New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-14


vote are monstrous perversions Of equity and
fair play. When that powerful journal cries out
scornfully. "Who has been shuffng the cards?'
1t lays bare the partisanship and hypocrisy OF
The profession Of Ring politicians as practical
reformers. That journal Is not drifting into the
Republican party. II Is as conservatively I'M
compromis.ngly Democratic as its aggressive
rival The Dispatch which regards every form
Of election trickery as a minor detail Of the If
repressible and unending question: but II
mas the COURAGE honesty and independence 10
discriminate between par;lsanship and crime 1t
occupies the same ground in Virginia which
honest Democrats have taken In New-York In
opposing Maynardism Hillsm. Tamm"ny mis-
rule and McKane rebellion.
The introduction OF the Australian system IN
Virginia. Ala bama and other. Southern States
deserves closer attention than 1t has yet received
from the Northern public. 1t is the insincere
response OF machine politicians to what may DE
regarded conscience movement within the
Democratic party against Ubiquitous eiecuoh
methods Here in Virginia ballot-box stunng
had been exposed in detail by Democratic
journal with such tremendous effect that II was
necessary for the politicians to do something
The LEGISLATURE enacted the Walton law en-
bodying A secret ballot on the Australian plan
II was a bold stroke as political manoeuvre
The party managers could say: I'VE have
brought in the ideal system Of voting. which IS
regarded throughout the world as the purest
and the most progressive method OF conducting
elections" At the same time they could adopt
practical measures for regulating 1t so as 10
disfranchise negroes or else TO count their
votes against them. In Virginia as In Ala
bama there is a large literate white element
which has to be provided for under any form
OF Australian voting. This is done by the APP
poin;ment of a special constable for each cleo
ton precinct whose duty 1t is to prepare ana
mark ballots for men who can neither read nor
write This constable Is invariably Democrat.
and all ill!terate voters are at his mercy. IL Is
an abominabe partisan device which is utterly
indefensible. There is not a Northern state
where so partisan and vicious an election law
could be enacted. The fact that agents of one
party were empowered by law to mark and
white. effectually discredits and invalidates the
results Of the recent Congressional elections in
Virginia This is entirely apart from the other
fact that the Walton law is based upon the reg
istration laws previously passed for the purpose
Of DISTINGUISHING Republicans
The Walton law not without good feat
ures. 1t prevented crowding of the polls and
anything like intimidation OF voters. Outwardly
elections were conducted under ii in more
orderly way. but in reality the reform measure
was an ambuscade for cheating and knavery
No leading Democrat undertakes TO defend 1t as
anything more than a temporary expedlent.
Governor O'Ferrall told me that he knew when
he signed 1t that It was crude Imperfect
measure. although 1t was a step forward and
then added that its main defect was the ap-
pointment OF constabIes or vote fxers" by
partisan boards representing one party and
that in the end the Constitution would have to
he amended so as IT, abolish by educational
Qualification ignorant voting. Other influential
Democrats assured me that the best men were
selected as constables. and that no complaints
were offered against them. But no serious at
tempt is made by any one to justify an election
system which is plainly and Enthusiastically
partisan and dishonest l could easily supply
details of fraud and outrage which have re-
ce.ved from Judge Waddill. Colonel James. Mr..
Borland and other Republican leaders but It is
unnecessary 10 do that when Democrats or In
fluence and candor admit that the law needs
radical amendment. and that II is Wiley parti-
san and unjust in it's methods. Then there IL
the Democratic reformer's challenge still to be
answered: who has been shutting and stack
ing the cards."
without entering into details Of election fraud
in any Congressional district, may quote two
statements of opinion from representative Dem
ocrats-one a cynical admission that cheating Is
practsed Systematically and Is justified by the
everlasting "nigger question" and the other an
indignant protest against election crime as de-
moralizing and utterly abominable:
The Cynical Democrat-The South does not
ha lad hxyy virginia
run any risk of negro domination. The shotgun
policy has never been employed here. but the
whites have protected themselves as matter
Of self preservation. and will continue to do So
Whites cannot allow blacks to govern them
anywhere in the world. The question shuts
out everything else in Southern politics. Some
of us are pro;ectionists, but we must vote once
q year against negro domination We have
employed all sorts of devices to keep the negro
under and we shall continue to do 1t. Cheating
Is better work than killing; but your Northern
people ought to understand by this time that
we cannot have niger government down here.
The constable provision is device Of the Wal
ton law that will not stand think we shall
come to educational suffrage with the Austria
Ian system-but never to negro domination
The Conscience Democratic the Republicans
Of the North will let us alone. the honest Demo-
Gratis throughout the South will clean up their
State politics. Let II be understood that the
next Republican Congress will not re-enact a
Federal Election law in any form. but will leave
the Southern States to manage their own affairs.
and these abomnabe election frauds will cease
There Is moral uprising throughout the South
against election iniquities Honest and consci-
entious Democrats in Virginia are determined
10 have the present system reformed We don't
wan, Northern help or interference. 1t does
more harm than good. The Republicans at
washington ought to stand aside and allow us
20 clean house ourselves.
have repeated two characteristic utterances,
each Of which expresses the current opinion OF
thousands OF Democrats. Election frauds OF
greater or less magnitude are admitted wher-
ever men in the South are candid and out