The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-29
D1soRuNrLED DEMOCRATS.

The unfortunate custom which the Kan sas Democrats have been following for some years of mixing up with all classes of un-Democratic doctrine and politicians has brought it's own reward. and they are not overmuch pleased at the result, At the last session of the Legislature of that State the election law was so amepded that the same ticket can appear, but in one place on the official ballot. Under that law each political party must have its own official ballot and no other names must appear on the ticket but those of late Democratic convention in Topeka this language was used:
 We denounce the action of this legisla- ture in passing the infamous election law, by which one of the political parties of this State has been wholly disfranchised
 and the right of the people to express the ballot box has been ruthlessly violat- ed and trodden under foot by statute at once unconstitutional. revolutionary
 and infamous.
 That Is strong charge and strong
 language, but it is not justified by the facts. Bad as the Republicans are poli- tically they are not quite as bad as this indictment would make them. The law applies with equal force to all parties, and is intended to prevent deception. It is not only the old Kansas law, but is practically the law in various other States. It simply provides that each
 party must have It's own ballot and that two or more parties cannot have the
 names of their candidates printed on the
 same ticket.
 Under the practice which has prevailed in Kansas for several years. since Demo crats have been fusing with all other | brands of politics, they have printed their | ballots with two and sometimes three coumes of names, one headed Demo- cratic, one Populist and one Silver Re- publicans. For some offices to be filled each Party would have a different can
 didate and in other cases the same name would appear in each column. This was not only deceptive plan. but in some cases 1t was ridiculous, as in one instance where the name of Grover Cleveland was printed on the Populist ticket. Certainly such d system as that cannot be de- | fended nor should a Legislature be de- l nounced for amending law which made | such deception possible as well as politi' | cally profitable. The following from The
 Kansas City Journal is plain speaking
 but not undeserved:
 l The PopuIists and Democrats are one
 and the same or else they are different l If they are different, it Is lie and | fraud to present them at the polls te voters as the same. It was lie and | fraud, for instance. to put Grover Cleve
 land at the head of the Populist ticke
 when it was known that he was antagon | istic to every policy of Populisnl. It Wal
 a lie and fraud when the Democrats pu seven Populist Congressmen on th' | Democratic ticket, well Knowing Una
 these Congressmen stood for nothing Democratic in any way whatever. Wha | happened then was that the Democrats traded their votes to the Populist Con eressmen in return for Populists votes l for Cleveland and the federal patronage | and If the word infamous" can properly | attach to anything political 1t certainly l fits a corrupt bargain like this.
 Why should Democrats denounce law
 which gives them precisely the same
 rights which it gives the Republicans And why should they attempt to defend
 a law or a custom which made sucf deception as above set out possible. Int truth of the matter is that those' wh' cali themselves the Democratic Party o
 Kansas have apparently lost all regart
 for political principles. and are wiling
 for the sake of the offices, to combine
 with men of any political faith, and re
 sort to any species of deception for th' sake of success. Instead Of denouhciht an election law which appears to us t'
 be equally fair to all parties they should
 set to work to purge their own of every thing which is not Democratic, and whei they enter into race do SO with non'
 but Democratic names on their tickets and let the other parties ,do the same
 Their denunciatien of the amended cleo ton law js, as we look at it, an admis
 sion of their own indefensible practice under the law as 1t lately existed. The!
 now have an equal show with the Re publicans and should play their owl l hands. Better to lose honestly than sue ceed by fraud.