The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1902-08-21

ulsnOneSt metnOus, 10 dominate Ine
State.
IL is absurd to hold. because there
is fraud practiced in the large cities,
that our election laws are dishonest.
As we'll might it he said that the
criminal laws Of Missouri are dishon-
est and a failure because they do not
entirely prevent murder or theft.
"The present election laws of this
State afford every possible provision
for the casting OF an untrammeled
ballot and for the punishment OF
fraud, either in registration orinvot-
ing.
"The general laws OF the State,
adopted in 1889. afford each of the
two leading parties equalrepreseifta-
tionin Judges, clerks, challengers and
watchers.
"ln the city Of st Louis, OF which
special complaint is made by the Re
publcans. the Republican Election
Commissioners has equal power with
the two Democratic Commissioners.
He names the Republican Judges and
clerks. There cannot he fraud prac.
ticed without his appointees being
parties thereto.
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST FRAUDS.
"The present law provides for the
appointment OF challengers by each
party, who have the power to chal-
lenge the vote Of any person who
claims to be registered and. unless a
majority Of the Judges decide he is a
qualified voter and the person regis
tered, he cannot vote. So when CIV.
cry vote is received and placed in the
ballot box, it must he with the APP
prevail at least three Of the four
Judges.
THE purity o. the ballot box is
hedged about with every possible
safeguard. Every conceivable offpnse
AGAINST the ballot is made felony,
punishable by Imprisonment in the
penitentiarv. To even attempt to
vote fraudnlentlv is punishable by
imprisonment at the penitentiary for
not less than two years. To imper-
senate any one in the attempt to
vote is punishable in the same man.
ner. No State in all the Union has
greater safeguards against fraud or
dishonest practices than Missouri.
"In striking contrast with the i'm
partial.and Just laws of to-day are
the partisan prescriptive statutes
which prevailed in Missouri under Re-
publican rule. 1t is not my purpose
to call attention in this article to the
cruel Injustice and the fragrant par
tisanship of the elections of 1895 TO
1870, when the registering officers for
the entire State, as we'll as theiudges
and clerks, were selected exclusively
from partisan Republicans. The
Democracy had no representatives
anywhere among the election officers.
at was under these conditions that
Democrats like General Frank p.
Blair and General James Shields, with
hundreds OF Others in every county
in the State, were refused the right to
vote, and ministers, lawyers, and
school teachers were prosecuted and
imprisoned for practicing their re-
spective professions without taking
an unconstitutional oath.
at was under this same law, which
was in force from the time the Repub-
licans secured control in Missouri I'M
til they were driven from power, that
Colonel William F. Switzler was twice
defrauded of his seat in Congress and
hundreds of other Democrats depriv-
ed OF the office to which clear ma
jority of the legal voters had elected
them.
ITO show the utter inconsistency
and dishonesty of the Republican
talk of the election laws of Missouri,
we need only cite one conspicuous in
stance.
AT the Republican Convention
held this year in Pike county to select
delegates to the State Convention,
Colonel D P. Dyer offered the follow
ing resolution, which was, OF course,
unanimously adopted:
"'We denounce the so-called Demo-
cratic party OF this State for the en-
actment of election and police laws
that deprive the citizens of st. Louis,
Kansas City and st Joseph of local
self-governmeut, and disfranchise
Il