The news & observer., 1901-03-14
YOU CANNOT PLEASE THEM.

YOU CANNOT PLEASE, THEM.
The new election bill is now law.
1t passed the Senate yesterday morning.
The bill had been carefully prepared by
the joint committee of which Senator
Foushee and Representative Craig were
chairmen. 1t had been considered and
section by section in the
Democratic caucus, and represents the
hest thought of the ablest and fairest
men in the General Assembly. 1t is the
fairest and honestest election law ever
enacted in North Carolina, and is ex-
actly in line with the elevated position
outlined by Governor Aycock in his in
augural addresAAAna yet when this
honest and fair election law came up for
consideration in the House and Senate,
every Republican and Populist present
voted against it, and Senator Marshall,
of Surry, had the brazenry to declare
on the floor of the Senate that he pre-
ferred either the 1895 or 1897 election
law to the present act. Both of those
laws were conceived in sin and enact
ed and enforced to give the Fusionists
an unfair advantage. And yet, when a
chance is offered to the Republicans to
vote for an honest election law, they
vote against it. The truth is that the
last thing Republican wants is an
honest election law. He wants to be
able to 'howl' for an honest election
law" And when all possibility for
clamoring for such law is taken from
him. he is miserable--likes Othello, his
occupation is gone.
In framing the new election law, the
Democrats had no opject in view except
to frame perfectly plain, fair and hon
est election law. They were not gov
erned by the-stersotyped petition which
the Fusionists semitic the Legislature,
but it SO chances that every request
made by the Republican petitioners has
been granted in the-new law. Here is
the petition withbIwhi9h the Republi-
cans flooded the Legislature:
ITO the Honorable, The General As
sembly of North Carolina:
sThe undersigned citizens and voters
of North Carolina, respectfully and
humbly petition your honorable body to
amend the existing election law in the
following particulars, to-Wit:
"First-That section 8S and SO be re-
pealed so as to restore the functions
which have belonged to the judiciary
since the foundation of our government
s'Second-That the registrars shall be
required before entering upon their
duties to take an oath to discharge
honestly and impartially the duties of
their office.
sThird-That the judges of election
shall carefully deposit the ballots In
the proper ballot boxes and that bal
lots found in the wrong box, If the
noll list shows that such ballots have
been honestly cast, but misplaced, shall
not be void, but shall be counted ac-
cording to the manifest will of the voter
..Fourth-That any officer of election
who knowingly and wilfully commits
fraud shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and upgn conviction shall be punlsneu
by fine AID imprisonment.
.Fifth-That one member of eacn
county Board of Election shall be OF
different political party from that OF the
other two members of the Board. Ana
the Judges of election, chosen under
section II of the existing law to repre-
sent the minority party, shall be Sc
lected from a list of names of honest
and competent men presented to the
several County Boards of Election py the
Chairman of the County Executive
Committee, representing such minority
party.
"Sixth-That in passing upon the
qualifications of an elector the offcers
of election shall be bound by the ordi-
nary and long established rules of evl-
dence.
1--WE respectfully submit that these
demands are reasonable, that they are
founded upon manifest principles OF
justice, and are essential to the non
est expression of the popular Will, the
foundation stone of republican form
of government.
Every request 1 in this petition has
been complied with to the letter, and
yet every Republican voted against the
bill.
There is no pleasing men who nan
ker" after the infamous election laws
of 1895 and 1897! r
Better out than in''-that humor that
~ ov,I all