The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-08-02
euYlNe OF VOTES.
Grand Jury OF Limestone County Has
Returned Indictments,

Returned Indictments,
Groesbeeck. Texas August 1.-The grand
jury has made It's anal report and has been
dismissed. Judge Cobb gave explicit In.
structions to investigate the charges of
vote buying during the recent primary
election. and a portion of the report was
devoted to this. The report says.
"In obedience TO your honors lnstruc.
lions. we have summoned many witnesses
relative TO the purchase Of votes In our
recent primary elections. and we regret
TO state that the charge that many oiti.
zens had sold their suffrage was true. and
IL was the more astonishing the open
and hagrant way, in some few instances,
votes were purchased. We found that
friends Of candidates In the election re-
Gently held paid from 81 TO SIS for votes
under the guise that they desired 10 EN-.
ploy the mans time and influence on the
day OF election. In some Instances the
witness stating that no work was required
of them, but as soon as their votes We're
cast the money was paid ana tneir services
dispensed with. We have returned sixty
seven true bills against citizens OF our
county for the purchase aud oner to pur
chase votes.
Terms are inadequate to express the
proper denuuciation of the dehauchcry OF
the ballot. Bribery In all of Its phases
was pTaCllCcu, ana IL is Win SHAME we
acknowledge that SO many of our people
had so little appreciation ot the ballot, 10
uses and the depth of infumy a man de
scends to in the selling OF his vote.
"A free. untranmoled ballot Is the bull
wark of our liberties aud We hope that
some means will he adopted to arouse the
people to the proper appreciation OF taiS
Would-be priceless heritage, and that laws
so stringent may be enacted that Will d.
ter men through fear az their better IN
stincts can not be afouseO from seeking
10 debauch our elections. IL is duty
our good citizens owe to themselves. their
country and their children to 60 to tn
polls on election day and remain there
iron. dawn, hunt down aud bring TO JUS
tice all men who would be guilty OF teis
notorious business Our people should rec
ognizc that II n mar purchases his election
to ar office. that the orice is MS by right
of purchase and he has She same right TO
sell the of1lce and his official acts as they
had to sell their votes Anarchy would
reign supreme and the men who had
wealth, without morals and d conscience,
would rule the land with rod ut ron
and wiring from them unjustly more than
than was paid for an election. There
would be no check to crime--nO law and
would rule and the dens of vice OF In
EQUITY and shame, being able from their
unhcly methods to pay, would flourish aud
no clficia could be found who wou d dare
TO seek 10 check the carnival Of crime,
becau Sc an officer of that character would
not purchase an election. and the klud
elected by hribe givers and hrne takers
would be men of their own kind aud know
on their subEevient obedience to the dcns
of vice would their chances Of election de
pend. The evil that flows from a de
bauched ballot. from citizenship SO COZ
rupt that for the sake of a few paitry
dollars they surrender their manhood, are
so appalling that we would call upon the
courts the lawmakers and all good clti
zens to bring to bear all their power TO
stamp out this evil, and may II never be
said again that one single citizen Of Lime.
stone county will sink so low as to sell
his ballot"