New-York tribune., 1903-03-22

HOW muCn Will SOu f"J 49,
church,"
Nothing. 1t IS a question OF tne hedI'' HUI
the purse"
"Don't trv to fool me. hear you have money
70 buv Christians Give half the price anu
YOU can keep the rest Of the money yourself
This brief conversation gives glimpse OF one
side of the social life of Bahia, the secoho
largest city and the finest seaport OF Brazil.
There the bribery conditions such as are oelhs
condemned so vigorously at the present time IN
Della ware and Rhode Island would, indeed pale
into tnsgnifcance. Citizens are not SO anxious
to sell their votes as their souls. The conversa-
ton was retold yesterday to group or minis
ters of this city by the Rev. W. w. WaddeH'
uho for thirteen years has labored for the
PRESBYTERIAN Church in this South American
republic.
If the medical fraternity Of Bahia were as
good at diagnosing as some Bahians are at bar
gaining Mr.. Waddell would not be in this city
at the present time telling his friends OF Brazil
ian life. Mr. Waddell was stricken in Bahia
some weeks ago with sore in his mouth Whlch
physicians there pronounced a cancer. Accord
insly the missionary sailed for this city on what
he believed life and death errand, to mo IN
Eew-York dentists chair that it was only a
bad tooth. pair of forceps pulled out the
tooth, but nothing short Of amnesia will ex-
tract Mr.. Waddelrs opinion of Bahian doctors.
Strange as it may seem, there Is little II any
political bribery in Bahia.
THE reason is" said Mr.. Waddell, that votes
count for little, II anything, in Brazil. The
elections are farce. The ballots are hardly, If
ever, counted. The government nominates its
ticket and then, after an election, declares al!
its candidates elected. If the opposition thinks
it Is rightfully entitled to the fruits of victory
1t simply starts a revolution. There are reVolu-
tions for the acquisition Of municipal offices, just
as for State and national ones. Brazil is little
too large for national instructions, but minor
uprieings for political purposes are frequent"
And are any killed in these altercations?
asked one clergyman, who had spent all MS
life In church work in this city.
Certainly, certainly" the answer. You
can't have a general insurrecton without blood
shed In my thirteen years experience in Brazil
I have seen a dozen or more shot down in the
street on several occasions over some political
wransle Now here is an illustration of the
sanctity of the ballot in the eyes Of the Brazil
ians:
"A year or so ago, an American who had set
tied in Bahia was made an election clerk, and
was told to bring the returns from an interior
town into Bahia. After the election had closed,
the clerk took the returns and FASTENED away,
guarding them with the greatest care. He rode
mis- morse nardT LOT ne lelt tHdt tAe SuSPeHss
would be great at Bahia until the returns he
was carrying were received. What was his
chagrin, therefore. to hand his package over to
the chief election clerk, only to see 1t thrown
into the Wastebasket.
Here what are you doing? ne shouted.
"'Throwing them away was the answer. we
don't need them now
Don't need them stammered the American
who had been brought up to regard a. violation
Of the election laws as reasonable.
1.-The government has elected its al
ready was the answer. We don't need any
more votes Here the inspector opened the
package and showed the astonished American
q quantity of blanks each Of which was signed
with space to be filled IN with any number
necessary to elect the government candidates."
Are the family relations strict in Brazil?"
some one asked.
Il am sorry to say they not" answered
the missionary. And before l give you any
instances OF such evil conditions. want you TO
understand that these people not, them
selves altogether to blame. The social plane
has been lowered by generations Of civic and re-
ligious corruption, and by unfortunate mixtures
of race and blood. Bahia at time was
great slave port. Here between two million and
three million negroes have been unloaded from
African vessels and sold at auction. The slave
trade was brought to end about the time
of the civil in the United States. and the
slaves were officially given their liberty in 1888.
but to-day Bahia is called by many the
Black Province and it is certainly the blackest
of all Bra xilan States
Ia Is thus for various reasons that the moral
standard Of the Bahian has become weakened.
It u nQt uncommon to and . married man With