Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-08-18
EIGHT PAGES.
EXTREMES COMPARED.

the northern press. or q part of 1t,
is just now in the throes of one of the
most severe attacks of indignation and
horror at Southern election laws that
has amazed and amused the country
for some years. The fit is frantic and
protracted. and the symptoms range
all the way from the platitudinous
moralizing of the Philadelphia Ledger
to the insistent screech of the Phila-
delphia Press. that the Constitution is
being smashed and flouted, and the
solemn snarling OF the New York Sun
that the South is O menace to the
whole country.
AS individual instances of bad tenn
per, impaired digestion, conscious mis-
information or purposeful misrepresen-
tation, these manifestations are of no
sort of interest or Importance. Con-
sidered, however. as the temperament
al phenomena of a large section of the
country, even as deliberate and con-
certed political movement, these things
are both interesting and important. 1t
is also of the greatest consequence that
the South should not be led by uitland-
er criticism to believe itself worse than
it really is, nor to take the uitlander
at his own implied estimate of him
self.
Is the political morality of the South,
tfTun, ITS manifested 44ssa- ballot laws In
tended to compass political crooked
ness, so much worse than the politi-
cal morality OF the North? This is no
idle and no partisan question. Let
CO. hot tIa Oh fol
the extremes and institute a compari-
son. The Goebel law OF Kentucky has
served as the text OF most of the
TRADES of Northern papers, with the
North Carolina law a close second.
Now. what is the Goebel law. and
how did it operate in the last election
in Kentucky, seeing that it is consid-
cred the worst ballot law in the South
The Gocbel law merely provides for
partisan returning boards in State.
county and precinct. Undoubtedly
some stealing can be done under It.
Nevertheless. the Democratic return
Ing boards seated n Republican on the
face of the returns and the evidence
was all that the Republicans had little
room to protest against the working
of the Goebel law. There was some
crookedness on both sides. as there al
ways is, but the most partisan Repub-
licans have not claimed that the law
deprived them Of more than 5000 to
10000 votes. So much for the worst
ballot law of the South.
Let us turn now TO Northern State.
Pennsylvania has what is known as
the Baker law. dubbed by honest men
of all parties the Baker Fraud" Here
is Ex-Governor Chauncey II. Blacks
characterization of it:
THE people have endured the Baker
FRAUD nine years. They have seen all
the election abuses previously com
piained OF greatly increased and prac-
,iced with almost entire imp,nity.
They have seen our great cities utterly
debauched and their governments
placed in the hands of criminal con
spirators. They have seen 1T confess
ed, on all sides. that majorities, in
large part corrupt, and, in larger part,
purely fraudulent, sway our munici-
paiities and possibly the Common
wealth Itself. They seen under the law
now best known as the Baker Fraud.
O. guarded coop erected for the con
venience of the bribe-giyer and the
bull-doZer, into which the corrupt. or
the timid. or the dependent voter is