Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-12-02
Honest Elections.

A0U0St 1lectl8uS.
There are few people who are seek
ne to mos.ify the present election laws
If this State: They want. they say, !
honest election laws" They forget
or do not know that this is a mislead-
ing term. A law can hardly be.other-
wise than honest, it cannot execute
itself, it is therefore the administers
ton of the law which becomes dishon-
est, and the only question therefore Is,
would the present law be more honest-
ly administered if Republicans had 1t
to administer than if left in the hands
of the Democrats. It is safe to say
that knowing what has been charged
up against leading Republicans IN
handling their own conversions lately
and counting as against each other,
that the deal would not be any fairer
if even as fair as now. The present
law in this city has wrought most
salutary change. Elections formerly
were the most disgraceful affairs I'M
aginable. Drunken negroes and low
whites in the same maudlin condition
were on every hand. Money was OPEN
ly paid for votes. Carriages and cigars
were in profusion. Men were dragged
to the polls by their fellows who had
pulled them away from an opposing
crowd and voted when they did not
know for whom they voted and, moro
over, did not care. Now no day is
so orderly as an election day, and the
only loud words or signs Of collision
on the day Of the last election came
from members of the Republican par
ty which split itself into factions and
amongst the leaders Of which factions
there was great bitterness of feeling.
We have but one change to recommend
and that is that every voter, unless he
be blind or physically disabled, be re-
quired to arrange his own ballot. We
see the necessity of this more than
ever since our last election. The Hon
Jacob Yost was ready to cry fraud
against election judges OF this city al
the last election because they did moi
desire to decide for voter what wal
meant by the Republican ticket" OF
the whole Republican ticket" HI
instructed voters to tell the judges
that they wanted to vote the 'swhol'
Republican ticket" and he construed
this to mean that the ballot then mus
have on it the names of McCaull, Rol
Ter and Lyons, and the county Repub
lican nominees for the Gen. Assembly
Mr.. 8. Brown Allen, who was pres
emit, denied that there was any Repub
lican ticket except that with the name
of the candidates for the Gen. Assem-
IDLY. that the McCaull end was al
independent ticket, a spurious affair
lnot entitled to recognition, and wa
Iendeavoring to steal the livery OF tn
Republican Heaven to serve the dew
in. Now both these gentlemen CLAIM
to be Republicans of the highest order
and yet one went one way and tn
other the other on SO important
iauestion. But Mr.. Yost asserts that
Judge was bound, when voter toll
him that he wanted to vote the ''whol
Republican Tickets to decide that b
meant to vote for McCauit apd other;
land Mr.. Yost would uDdoabtediy Il
Congress or anywhere he had the OF
lportunity denounce q judge rs a COZ
rupt and unfit person il. he failed 0
refused this. When Republicans car
not themselves agree as to what cor
stitutes the Republican ticket, no,
can they expect anybody else to settl
the question for them9 The only plal
therefore is to let the voter settle
himself Let him go to the judges &c
his ticket. arrange it to suit himsel
and deposit-it in the box. If he lose
1 his vote through Ignorance. mistak
or otherwise, the loss 10 his, il igno
rance bands itself into q political part.
and that party suffers through tn
| ignorance then let it suffer, IL Cal
| blame no one but itself. The vote
cannot go out and denounce q judg
for having ~rongfuliy marked hi
ticket, there Is NO one who can b
made the scape goat under such law
and no further encouragement IL give
Ito ignorance. Then too the frau,
cryer will have less room to spread hi
lungs.