The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-11-01

RI IIMOND VA, (
,surdity. For tile chief end of suffrage
y is not to make voters bravo nor TO en-
able them to show that they arc brave,
but to discover the real enti1nents ana
VIII OF the people for the guidance OF the
government. II system Of polling tho
voters Is such that they have no conceiv-
able motive for not expressing their true
Will (and such q system is secret votrg) ]
then 1t Is the best possible for It's mo-
mentous purpose, ard no nc.dentnls must
Obscure or thwart Its chief end. II you be-
lleve. for Instance. that Jury trial Is not
the best means OF arriving at tho truth
will YOU maintain 1T because 1t enables
Jurors to learn some law? II your young
wntchdog's teeth.meet in the calf {of your
{ leg. are you submissive or enthusiastic be-
cause It Is good training for the doc
The policy OF the state is the verdict
OF. 1ury--the people. a true verdict Is
the. realsopnion of:the jury whether Sc
cretly OF openlyRhed. And that 10 what
we must get for the State at all hazards
by a system Of tnolllng. or else the States
policy becomes false and confused ana tho
misfortune thus befals It.
TT DRIVES OFF VOTERS
5. Forcing tho voters to vote publicly
by word Of mouth does not make them
mora independent or manly. It simply
keeps too many fof them away from the
polls. Not tho worst or lower class
either. The stay-at-homes are highly re-
spectacle, worthy and intelligent, belong
Ing to the upper and middle classes who
cant afford, or don't care to offend"
Again. too. many men known to be as
brave as; a lion on a battlefield are as
timld as the doe at a polling booth. and
tinld only there. This may be strange.
but observers know that 1t is true
While an election viva voce carries
with It a certain NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF
the count, yet effective legal provisions
against false count are far easier OF at
9tainment than5effective laws against pres
sure. corruption, coercion and uanipula-3
ton OF voters; nll Of which can hold h gh /
carnival with an open vote. A fair count
even. is nothing without a free
ballot. Fairness OF count can be
guaranteed by In many ways other
than by the surrender Of the secret ballot,
and this should be done, when It Is seen
that the secret ballot is an only way to
free ballot. t1t14
And now. the practical question is be-
fore Virglnfans whether this obsolete and
discarded method Of viva voce voting Is
to be perpetuated, beyond the limits ct
its present offensive dsinterment, IN the
government of.the Democratic party. The
present. situation Is a strange anomaly
Let us see II 1t is not:
The Democratic party is responsible for
our State government through its Legis-,
lsture: 1t was also responsible for our
late Constitutional Convention. In both
these spheres of its activity the party
overwhelmingly rejects open voting.
Now the party government. 50 ,farsas
administrative methods are concerned. is
supposed to be that which is n counter
part of or the nearest approximation to-.
the actual legal government In force over
the whole people IT is supposed that a
party will for itself. adopt it's own pat
tern furnished by It to the people at la sge.
Yet our State Democratic party, by one of
its agencies. Is made to appear guilty
of the crosses inconsstency-establis
Ing one method OF polling for the people
and another for the party. The !ncon.
sistency Is all the more glazing when the .
inferior method Is applied to party elcc-
lions, which in this State are widely
conceded to be ..the whole thing
That good party government Isl modelled
after regular legal government Is shown
In the. case of primary elections For
primary elections are good and desirable
because they are simply the doing with
in "thc party, what Is done among "the
people on a lawful election day. The man
who objects to that-tho man who has
any doubts about it-the man. dho does not
know what ghe thinks about iit-the man
who hesltates stot Commit, himself ure-
qu!vocally copceriilng It's not the con-
sentative and cautious statesman he may
imagine himself. but he is simply an OPP
tt,.x. ,to,
ment itself. II he does not think that the
will of all the people In party should
be surely and accura tely ascerta'ned, he
is no Democrat, not even. Dem.
ocrat. II E., he thinks one method
of polling is the sureste method of ;ascer-
tanning the peoples will. but that same
method won't do" when 'the people"
in the case have the substituted name Of
"the party" then he stultifies himself
so sadly that 1t is charity to his intellect.
to question his motives as sinister OF per-
sonal.
The Democratic party of Virginia has
shown itself anxious to have all Its
affairs managed with the same precision
which is It's rule In the wider republic
Of State government. Hence. In Its con
vention 1t declared for primary elections.
but 1t should be said with grent cm-
pl,esls that our Virginia party In conven-
tton assembled has never declared for
the reinstatement of the rapudiated
method of viva voce voting-repudiate
by Itself in constitution-naking and In
law-mnl1ll,g 1.-THE whole people.
And 1t is now the wonder Of many
how an agency OF our party-lts State
committee-a body of limited and delo-
gated authorlty-conld, when, obeying a
mandate Of Its principal in ono speci-
r,ed matter. find any warrant for intro
duclng new subjects and leglslatlng upon
them. as 1t seems to have done (see its
pamphlet OF the primary plan) when
1t Gets Ut viva voce voting (and. In face
OF positive Inhibition in the main party
plan. made itself an appellate court. and
oven restricted the party slffrage).
All readers of our State press know
that Il has been charged that the ems
mics of the primary imposed viva voce
voting upon IT for the purpose OF maxi
Ing It unpopular. 1t is not necessary
or profitable hero to attempt to settle
tile truth OF that charge. Whoever did
the thing, whatever the motive, did a
bad days work. without any commission
TAI