Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-11-20
Friday, November 20, 1903.
THE VIVA YOCE VOTE.

yoce system than that it makes men
within the party tote fair with each
other. Without this condition the
primary is worse than faIce-ii is a
fraud We of this section have exrer.
fenced elections where the judges were
Zone faction, and seen the unplea, ant
results. "-lrCinqton Citizen, Dem
THAT was said before the Democratic
primary in Norfolk on the 18Th of last
month. Suppose the men whom the
viva voce system is designed to make
tote fair with each other don't tote fair
with the viva voce system. How about
,hsts"-NorfoM Landmark.
Then it is not the true viva voce
system, or what we have contended
for. Eliminate the viva voce feature
and the primary is cheat and a
fraud. Our able Norfolk contem-
porary, the Landmark, is after the
same that the CITIZEN seeks-fair
primaries and honest elections. Il
does not, however, see that the viva
voce method is means to this end.
Herein we differ, and strangely
enough each uses the Norfolk primary
to support its view. The Norfolk
farce was such, in our judgment, be-
cause the viva voce feature did not
obtain in the true spirit. The voter
as We CLEAN, did announce hrs choice
OF candidates by word of mouth, but
it was done in the presence only Of
Judges and clerks all of Que faction.
Friends of the other candidates were
rudely hustled out of the room. In
this way mans avowed choice could
easily be put down for the opposition
and there was no one to challenge
the subversion. Decidedly it was
worse than the secret ballot, because
more easily manipulated. 1t was
was not the true viva voce method.
On October 3otb, succeeding the
Norfolk farce, we wrote:
ITO our view the Norfolk primary was
trsvesty upon the name of peoples
primary and upon any justice that
might be found stih left In latter day
= politics.
and quoted Norfolk paper to some
length in substantiation of this,
adding:
ut (the dominant factiop) took news
papers at their word and did away with
the open mouth plan, while at the same
time II pretended To conform 10 party
law by calling IL viva vcce operation
~ Had the true viva voce method obtained
there would have been ne complaint.
presumably, by the opposition, and no
confessions by the psrtizan press that
the primary system is a failure With
the viva voce feature made secret the
primary became nothing more than a
secret ballot, and with judges all of one
:: stripe the election became open to fraud.
and 1t is being so charged. The Pilot is
?. hardly consistent when it condemns the
primary because of the viva voce feature,
when the absence of that feature in its
trueness seems to have been the cause of
the trouble. Rather condemn the whole
primary system, or at least confess that
the true spirit of its viva voce feature
was not displayed"
In the came issue We quoted from
the Richmond Neacs Leaaer-"From
all accounts, the viva voce feature of
the Norfolk Democratic primary was
An unmitigated farce, and the
general conduct Of the election was
MI outrageous traves.y on fairness
and honesty"
The viva vOce feature, permitting
outside tally-keepers, is the only
guarantee that the primary will not
be manipulated to the advantage Of
the faction that has absolute control