Smyrna times., 1897-01-13
THF CASE OF DELAWARE.


Watson r. Sperry, who returned to
Wilmington q few weeks ago, having
previously occupied the position of
Minister to Persia, writes pertinently
of the condition of things in Delaware.
After noting the fact that Delaware is
very much to the front" Just now in
the exposition of election frauds in the
New York Sun and other papers he
says:
But the General Assembly as if it
feared that the recent inability of the
courts of Delaware to find one little
way to use their power against elector-
al fraud would not sufficiently Impress
the public that Delaware was given
over this sort Of thing, has added an
entirely novel (in Delaware object les
son that fraud is good politics, by
in the house Of Representatives one
member from New Castle county and
seven from Kent county who were de-
feated at the polls, and by organizing
the Senate under Temporary speaker
who was never elected to that office.
1t must make some of the poor devils
who sold their votes in Kent and Sus-
sex counties enviOus to see the ease
with which a political party can steal
a whole country, and the election Off
] IN, I,
sued the simple method Of subtracting
ten or twenty votes from the candidate
whom they wished to defeat and add
| ing them to the vote of the candidate
WHOM they wish to elect, must regard
themselves as rather poor politicians
in comparison with the daring and
shamelessness shown i'll stealing the
organization of the State Senate
One or two things are self-evident
Vote selling in Delaware cannot be
stopped by one political party's ''spen
ding all the money it has got" and
then hOwling about corruption and
bribery at the polls because the Other
side had more money than it had
Vote-buying cannot be stopped as Ions
as all political parties spend all tn,
money on election day that they cal
raise, then express holy horror becaus,
the Judas-bag of one of them contains
more money than the bags of the othe
party. And thirdly, so long as reck
less and desperate men can falsify tn,
state of the vote with impunity, cal
organize one branch of the law-makinl
body by manifest illegality with i'm
punity, SO long will corruption and po
litical fraud prevail in Delaware.
THE COURT RESPONSIBLE.
If our courts, organized specially fo,
the just enfOrcem ent of law, for tn,
safety of society, for the promotion o
justice, and presided over by mel
whom we would all be glad to believ
are above the transitory partisan pas
sionS of the moment, cannot be de
pended upon TO punish these scoun
drels, pray why should the scoundrel
cease their work? If our courts whel
they have full opportunity, when the.
have to make a plea to the public i,
order to find a way not to punish tn
men who defile and reverse on
elections, thus cease to be the proteC
tor and safeguard of stable social orde
and become part and parcel of the gen
eral rOtteness, why should not politi
cal fraud and political swindling be a
reputable as preaching a sermon o
running bank?
If the courts are utterly unable to pro
tect this State in the honest use of it
organized political rights-and ther
has been g. number of examples of thi
inability of late, both in Wilmington
and Dover-then whittier can we lool
for relief and safety? A great man,
persons seem to think that we cRl
secure help from constitutional provis
ions and statute law. That is mainl,
nonsense. Constitutions cannot en-
force themselves. Delaware is nov
fairly crowed with virtuous-soundinl
statute law. We have law on every
hand and for everything; but whel
our courts are confronted with this Law
and the culprits they piously confess
their inability to apply it to the partic
ular case in hand and the culprits e
away refreshed and encouraged to dt
another job of dirty work of the same
kind.
There is no power in Delaware t.
enforce this principle except oul
courts.
For this election corruption is nov
fully installed in the State Senate, il
the upper house of that body which il
the regulated channel through whicl
the virtuOus desires of the people fine
authoritative expression in statute law
There the spirit of election crime sit
triumphant, while our judges go upol
the streets with bowed heads, murmur
ing softly mon possumus, mon pos
sumus"-we are not able, we are no
able! Then why are they iudges-th,
men to whom the people look for SO
curity?
W.R. S.
Unadilla, N. Y; January 8.