The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-12-26
ELECTION LAWS.
Jones Speaks for q Free Bal.
lot and . Fair Count
ans Eeetfans a the Observation-Disclosures
cnialnR chs Egnosant voter
torence Between 3 Fo1ticiah
and : Statesman.


neony OF political excitement and now
the election Is over and soon the legis
1atures of the various states not already
in session viii convene. The candi-
dates begged and implored and con-
5nred tho people for their votes. Now
az return what will The of1eials do for
che peOpie9 Every official owes a debt
Ia his constituency that he can only
pay BY the most faithful service. by
answering loyalty TO right and princi-
pie, by the championship Of ell wise
and gooQ measures. and by q vigilant,
<vatehful care lest some bill or meas
are which is not to the best interest
Of The morals, peace and good order
OF his community be not detected and
defeated. cannot be charged with the
work Of spite or opposition now to any
odidate. Offices have been melted out
i Nh. Mckinley down to the little
@'''9tsbles. j shall not discuss men but
snres.
Aesetery Legislature IN every state IN
union ought to settle first and fore
most the question Of q decent, right
eous election law. The frauds OF the
cast ought never TO be repeated in the
Culture. Unless BY wise legislation and
naithfuI enforcement of law these
frauds and ~rascaiities at the polls and
with the ballot boxes shall be stopped
there viii be riots and ~bloodshed, and
a thousand people viii be killed around
The polling precincts, A bad thing can
60 just so far and no farther. take the
position as an humble. private citizen
of this country that any man in the
legislature or out OF the legislature is
in favor of a free ballot and q fair
count, and nobody but a dishonest, dir
fy scoundrel would countennnce fraud
IN politics or anywhere else. and he
who fights in the legislatures OF this
toun6ry the adoption and passage of the
best possible election laws for his state
either got into the Legislative halls by
fraud and rascality, or else be is afraid
he cant get back again without the use
OF both at the polls. The Australian
ballot ought TO be adopted by every
state in this union. There are less
ehances for fraud when the Australian
ballet is used than any other method
with which ] am acquainted. ! know
hat some men calling themselves 1ogis-
iators viii sag that & works h~ardships
npon the ~ilIiterate; that II is not right
TO d~isfranchise a man because he is
ignorant.
There are many things which don't
seem right 10 US. but they Z wise and
good. 1T does not look like it is hard-
ship for a railroad to discharge amen
gineer who has Faithfully served the
annananu 20 or al szaars nnd xet he can.
mot read ard write. But that is done,
nevertheless. for the protection Of the
travelling public and for the safest and
most efficient movement of trains. 1t
looks hard to discharge a locomotive
engineer or conductor because they are
color blind. but nevertheless it is done
in the interest Of the travelling public
and Of the road which discharges them.
It looks q little hard to some women.
that they cannot vote when they know
they have nor sense. more morals and
more education than half the gang who
to the polls with their ballots.
The greatest good to the greatest
number Is asafe rule. I sympathize with
the unfortunate, but I love the honor Of
my state and the perpetuity of its noble
institutions more than ]. sympathize
with the fellow who has grown up in.
a country where books were ten cents
apiece and kerosene oil ten cents a gall
Ion as ignorant as a mule. To corrupt
the ballot is to undermine the very
mud sills Of our institutions. To stuff
3 ballot or pcrpetrate election frauds is
xhe greatest crime a nah can commit
against this country. 1t ought to be
made treason to buy or sell a vote. to
tanper with the ballot box or be guilty
of election frauds. It looks like politi-
clans themselves would grow sick and
tired Of the methods SO frequently used
all over this country. I know there are
extremes to which we can 90. II read
the deliyerances Of a man a few days
ago who said that IN the south we were
constantly menaced with the color
cote. He said the Anglo-Saxon race
must stay on top. and there were three
ways IL which to dealwith the negro in
politics. One was Il move him out of
this country. another to disfranchise
him. and the other to kill him. / am
sure we will never movesthe brother in
black from the south. We had as well
talk about moving the fertile plains Of
the west and rehabilitating the red
hills and gully-washed fields OF South
Carolina and Georgia with them. We
rannot disfranchise him by any rule
which does not apply to the white man.
Nobody but q murderer wants to kill
hin. The Australian ballot is the best
and the easiest solutionNof the trouble.
With the Australian ballot we a have
honest elections-maybe not altogether
honest. any more than we have full pro
aection to life by the laws against muir
der and homicide; but we eliminate
from politics largely the ignorant that
don't know and the rascaIs that can be
bought and sold like steers or mules in
the markf Let all the legislatures
mass the Australian ballot law. Lei
them make buying or selling a vote q
felony punishable not only oy impris
0nnentin the p~enitentiary Of the state
bet with It the everlasting disfFan,
chisement Of the guilty party.
Virtue and intelligence must domin
ate over vice and ienofance II this gov