Evening journal., 1903-04-09
HUNDREDS JOURNEY TO
DOVER TO PLEAD THAT
REPEALER BE SIGNED

vision and legislative enactment, has
| guarded the purity of the ballot so far as
IL appears to have been possible by pro-
hibiting the buying and selling Of votes.
( The constitution provides that buying or
selling a vote constitutes bribery and IS
punishable by fine and imprisonment and
also Acknowledgement for term of years.
The chief officers of the State have taken
an oath to support and maintain that con-
stitution.
| Now, let us consider the voters as
sistant law. That law is one Of the
strongest aids to the vote buyer in secur-
Ing votes by ballot. 1t enables him TO
know, through the voters assistant,
whether the man who sells his vote has
kept his promise, delivered the goods"
The two arguments against the repeal
OF the voters assistant law are: First, Sen
ator Connor's argument on the floor Of the
Senate Of this State: Second. the argument
presented in the Union Republican press.
In the Senate of this State. when the re-
peal of the voters assistant law was un-
der consideration, Senator Connor. who
had received a vote for the United States
Senate states openly why the voters as
sistant law should not be repealed.
quote his words;
Now we have been accused Of buying
votes under the operations of this law. /
am not going to revive the history Of
vote-buying in Delaware for fear that 1t
would make my fellow-members Of the
other side of the House look like thirty
cents. There have been rumors in the air
of vote-buying in Delaware ever since any
Of us can remember and happen TO know
| that Delaware is not the only State where
votes are bought and money is spent at
elections. The voters assistant system
again comes in and commends itself for
fairness. 1t insures delivery Of the goods.
When 1 buy a horse, / want my horse.
When a Democrat buys a vote, he wants
his vote. So you see that there are. as
contend no politics in it, for Mr.. Demo-
crat has thus an opportunity to buy his
vote, instead of being cheated out Of II
as he has been so many times IN this
State"
1 Senator Connor's argument is the de-
Tense of the bribery which is expressly
prohibited by the constitution and by
statute. The reasons given by Senator
Connor why the law should remain upon
| the statute books have gone broadcast
over this State and throughout the coun-
try
Second. The Union Republicans claim
that the voters assistant law enables the
Union Republican party to have one Of
that party stationed within the room
where the election is being held-that II
Ithe law was repealed 1t might have no one
Of that party present i'm the room. The
answer to that claim is two-fold. Under
the law the duties of the voters assistant
are, that he shall. when requested by any
voter, assist such voter TO mark, alter,
Change, scratch or fold his ballot in the
presence of the voter and of the other as
sistant These are his only duties. He
has no right OF power to supervise how
the vote shall be received or how 1t shan
be counted. He has no right to assist the
election officers or Ito interfere in the
slightest manner in the holding OF the
election. The next claim is not true-that
is, that If the law was repealed it would
have no one of that party present in the
room. The Union Republican party would
have and has had more than majority
Of the election officers in this State.
In Kent county there are nineteen cleo
ton districts. There, therefore, nineteen
inspectors and thirty-eight judges are re-
quired. The inspectors are elected by the
people. The judges are named by the
} political parties and the Inspector appoints
the persons named by the respective par
ties. In 1900 there were ten Union Re
publican and nine Democrat inspectors
elected and about twelve Union Republic
} can judges appointed. In 1902 there were
eleven Union Republicans and seven Dem
ocrat inspectors elected and about the
same number of Union Republican judges
lappointed, so that in Kent county there
was more than a majority Of election Of
ficers Union Republican I'm those years.
In Sussex county there are also nine
teen election districts and in 1902 there
were fourteen Union Republican inspect
ors and five Democrats elected, and four.
teen Union Republican judges were ap.
pointed. Therefore in both Of these coun'
ties the Union Republicans held the ma.
jority Of the election officers.
In the city of Wilmington, where there
are eighty-five election districts the elec.
tion officers in 1902 appointed eighty-iv'
inspectors, one-half of which were Demo
Gratis and the other half Republicans. o.
the Republican half more than a majorit.
were Union Republicans. Therefore, aher,
lean be no excuse or justification in keep
ing upon the statute books this law whicl
o is confessedly there for the purposes o.
d bribery and corruption at the polls.
4 These gentlemen here today represent
n large voting constituency, the most o
a whom are Republicans and have alway
{ voted with the Republican panty. Th
n Young Mems Republican Club is repre-
Q sented here. That club has three hundre,
Y active Republican workers.
o The East Side Republican Club is ais
5 represented here. That club has 200 ac
Il tive Republican workers. The Labo
e Union. representing 800 votes in an'
around Wilmington, is represented here
: The Brotherhood OF Locomotive Engineer
+ is represented here. The substantial citi
T. zens of New Castle county, farmers. mer
= chants and manufacturers, representing