The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-03
AUSTRALIAN BALLOT LAW
CHIEF CLERK HINMdN DISCUSSED
THE QUESTION


Answered Henry 4. Blake-An Enthusi-
astic Meeting.
discussed before large gathering of
the members of the Young Mems Re
publican club at the club house ON
Crown street last evening by r, S. Hin
man, chief clerk to the secretary of
state. This paper was in answer to one
read before the club in which the en-
velope system of voting was upheld.
Mr.. Human said in part:
There are two systems of voting be-
fore the public that entail no expense
upon the elector other than the sacrifice
of his time and the expense of getting
to the polls, and no expense upon the
candidate. One of these is the Austral-
ian ballot: the other the voting ma
chine.
Every argument that Mr.. Blake
brought up as against the Australian
ballot would apply with double effect
against the voting machine. 1t has one
advantage, however. Any ballot can
be- under the provisions of our consti-
tuition, distinctively marked. l have
yet to learn how you can tell how a
man votes in a voting machine. / am
not discussing the relative merits of the
Australian ballot and voting machine,
however
am a firm believer in the idea that
every elector should in the exercise OF
the elective franchise use his own in
| diyidual judgment. One vote is all any
man ought to control, whether he be
| the possessor of millions, the pastor of
a church or the owner of a mandatory
| of small hardware.
| Until we reach the political millen-
MUM, however, men will be influenced
| by other than their own or the common
! welfare
! If had my way any improper inf1u-
| ence would be punishable.
| / would disfranchise the man who
| bought or sold a vote and I would pun
ish the boss of a mandatory or church
| who appealed to the fears of persons
| under his influence instead of their rea
| son to direct their votes.
/ am free to say, however, that, with
all my prejudice against this whole
| business of voting other people, have
| vastly more respect for a man who
pays FOR a vote than for the man who
| lies to get it.
| am aware that in making this state
| ment am subjecting myself to severe
| criticism, especially by the tariff re-
| formers.
| Do you suppose the people of this
country would have elected Grover
| Cleveland president and a tariff reform
congress if they had not been system
| atically and persistently lied to? II
instead the tariff reformers had paid 81
per vote the poor fellows would have
| that much to start in on the hard times
with, and whatever moral sin the payer
committed it would not be charged uT
| in the great book as worse than buncc
| lying-robbing man of his vote and
| giving him nothing in return.
The Australian ballot gives to every
elector the privilege, without expense
| lip or hindrance, and without expense
| to any candidate, of voting as he
chooses.
He may be improperly influenced be-
! fore he takes his ballot and he may
mark that ballot. as he may mark any
other ballot, so that it may be identi-
| fed, but it will show so plainly that he
will be very unlikely to do so.
| The Australian ballot system requires
| that the voter have certain amount OF
| intelligence, be reasonably sober and
| look at his ballot. None of these re.
quirements would seem to be particu-
larly detrimental to the best interests
| of the state.
Through stupidity, ignorance or care.
lessness the elector may disfcanchist
himself, and the first two seasons tht
state will suffer but little. In none o.
these cases is the law to be blamed
The law that works disfranChisemen
| or the voter through no fault of his il
the faulty laws. I have here u forr
of ballot prepared to vote at a piesi
Dental and state election in Connect
cut. 1t provides for the candidates d
four parties and has on it fifty name
AS however, six presidential electors ar
voted for at once the elector can unless
he writes the names of his candidates
vote for his choice for each office h,
making ten check marks and he can d;
this deliberately in thirty seconds. /
l were a betting man | would stalk
something that with half hours in
struction Mr.. Blake could vote that bal
lot correctly, Notwithstanding his ina
bility to distinguish between an Aus
tralian ballot and picture paper will
a black star over the republican col
umn, an eagle over the democratic col
unm, tumbler half full of rum o
water over the prohibition column, ant
something that could be worshipped a
not being in the likeness of ANYTHING i,
Heaven above, neither on the earth
beneath, over the labor mems candi
dates or an arrangement by which yol
vote the way Lincoln's nose is turned
A man that could not vote that bal
lot intelligently could wear hat witt
only brim, as Judge Torrance tells of
Now, my friends, I have not gon
hunting for envelope laws in othe
states with all sorts of job lot attach
ments and held them to you as objec
tons to the envelope system of voting
I have not even called your attention
to the ridiculously contradicting pro
visions of the ballot law of this stat
because that law was not written no
was it amended by men who cared
picayune for the envelope system o
voting, but in both cases it was only t,
stave off a bill that would prevent
friend from fixing your ballot. VIII,
FIJI or