The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-12-09
THAT THRESHER VOTE
May Lead TO Registration Be-
ing Extended to Country.
MISS0URIANS VOTE HERE
And Defeat SedgWiCk County
Republicans.

A number Of Republicans in this
county are advocating a registration
/ law covering the whole county. AS It
now is. the voters in the city only
must register; those in the country
I do not have to register; they simply 90
to the polls, and if their vote is chaI-
/ Ienged, swear it in
A bill viii be prepared and intro
duced in the next legislature providing
that in counties in Kansas having
over 10000 population all voters must
/ register.
! Scores Of Republicans in Sedgwiclk
I county believe that every year illegal
/ votes are put IN against the Republi-
/ can ticket by itinerant Missourians
/ stopping temporarily on the farms in
/ Sedgwick county. Many Of them be-
/ leve beyond a question that but for
/ these migratory AIissourians and their
/ illegal votes cast on November last,
most Of the county Republican ticket
would have been elected, if not all Of
/ it.
The damage was done by 'threshing
/ crews" who had no earthly right to
! vote in Sedgwick county From nearly
( every township in the wheat belt Re
! publicans have brought in complaints
/ that these threshing crews who were
/ not in the state in June and are not
/ in the state now, swoTe in their votes
/ and helped beat the Republicans.
( In this connection the census figures
! show a rather remarkable thing which
may bear on this subject materially
/ In the city of Wichita at the last
( election there were cast for presiden-
tiaI candidates 1886 votes: in the
county outside Of Wichita, 5,035 votes
/ Now. the total population Of Sedgwick
/ county outside Of Wichita is "A. 037.
/ The population Of Wichita alone IS
! 24671: the population Of the county
/ outside Wichita, 19. 1856 Wichita has a
population greater than the rest of the
/ county by 5,305. and yet cast only 341
! votes more than the country. with the
! city voting places easy Of access and
/ political excitement far greater here
/ than in the country.
/ A prominent Republican. speaking Of
the matter. said yesterday: Before
1 the election our committees were told
that in this county the opposition
would vote $50 threshing hands. not
residents Of the state BOUNTY. These
/ threshing crews mostly come from
/ Missouri, and are Democrats. They
come into the state in July and are
out Of the state before Christmas.
When they are challenged at the polls
they swear in their ballots and that
ends it. Republican after Republican
in different townships came to town
after election and reported that these
men, whom they knew were not resi-
dents of the township. had voted. and
desired to know what the Republicans
were going to do about it. In years Of
big corn crops, the corn huskers from
Missouri also, and other places. also
vote here when they have no 1era1
right to do 50. There is no doubt in
my mind that without these Illegal
votes this year all the candidates on
our ticket who made a close race
would have been elected. The way n
shut Off these harvssters is to extend
the registration laws to the country.
IT IS not a violent departure from
election customs. for there are laws
providing for this In other states and
~
To my mind the census figures show
IN Wichita with over 5000 more Inhabi-
tants than the county voting practical
ly the same total vote a sthe town ships
is significant 7 have known for A lone
time that the Democratic managers
have regarded their threshlng vote
and corn husking vote as a good
I thing, and have joked the PepublvI-
cans about It a good deal In the ci+v
the registration IS watched very close
ly, and a. transient who attemn+s ~
cast an Illegal ballot finds himself i'm
mediately in hot water The res,,1+ ie
very little Illegal voting here Peois
tration IS not a pleasant duty II iz
an annoyance. AS It IS run now in
Sedgwick county. citizen Of Wichita
Who has his property and life interests
here. is compelled to 90 down n tbs
CITY building and register or else 1osa
his vote. Out in the country soma
migratory Missourian who doesn't giva
q rap for Kansas or Sedguiez lie no+
asked TO register. He cant lose Li-
vote through fOrgetfuIness or rueb ~
business. All he has TO do IS 70 walk
20 the polls election dav and s+ah biz
ballot and a ballot which is illegal
DO not know whether the law for regis
tration in country precincts should ba
confined 10 counties having more than
10000 people. # might he = good f7aa
10 extend It 70 every county IN -.
wheat belt. perhaps 70 every county, "a
the state. The same complaints como
from Sumner and Cowlev ooun+v ana
an M and down the line I think thu
Missouri Democrat with q threshine
crew who has never seen but four
months If Kansas I'm all his life has
cast his last vote IN this county"