Middletown transcript., 1896-10-17
Charles FL. Ellis

No Information was given uoio Ihah
the above save. that Mr.. Burke who
was the first to apply was told that the
date of his receipt was October IL,
1896, only the day before. Mr.. J. A..
Cleaver who was sitting by Mr.. Dickey
suggested that no further dates be given
and they were not but from the num-
bers of the receipts, the stubs, it will
be seen that they are all recent and
several of them are consecutive. What
does it meanP Everyone Of these men
claims that he had not authorized the
payment Of his taxes and indeed the
tax collectors have refused in hundreds
of instances to accept taxes except from
the individual. All this is too well
known to need repetition here, then
what does this mean?
The injustice Of this act should ap-
peal to men in like circumstances.
Here are eleven white men, hence there
can be no race prejudice against them,
selected as the victims of political
trick. There are eleven that are known
30 far in st. Georges hundred and pre-
sumably there are eleven times eleven
several times over in the county whose
right to the ballot has been tampered
with. What shall be done about itP
Unfortunately they are all compara-
lively poor men, and without the means
and the time to contend legally for their
birthright. Men Of larger means would
not be selected for this purpose. 1t is
q blow at the.liberties Of the poor. Two
years ago when among others profes.
sor in the Conference Academy was
deprived of his vote by the hiding of a |
collector in a hotel in Philadelphia, a |
brother professor cast his ballot for the
party of his friend as protest against
such conduct. If eleven Democrats in st. |
Georges hundred who earn their living
by their daily toll would say to the poll
ticians that you are doing us great |
wrong, taking advantages of our limi-
ted means and depriving the poor man
Of his sacred rights, and we disapprove
OF this matter so far as to cast our
ballots as would the eleven men who
are virtually disfranchised, then would |
such acts of injustice cease, then would
the ballot in the hands of the poor man
become power for his protection. 1t
is time that this shall be done gener-
ally.
We know that this act and all SINH
lar partisan acts against the purity Of
the ballot does not receive the approval
Of the best thinking men of any party.
Democrats in st. Georges hundred dis
approve Of this attempt to deprive her
citizens of their rights and it may be
within their power by protest to cor
rect the wrong. It is a blow at the
honesty of elections for which the tax
payers pay. The cost is put upon the
people. They pay those eleven taxes
and the eleven times eleven many times
over and the best remedy in division
of power. Minority representation is
;he safest and most economical for the
people always. A guarantee against a
repetition Of such acts would be to
,lect the Republicans upon the ticket
his fall who are the county's financial
agents. There are enough Democrats
a office holding over to check Repub-
leans. We did not begin this article
With this conclusion in our minds but [
We think it reasonable one and a good
me. and a most effective protest against
he efforts to deprive men Of their
Iotea.