The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1898-08-04

A. Oh. saio In 1897, a5tf the Re-
pubiicans and Irifchard Popaiists OBJ
tanned full control of the legislature.
the Republicans drafted an election
Law which gave TO that party snch con-
troll Of the election machinery as
would have forever made fair cleo
ton impossible la North Carolina. IL
Wa drawn TO give dairy skinner and
J-t-r Prifchsrd power To carry the
elections in North Carolina, no mst-
ter how tn. voters ight deposit their
ballots IL was the most infamous and
'ranspar~BtIy dishonest election law
thatey.r crossed the threshold Of at
American Legislature. giving IA II
did two thirds Of the election mscbir-
Fry atevery precinct TO Republicans.
The above is very interesting, aod
deserves more than passing notice. 10
The fret place, let il be noticed that
I, he News and Observer admits that
the only way to have fair and honest
| elections is to have al election law
that gives to each political party the
right 10 b. represented On All elecfiCn
boards by representatives. OF its own
selection. That this Is true no one
cat successfully deny. The News al d
Observer then claims that the Demo
cratic platform declare for the same
kind OF an election law when it says:
ave favor fair and just election
laws"
But the people of the state will re-
member that the Democratic machine
during all the days when it was pros
tituiing the ballot and having its
election officers to commit per Jury and
having bull pens erected at every
place where it was necessary to shut
out Gods sunlight to hide the stealing
that occurred in the darkness, that
they were then declaring as loudly az
any hypOcrite or pharisee ever did 10
favor Of fair and just elections.
| The honest masses OF the Demo.
cratic party are in favor of honest and
just elections, and they are in favor
Of the kind of law that gives every
party the right to select its own rep
resentatives, as advocated and sup.
ported by the Peoples Party. But we
have no faith in the repentance of the
Democratic machine. The only way
that this gOldbug and monopoly ma
chine can live in North Carolina is By
defeating the will of the people at the
polls by ballo box stufiing:::
| The News and Observer, however, j:
right when it says that 1t was the Re.
publicans and boiling Populists III
the legislature of 1897 that betrayet
their pledges Of "a 95 to the people
and conspired to repeal, and did re.
peal, the very provision in the cleo
ton law of 1895 that guaranteed
a free ballot and a fair count. The
men who did this had no doubt made
up their minds to grab the election
machinery of this State and to do some
stealing of their own. and they are but
little better than the Democratic bal.
lOt.box suffers. The News and Oh.
server, however, is wrong when it says
that the election law that certain Re.
publicans and the boiling POpulists
tried to put through the legislature
twas the most infamous and transpa-
rentiy dishonest election law that ever
crossed the threshold of an American
legislature, giving, as it did, two-thirdt
of the election machinery Of every
voting precinct to the Republicans
We admit that the proposed election
law was very bad-indeed, it was in.
famous-but 1t was not quite as bad a.
a tss @sYtns tls1tlsp it~ fn99afr which
the Democratic machine stole elections
in North Carolina for many years.
The Democratic election law not only
gave the Democrats two. thirds of the
election machinery, but it gave them
all Of the election machinery. 1t is
true that they pretended to give one
representative on the election board to
an opposing party, but they took care
to select, wherever it:was necessary to
do stealing, an illiterate negro, or a
blind negro il they could find him, or
a negro who was the hired tool of the
Democratic machine. They went fur
Their and provided bull-pen, behind
which the stealing could be done with
out any chance of detection by any,
body.
The masses in all parties in North
Carolina are honest, and they are in
favor of honest elections. They are in
favor OF crushing every thief and per-
jurer who puts his polluting touch
upon the sanctity Of the ballot box
But, so far, the Peoples Party is the
only organization that has shown that
it is in favor of fair and honest cleo
tions. In the Peoples Party is where
the majority of the people belong, and
they are coming.