The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-10-19

| Democrats carry the State this yea" they
will make such an election law that they
| will hold the State forever or for many
years; if we (the FusiOnists) carry the
election we will make such Jaws that
we will hold it for years. Salisbury
Sun.
Dr. Cyrus said aloud only what ha9
been in the minds of every fusion lead
err for months past, and what more
| thar one of them has publicly declared.
| Undoubtedly if it were possible the ne
| gro dominationsts woall SO improve on
the present fair and lust election law"
as to insure for them an indefinite lease
the constitution in an effort TO perpetuate
| their infamy.
Why the negrophilists should not be
content with the present law or what
better measure for 'heir pefariDus pur-
poses they can wish, unless they purpose
to enact law allowing every negro to
vote as often as he chooses, it were
difficult to imagine. The present law
| puts premium on illegal voting and
practically eliminates the freedom of the
voter to exercise any choice except be-
| tween the two tickets as Il whole.
| The law provides that TO man shah
| challenge voter until he puts up the
price Of the investigation, which sum he
| is told will be returned to him by tht
county commissioners if the challenge is
sustained. This is costly and circutous
method that enables election manipuia
tors to import and vote negroes practl
cally at will in all counties bordering
on Virginia and South Carolina. Note
this extraordinary clause:
1.-THE entry Of the name, age, resiGcnc.
and date of registration of any person by
the registrar upon the registration boon
| of the precinct shall be presumptive evil
dence of the regularity Of such registra-
| ton. the truth of the facts stated, ana
| the right of such person to register and
vote at such precinct" To rebut all
| this presumptive right the challenger
must ''swear to specific cause and pay
| for the privilege.
| Under this "fair and just" method OF
ballot stuffing 500 negroes can be i'm.
ported and registered In n dozen pre-
cincts on the last day of registration. To
challenge them all would require 1925
| in cash and 500 affidavts. The larger the
number imported the easier the fraud to
| supposed that since negroes are con-
stantly shifting their residence and are
exceedingly difficult to identify under all
circumstances that 30 per cent. of these
| illegal voters could be detected?
| There are still other beauties in this
| famous measure. For instance it is pro.
vided that all names of members of the
| Legislature and of county officers shall
| be printed on one ballot. If a respectable
citizen should be disinclined to cast his
lbalfot for, say a negro or forger, on the
| fusion ticket he must scratch out the
name so thoroughly that a fusion judge
| of election can not decipher it with
| the aid of Il reading glass Not only that
| but to coerce the voter still farther into
swallowing the whole pill the fusionists
have announced their intention to print
the names ON the ticket in very fine
type and put them close together so that
ratching will be tedious and difficult
and that the average voter will have to
''go the whole hog or none"
And this is the famous '.fair and just
election law which was to ''ensure
free ballot and fair coant" If the
negro-serying hooters had done nothing
else the passage Of this inquitous law to
debauch the ballot and c0crce the voter
should insure their Reputation by any
self-respecting constituency. They pro-
TESS great soIicitude for the citizen whom
they term the Ignorant voter" and they
concoct an election law that allows him
no choice as to men but only as to tick
cts. They howl for a "fair count and
| take steps to count themselves, negroes
| and all, into office perpetually. They
cry for ''free ballot and understand it
to mean let every man vote who wants
| to, stranger within the gates" as well
as citizen, so he but vote the fusion
ticket. And these dirty tricksters have
| had the effrontery to make this measure
Il rallyng cry before the voters of North