-12
Ballot Reform.
N q. Daily States.

At a meeting in Baton Rouge Satur-
day the Constitutional Commission pro-
posed to submit to the Legislature for
submission to the people at the next
general election an amendment to the
Constitution providing that only citi-
zens Of the United States, native born
or n%aturalized, and who have resided
n year in the State shall be entitled
to vote in our elections, and providing
further, for a poll tax qualification and
an alternative property or educational
qualification, the poll tax to be paid for
the next year preceding that in which
the election is held, and the voter to be
able to read and understand the Constl-
tuition, or if he be an illiterate then
to w property assessed at $500 or
more.
Taken as a whole, this amendment,
if it shall be adopted, will go far to ell
evate the citizenship, purify our elec-
tions and emancipate the State from the
control of professional politicians: The
higher the standard of citizenship the
more independent is the voter. Tie
curse of Louisiana politics and the most
serious threat to American ~instltntlons
has been and still is what is termed
"manhood suffrage" but which should
DG luOIC plOpCIlJ S0AAou
and corruption of the ballot.
In a sparsely settled country, such as
were the United States for three-quar-
tiers of a century after the revolution,
when the people had just thrown OFT the
slackles of a foreign despotlsm and
their hearts we're all aglow with patrl-
otism and love for republican institu-
tions, manhood suffrage was entirely
safe, wise and just, and thus we find
Jefferson and other fathers Of the re-
public advocating it. But there has
come a great change. The increase of
wealth and plutocracy or one side and
poverty and socialism on the other the
swarming of hoodlums in our cities and
towns; the growth of ~paternalism in
the country /; the importation into our
borders of millions of the criminals and
paupers-the very scum OF Europe; the
domination of the professional polltl-
clan in the country and OF the ward boss
in the city !; the increase of population
from three millions of American patrl-
OTIS % sixty millions OF mongrel human
beings, have all combined to produce
their natural and inevitable consequent
ces-the lowering of the moral standard
of the populace and the consequent cor
ruption Of our politics.
This terrible evil must be checked.
We want s~tricter criminal laws, and
simpler and more direct methods OF
dealing out justice and many other
things; but the -chief need, and the only
salvation of American institutions, ls
the abolition of manhood suffrage" and
the bestowal of elective functions only
upon the honest and intelligent portion
Of the people.
The amendment proposed by the Con-
stitutional Commission will not alone
bring full emancipation from the rule
Of the boss and the capitalist, who stand
in too often with the boss and the hood
lum, because he wants cheap city coun-
ellis, cheap legislatures and cheap con-
gressmen in the market, SO that he may
buy his jobs and schemes through at
the lowest possible price. With this
amendment, however, we will take a
long stride in the direction of q free bal
lot and lay the foundations upon which
more thorough ballot reform legisla-
ton may be based, OF through which
such legislation, may be made effective;
and such legislation we are informed,
is being formulated. 1t should deal
with perjury, ballot-box stuffng, false
counting, and false returns in the stern
est fashion. Every man elected to an
office should be required before he takes
his seat, to make a return under oath of
every dollar he may have expended in
the election, and q false return should
be denounced as perjury and punished
as such, and any n who might have
received from him a bride or money for
corrupt purposes should be qualified to
testify against the criminal. Besides
we should have the secret ballot, under
the Australian or some other plan, that
will secure the voter in the free and I'M
restricted exercise of his most precious
privilege.
We in no degree, magnify the grave
Importance of this matter. We are rap
idly approaching the condition of things
when elections will be controlled abso-
lutely by corruption, and the higher and
better class of men will absolutely
abandon the political field. This is al
ready the Case to a certain extent and
while we have sWarms of little men in
public life, there is certainly a dearth OF
really big men, those possessed Of high
qualifications and sense of honor refns-
ing to accept Office under existing con-
ditions. Indeed, bribery, false counting
and ballot-box stufing have already be-
come SO common and SO general, that
the free ballot is smitten with paralysis,
duu OuI WuUlO OlCOlAsO 6y6lCM 40 OANV
with the T~Ottenness and sores of cOrrup-
ton.
There is no question of such great
moment to come before the Legislature
of Louisiana. 1t overtops all others and
it should be the earnest hope and pray
er Of all men who love their State and
believe in preserving our free institn-
tions, that there will be enough men in
the Legislature to take this matter up
and carry through a great measure Of
ballot reform.