The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1900-01-31
ELECTION FRAUDS
MUST BE STOPPED
Republican State Convention Will
Declare in Favor of
Ballot Reform.
THE EVIL NOT WIDESPREAD.

| Democrats and Others With selfish
| interests Cannot, However, Make
Political Capital Out of Election
ookedness in n Few Districts In
the sIums of Philadelphia.
Especial Correspondence
Harrisburg, Jan. S0-Because cou-
pie of cases of election frauds were re-
Gently unearthed in the slum districts
of Philadelphia great howl has been
raised all over the state in an attempt
to place the responsibility of this
crookedness upon the Republican or.
ganization. This is not done through
any particular desire to adranC the
cause of reform, but with a view to
help along the Democratic party AMI
| the political ambitions of few men
who, while claiming to be Republicans,
are devoting their time to assailing that
party because they have failed in their
efforts to secure positions through the
Republican organization.
The Republican party of Pennsylva-
MIA is too great an organization, andits
record is such that any fair minded
man would not charge it with counte-
nancing corruption at elections, to al
| low even the discredited Democratic
leaders to continue to spread the re-
ports connecting party leaders with
| this nefarious work. The coming Re-
publican state convention will, in the
party platform, denounce in the most
emphatic manner all illegal practices
at the polls: it will call for the arrest
and conviction of all who shall be
guilty of election frauds of any charac-
ter. and will demand of the next leg
islature the enactment of such legisla-
ton as will place additional safeguards
about the ballot and insure even in the
hotbeds of depravity, in the slum dis
tricts of the large cities, as free and as
fair an election as is had in a great
majority of the voting precincts of the
commonwealth under existing condi-
tions. There will be no opportunity or
reason to question the sincerity of
these declarations or of the party
leaders who will frame these declara-
tions and the state convention, which
will be composed of representative Re-
|
commonwealth, will adopt the platform
by unanimous vote. This, then, can
be taken as pledging the honor of the
Republican party to see that this prom
Use in the platform shall be carried out
at the next session of the general as
sembly.
The Bryanite Democratic organiza-
ton which met here last week had but
two verses to their song One was for
the glorification of Bryan and Guffey
as the national and state leaders of
their cause and the other was sweep
ing arraignment of the Republican par
ty as the party of corruption. They ar
raigned Republicans as the party of
trusts and corruption in national legis-
lation and as the party whose reign of
power was only continued through cor
ruption at the polls.
Their anti-tariff fulminations were
exploded in many a campaign, but with
these couple of election cases in Phila-
delphia as their excuse they sought to
make out that the great maiorites
throughout the state for the ReDubli-
can ticket at the last election were
manufactured by means of the manip-
ulation of the returns and the stuff
ing" of the ballot boxes. Since the
Democrats have departed the second
verse of their song has been taken up
by some of the so-called Republican
insurgents, who have "a holier than
thou" way of presenting themselves be-
fore the public, and they, too, wish to
pose as the especial champions of a
pure ballot"
PEOPLE NOT FOOLED.
Now the facts are the people are not
being fooled by any tactics of this char
acter. They know that the Republican
party through its state organization.
is responsible for the many reforms
that have been instituted within the
last ten years-all aimed toward a Sc
cret ballot. a free and open election
and fair count and proper return of
all the votes cast at every election,
borough, county or state They know
that the present ballot law insures all
these conditions when there is an in
telligent and law abiding constituency
to see that the provisions of the law
are carried out. Complaints as to i'm
perfections in the law come from very
few election districts. As a rule. the
voters, since they have become famil-
lar with the method OF marking the
ballot, are entirely satisfied with the
present law in its general provisions,
but if amendments can be made to
the act which would place additional
safeguards in the way of blocking the
schemes of the political heelers in the
large cities there would be universal
satisfaction expressed amongthose who
regard the voting franchise as one of
the most sacred of American institu-
tons.
That an honest effort will be made
by the leaders of the Republican or
ganization to bring this about is be-
yond question. They are thoroughly
slive to the sentiment of the people on
this subject and they will see to it
that the ballot law is strengthened in
this particular at the coming session
of the legislature. Those who are as
sailing the Republican organization
In Philadelphia because of the two
cases Of election frauds just exposed
want to let the people who suffer from
rheumatism and sciatca know that Cha n