The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-03-23

electoral vote OF Louisiana by the
Plaguemine frauds. Since 1874, the peo-
pie of the United States have not gener-
ally exercised free ballot About 1874,
| the great corporations which unfortun-
| ately had been permitted to monopolize
| public franchises, especially in trans
| portation, began unlawfully and cor
ruptly to influence legislation and the
| courts There is no limit to crime, once
| the floOd-gates are opened and the bal
| lot soon became, and ever since has
| been subject to the same corrupting in
| fluence that to so great an extent de-
| stroyed legislative and judicial honor
! For 80 years past the elections of New
| York and Philadelphia have been fraudu
| lent Ever since the war, political COM
mittees, national and state, nave raised
vast corruption funds to be used to de-
| termine elections in close districts and
| states. Moneyed corporations have
| poured out money like water for po-
| litical purposes and dictated the vote of
| their employees, then at Washington
| claimed and received their reward in
| class legislation. A majority of the
| United States senate hold their seats not
by the choice of the people, but through
| the active exertion of corporations, and
| are more their attorneys than senators
| and the same is true of the judges Of
| both the United States and state courts.
Rut wi
| form of election frauds has become
| prevalent. The sanctity of the ballot
| itself is violated The isolated practice
| of Boss Tweed and of the San Francisco
robbers who shipped the ballot box
with counterfeit votes or miscounted the
ballots and forged such returns as they
| judged Ought to be made mas become
| general, not only in our great cities East
and West, but in many states North and
| South.
The sanctity of the ballot destroyed,
f! what hope is there in the United States
for governmental reform by peaceable
means? Mr.. Altgeld says he was
counted out for reelection as governor
of Illinois in 1896 by Republican frauds.
Mr.. Bryan thinks he lost Illinois at the
same election and for similar reasons.
There are grounds for solid suspicion
that the poll lists and election returns
were padded by the Republicans in
Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Oregon and Cali
| fOrnia to the extent of hundreds of
| thousands Of fraJdu1ant votoc ond thot
Mr.. Bryan was fairly elected president
of the United States. Well, suppose it
to be true; what of it? Is it not also
true that the Democratic party of the
South resort to the same means to keep
the solid South Democratic? Mr.. Bryan
may have protested gently as sucking
dove against Republican frauds, but
when and where has he ever protested
against the manifest frauds of his own
party? Ought Mr.. Bryan to complain,
when is commended to his own lips the
same chalice from which Democrats
compel Republicans and Populists in
the South to drink?
We are accustomed to sneer at Mexico
and the Central and South American
republics bogus-as oligarchies, in
which the people have no power. Is it
not also true of the United States? Are
not our Universities and churches de-
bauched? Did not Archbishop Ireland
receive $50O,O00 from Wall street, just
before the election in 1894 ,and throw all
the influence of the Catholic church for
the Republican party? Have not the
Protestant churches North and South
become the bulwarks of the moneyed
monopolies, and the churches of the rich
and not of the poor? When did avarice
from any good motive ever surrender
single advantage within it's grasp? Does
the tiger release the fawn between its
fangs, till the last drop of blood is
sucked? Does 1t make us free to ignore
the chains that bind us? Our rulers will
graciously permit the people, as children
pleased with a rattle and tickled with
straw" to play with political organi-
zations-to make platforms and stand
upon them, but no reform theories Will
: ever pSdC6dUIy udlcl OFCl-
| throw the Republican and Democratic
| parties. The executive, congress, state
legislatures, the courts, the universities,
the church and last, but not least, Or
ganized fraud forbid. The election Of
1900 will be a farce-the only possible
good result will be to emphasize in the
public mind, the condition which con-
fronts us. Tyranny grows by what it
feeds upon, and to government by in
| junction will be added martial law and
! press and speech censorship.
The power being taken away from the
people to change by peaceable means
| this government, though it has become
| subversive of the rights it was origin
| ally created to maintain, there is and
| can be no remedy-except revolution.
The Cur" Press.