The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-20

before the signature, there Is this line; "God
Tie same editor who tells the story In his
newspaper OF the shameless bribery reprints I'M
derneath II this paragraph from TIE SUS:
Tuesday, Nov. o, should forever he a rod letter day
6dpp n nms AMi nsS Enc calendar: !, witnessed the tread
oountry's honor. Zach ono bore
4 SnownaEcs fall upon the sod.
As lightning does the will OF Col"
Let Us hope that the lish,nins Of Tuesday has for.
In the county Of Kent n man who has a posi-
lon, In Delaware society and In the financial
world similar TO that held by the President of
a leading. bank or trust company in this city
sat with the reporter for two hours and calmly
discussed the details of tho fraud. lie related
incidents MS calmly ms the NenS aud AdrrrtlsCr
related It's story of shame. He was II Union
Republican. He said:
mayer bought votes myself. I've been In
politics hero II long time. hut | never bought he
meant that he had never dealt directly with the
voter but Of course votes are bought. Every
body buys them. Both sides are In IL up to their
necEs. All the people are tarred with the same
stick. You ask tu why they are not prosecuted.
ago we heard that the Democrats were short
ana were not going to my any votes. They
and then prosecute them. We'll, before our
boys started out in tho morning we told them
Gratis doing 1t. They held of until about noon,
and then one OF the Democratic workers said to
one OF our boys: Why amt you people buying
said:. Yes. you'd like To prosecute us. wouldn't
vouT' The Democrat replied: Prosecute be
damned; 70 ahead and buy; we're buying and
been buying right along and we're going to
Keep II W, until the money runs out. Buy ahead;
IT'S Al right and our boys let out the strings.
Why. my dear sir, you appear astonished Mt
THIS, tel. you. sir. there hasn't been n man
sitting In the Congress OF the United States for
Delaware Ia thirty years who has not held his
seat as the direct result of vote buying. A,
shameless condition Of affairs? Yes, it's shame
do? II a man finds q burglar In his house he
isn't particular what means he uses to got him
in the State OF Delaware"
WHERE THE PILLARS OF SOCIETY STAND.
This. then, was his Justification: this and tho
fact that the Democrats bought, too. were all
the Justification lie had TO offer. AS to the re-
suit Of the wholesale use of money. he said:
My dear sir. this thing has gone on and the
demands on men who would hold office have
been so great that the State is full of stranded
political deadbeats lying busted on the shores"
We had money this year In plenty. The
Democrats were hnrd up. but they raised a lot.
They assessed every state aud county officer,
tions from every placchOlder there wh8 halls
from the state OF Delaware. | am in II position
, To k msn Who shsse sn 5sc votes S0p M est The ,Ss Sssr "a a sram Of
SSs r On IL s' %;sa'n many ! sI"" ma many many }a%s % Sfth
crat in the state who has boughEmore votes
than he has. | recollect a couple1of years ago
we're wranglinE with a buyer about the
Price when he came along. and. waving a fist
as full OF bills as II could stick. called: Boys,
follow me; I've got the real stuff And that
gang followed him like "a herd OF sheep. He
took 'em right away ,frop- the other fellow.
That same election there was the greatest
scarcity of change in town that was ever heard
OF. The grocers and the dry goods men and
the cigar men kept running to the bank with
five. tens. and twenties to get change. People
had crowded them. They had purchased things
as as small as a plnE 1f tobacco and rendered bills
II came out later. The year before a lot of the
boys had been stuck on counterfeit bills and
fhpv ~ .I nf hta In. inGt . - . . . -.
we're straight
This is not the complete interview that the
to show the reader how bribery and the de-
bauchinG OF the people appear to a man high in
Delaware society, a man looked up to by his
Quotation from the interview with him is con-
cluded with this question and answer:
CLASS LEADERS MOTIVE FOR REFORM.
Tie Reporter Since both parties spend
sum a. the other. wouldn't IT, be better for them
to agree not TO sHend a cent in the future?
Ike anything better. Do you know the foaters.
If they, were left 70 themselves, would almost
surely be with the Republicans. because the Re-
publicans have kept their promises with them.
II the Republicans have promised IL man S25.
he has always received IL as soon as the goods
Democrat have promised S25 and then paid
s.. pleading that their money had given out,
The quality OF tbs morality displayed by this
answer is submitted for general consideration.
THINKS UNION REPUBLICANS HAVE SPENT
100000 IN DELAWARE ELECTIONS.
The lawyer referred to by this citizen as
democrat OF his are in the State was visited.
With him the reporter discussed the topic
already gone over with the banker. There were
the same shameless admissions and the same
miserable attempt at II justification. framed In
. ost the same language. The lawyer esti-
that COUNTY alone this year $4,000. He es,i.
mated. tina, there had been invested IN
f5sSs'SnS IA all 'I told " NOT i Iess ,hS SSu9 s5So. 900 %
by the Union Republicans: He estimate
that there were between $500 and 5000
voters in Kent county who were correctly
called ~noaters, and that they all had received
money for their votes this year. He did not
how many the Democrats bought. but he did
know. he said. that a lotof Democrats had taken
the Union Republican money and then voted
the Democratic ticket, and he ohuckled Gayly
at their sinartness.
81 admit" no said, that I've bought votes.
The commonest nd Emission that was heard BY
the reporter in the State OF Delaware was the
admission quoted above. In another town a
doctor said:
"Bought votes2 OF course I've bought votes,
I'm no purisi: I'm not squeamish and I'm no
hynocrite, or course I've bought votes. You
may be told BY people that they never bought
will show me n man In the state of Delaware.
outside of a lunstic asylum. who says he never
bought or never sold. Will show you either u
In another a State official said. 1--WE bought
NDles anu / III not ashamed OF IT,
In another a doctor said, YES, I've bought
votes, but | don't approve of it. / don't buy
them any more, l leave that work to less
squeamistt men,"
BUYING NEW VOTERS JUST TO GET THEM USED
TO 1T.
1t seems bad enough to buy votes when there
Ia q contest and when votes are needed. but in
Delaware men have been bribeh to vote when
there was no contest and when their votes were
not needed. From $3.50 to SIS cnch has been
paid To them. and the excuse offered by the men
who have done The purchasing Is that he votes
were bought to keep the men in line. II bought
regularly. the voters would be handled more
easily when they were needed. The buying in
these years has been more open ana more shame
less. if possible, than In years when there has
been n contest and the votes were needed.
The new ones we bought those years. said
one OF the buyers TO The SUS reporter, I'VE
bought because We wanted to get them In the
habit of sell nE.'
PASTORS AID AND ABET THE DECENTRALIZATION.
has been shown that the crime Of bribery is
widespread in the stale. but more remains TO
be told az The character OF the men engaged In
it. There Ia no part 81 society that is not con
taminated. IL was said that the Church itself
had been dcbauched.. One church in Kent
comfy was enriched within the last
two year by II present OF $500 from
tho tniof! ltepuhl cans. and the pastor
OF that church WA, utrel for 81 "a 1nv