Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-09-19
coEnCloN IN ELECTIONS.

while we can never be brought 10 en-
dorsa Tho shotgun policy advocated by
the Times, In order To minimize '"e w
or.d vote. we are forced to confess tha'
- &c little II any. worse than starving
:, ubite man out of his vote. There Is
no crime In elections more detestapie IMAM
coercion. The difference between 'he va,
Iot-box-stuffer and the coercer is iue"u-
cal with the difference between 'ne
sneak-t thief and the highway roopei'
Roth steal n vote. and both are equaiy
Guilty and each is so sklfully entrencheu
a. b,s rascaIity that IL is hard to cap
ture and convict him. Coercion by 'o'oe
and show of force, as tried by tne Nc
nubIican party in the South for eieVen
wears. could not be made permanent 'he
bavonet was too apparent ana us sue
oessor. coercion by starvation is no" ""
trial The experiment is being maue
,,rder the auspices of the Republican
Marty under Mckinley, and the he-
publican Aid Society. Of when "ene-
raj Palmer is president. The latter gem
tleman has the advantage OF having Deeh
an expert in the old style OF dis-
franchising white men when he was
military Governor of Kentucky How
these two organizations may succeed re-
mains to be seen: but the enort itseh' as
far as it has gone. is making a deep nm
pression on the minds of the masses.
About the only thing that most people
have in this eccentric world, which gives
so much to the few and so ittie 10 'he
many IS their vote. 1t is the only pos
session that neither the sheriff nor the
creditor can get at. 1t Is pause VI
manhood and gives weight to what
man says: For the man VINO Is ois-
cussinc public matters. and has no Vo'e
to back his opinions, belongs to the recipe
folk" The ballot not only gives its
owner power to protect his own inter-
ests hut puts him in touch with MS le'-
lew-men Of different occupations ana IN
forests and wins for him their consiue-
,ation II is so valuable to him that
he will always strive and OFTEN hs'l ioi
r. Force he will oppose by force' put
starvation. how will he resist that! Ihere
10 nothing that more promptly arouses
tho sympathy of the popular mind than
coercion of a voter. 1t at once sug-
rests the idea of the strong depressing the
weak and helpless; but, whether IL sue
coed or fail. it is never forgotten. Ihe
corporations now essaying to coerce their
EMPLOYEES will be on the blacklist OF re-
membrance for many years to come. In
tbouehtful minds all these attempts at
making employees vote against their con-
victions will inspire grave reflections.
Every effort to practically prevent
mans voting his own will on questions
in which he is Immediately concerheu
will intensity the feeling against corpo-
rations.
The damage done lies in the attempt,
for while the workman or other corpora
ton employee, may go his own road ana
,ote his own way in the secret baiiot' ne
will never forget the attempt that mas
been made on his franchise. NOR VIII
the attempt be overlooked by the great
mass of the people who are his friends.
Coercion Of the employees vote, while
IL may have been practiced In the North
without concealment. has never gotten
foothold in the South. Certainly THIS Is
the first campaign in Virginia In which
officers of corporations have come poiu-
" out into the open and attempted 10
control their dependent vote. The at
tempt has created a general and deep
feeling of sympathy with the men threat
ened. as well as OF indignation against
the officials who used their positions 10
make the threats; for no one who under
stands the relations of employer and en-
plovee can regard them as other than
threats. We presume that, as rule
the threatened men will. when In the
curtained booth of the polling pre-
clnct. vote their own convictons'
hut with every thoughtful man.
We cannot help deploring the attempt
of the corporations to influence their en-
ployees. There are enough sources OF
trouble in this country now without add
ing this one.