The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-10-20
WATCHING THE POLLS.
Era of Cry of Election Fraud is Once
More Here


The pathetic and tiresome part of the
biennial campaign in Kansas is now
upon the people, and there is no respite.
even through tonics and nerve restorers
from the cries of fraud" watch the
opposition. there. are plans to count US
out and steal the election" which will
ring out from each of the state head
quarters until the battle has ended.
Just why men who shake hands with
each other daily, have business interests
in common, are proud of the state in
which they live, believe in Kansas and
her future, should find it necessary to
divide on political lines and charge the
members of an opposing political party
with fraud and dishOnor is one of the
hidden mysteries of politics which the
plodding citizen will never understand.
Criticism and denunciatiOn- were more
popular a few years ago in all the po
litica1 parties than today. Now it is the
practice for the candidates to refer in
terms as eulogistic as the circumstances
will permit to the purposes and work Of
the opposition. In this manner the rep
resentatiVes of all the parties hope to
steal away on election day with a few
votes belonging to the other fellow.
Polite consideration has given the
former plans of abuse a back seat.
There are yet among the unpublished
some who consider a first-clasS political
speech a vindictive arraignment OF the
the personal character of a candidate.
AS a rule humanity is much the same.
John ]. ingalls, once said that there is
no law against a man getting RICH and
this is also true concerning political par
ties; there is no law against men iden-
tifying themselves with whatever pOliti-
cal party their fancy dictates and there
has not yet been created the political
party which embraces all the wisdom,
sagacity and common sense of the age.
There never will be such a party. The
country would be dead were all the peo-
pie in it of the same opinion. The fact
that the human mind and man are large
ly the same: that there is in a ma
jority of men a sense of honor; that
none of the political managers are fugi-
tives from justice or on a vacation from
a convict'S cell, makes the cries of
fraud" fraud which are now floating
about the country in Kansas very
amusing.
The Republican managers are counsel
ing their trusted workers in every pre-
cinct of the state to watch the opposi-
ton, and the Populists are sending out
the same advice to the Heutenants in
that party advising them to keep
watchful eye on the opposing element.
THE Republicans are older at the
business than we are" said a Populist
manager today, so We'll watch them
all the time" The Republican politi-
clans say that the fellows in the Popu-
list party are as shreWd as those in any
other party, and that their interest in
the proposed frauds must be from
knowledge of how those things are ac-
complished.
SO the cries of fraud, the straw vote
fiend the personal interview writer who
puts out new documents every few days,
the topper, the discriminating political
stories, the roorbacks. the cartoons-in
fact, all the confusion of the combined
intelligence of a large number OF men
engaged in political management in this
state will have the right of way until
after election The statistician at the
respective headquarters will continue to
announce results which he knows no
more about than a cigar store Indian,
and the election will come and go much
to the satisfaction of a peaee-loving
people.