Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-02-27

Nbhtb lAAhNlAN NHNG NNaN AhA'Athf $50
Europe. Their country is, you know.
only about as large MS est Virginia, or
about hall the SIZE Of the state OF New
York, and its population is not more
than 1000, ooo though there are about
as many more Greeks scattered through
out the other countries OF the Mediter.
raneau.
a NATION or POLITICIANS.
There is more political discussion in
! Athens than there is in Washington.
While this trouble with Crete goes on
business will probably be given up ior
the time, and the people will do little
else than talk about the situation. The
! chief places Tor such gossip are the cafes,
OF which there are hundreds in Athens.
| Here every afternoon and evening
thousands OF people come together to
drink coffee and talk politics. The
newsboys bring round the political
papers, of which there are hall a dozen
in Athens, and each man has his paper
| and his coffee These papers are print
ed 10 the same characters which you
find in the Greek classics, and the mod.
ern Greek language is much the same as
, the old Greek, | found that could &c,
! along with little phrase book, and
could even read some oil the jokes in
the Greek comic papers
POLITICAL BooMs IN GREECE.
The Creeks oil today are as great
stump speakers ast1eir ioreiathers we're.
There is much shrewd electioneerng
done, and the wives of the Greciau
candidates help their husbands quite as
much as our American wives do theirs.
Some OF the women even eleclioneer
Tor their husbands, and was Told OF one
Greek woman who, seeing that her hus'
! band would probably be defeated, went
to some Of the villages in the district
| and said that every one who voted the
right way would have free railroad
ticket TO Athens and a ticket to the
theater. The Greeks are crazy for
/ amusements, aud this bid gave her hus'
band a seat IN the parliament Every
man in Greece has the right to vote
The members OF parliament are elected
much like our congressman. Their
terms are Tor four years, and they re-
Ceive salaries OF about four hundred
dollars session. They have more
power than our members OF congress,
aud it is they in reality who govern
Greece. 1t IS they who will decide as
TO wars with Turkey, and it is from them
that the appropriations must come The
king has the right to veto, but he would
not daie to exercise 1t against a large
majority. He is just as anxious 10 be
popular with his people as the president
is anxious to be popular here, ana he is
pretty sure to do as the people want
HOW THE GREEKS VOTE.
A political campaign in Greece is very
much like political campaign in Amer.
lea. The Greeks are fond OF good
speakers and the man who can make a
good stump speech stands a chance OF
an election. There is much buncombe,
of course. but the modern Greeks are
intelligent, and the poorest OF them con
slider themselves on an equality with
the richest. The waters at tine Gales
and the drivers on the street cars will
talk politics with you, and The politician
has to do the same handshaking in
Greece that he does in the United States.
All OF the elections are held upon sun.
day, aud curiously enough the polls are
in the churches In Athens you have to
go to the cathedral TO do your voting.
The voters are all registered, and the
elections are watched much more care
fully in Greece than they are here.
Every candidate watches his own box,
for there is a ballot box for each candi
date, He does not do It in person, but
has judge appointed in each dstnc, TO
take his place. The ballot boxes are
arranged in a row along one side OF the
church. They are so fixed that only one
man can pass through at one time. Each
box is about foot square. In its top
there is pipe, the hole in which is Just
large enough TO admit the arm OF a man.
This pipe runs down through the middle
of the box until 1t meets partition
which divides the box in half. One side
OF the box is for affirmative ballots and
the other for negative. The ballots are
buckshot, and the voter having put his
hand down into the pipe drops his ballot
for or against the candidate as he pleases
without the possibility OF any one know.
ing how he voted, Each voter is given
only as many buckshot as there are
candidates, and each judge can see that
he has but one ballot IN his hand before
he pufs it in the box There are few
election frauds in Greece 1t is almost
impossible to stuff ballot boy, and in
case the bullets in the boxes 10 not cor
respond with the registration at the
entrances the whole vote is thrown out.