The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1904-09-16

liberties stolen and sacred right
trampled upon. He abuses the cleo
ton commissioners and calls then
thieves and perjurers. and SO on az
nauseum, and finally winds up hi
TRADE by admitting that he is himself
one Of these terrible election commits
sioners, who lie subverting the liber
ties of the people. and that he ap
proves and wants all of these laws tC
stand except the one requiring the
governor to appoint a non-partisar
election board for each county. I'm
able to furnish any reason why their
party with its rotten record in the
past should be again entrusted with
power, and unable to find anything to
lay hold upon or to justify criticism
in the conduct Of the States affairs
by the Democratic party, these Re
publicans bi-annually emit a lot of
clap-trap and rot about the election
laws, and try to persuade themselves
that it is the election laws and not
their own worthless policies and the
bad record Of their party that bring
about their continuous defeat. They
were defeated before we had these
election laws, they have been defeated
since, and as long as the people of
Tennessee retain their senses and
their self respect, they are going to be
defeated. All of this ranting and pro-
testing and declaiming is done for ef-
feet and to try to get some votes to
help them into Office. 1t is twice
told tale You have heard ii before
Every honest man wants honest cleo
tions, but where a lot Of politicians
declaim so vehemently and so contin-
uously against safeguards being
thrown around the ballot box, and
particularly when they are the lead
ers of party which has stolen or
tried to steal every Office from presi-
dent of the United States down to
governor of Tennessee, it raises a
suspicion in the mind of the average
citizen that the reason these laws are
SO Objectionable to the Republican
politician, is not because they aid dis
honesty anywhere, but because they
prevent dishonesty in Republican
East Tennessee.
Let us examine these laws coolly |
md dispassionately for moment and |
Zee wherein they are defective There |
ire four of them. The secret ballot, or
lortch law, which applies to cities
md towns Of certain population The
egistration law, which requires the |
yoter in towns and districts of desig |
lated population to register every
wo years. The poll tax law,
which requires the voter to pay
'oll tax for the support of the
'ublic schools and to help educate
he poor children of the State
efore he can vote. And then the
wv requiring the governor to appoint
hree non-partisan election commits
toner's in each county to supervise
he elections.
These laws and every one OF them
yere passed III the interest of honest
lections and to preserve the purity of
he ballot box. AS the country grew
i population and that population
rifted to the cities and great centers
business all parties recognized that
reater safeguards should be thrown
round the ballot box. And long be-
ire we felt the need of 1t, the great :
nd populous States of the North and
asst, which were under the control
7 the Republican party, enacted laws
roviding for the secret ballot, regis
alton, poll tax and other safeguards
the ballot. The Republican State !
Massachusetts not only has the Sc {
'et ballot and registration, but there {
} man can vote who has not paid Y
1t only his poll tax but all other '
xes, and can read the constitution
Id write his name.
The secret ballot prevents bribery
Id intimidation. The voter goes into 8
% booth alone, and there, away from :
q bride giver and the bulldozer, he o
ties his honest convictions. Registra- G
On likewise prevents fraud and re q
,ating. You do not need 1t in the {
untry, where every voter is known II
i'd can be identified, but in the towns q
ID cities, where there is shifting, 2
angling poplation, registration is the 1
ly meanr of identifying, the voter
d preventing fraud. Two of the 2
eat cities of the State, Memphis and a.
'attanooga, lie in the corner of three q
ates, and before the passage of these
US it was no uncommon thing for 81
ndreds of irresponsible negroes to al
imported across the line and voted, b
d thus take from the people Of these p
les by fraud the right to control al
cir affairs.
When these fair and Just laws we're Ii
opposed in Tennessee in 1885 the Re 81
blican party bitterly opposed them. is
d members of the legislature bolted
d fed from the capitol to break a al
Drum and prevent their passage. pc
ey were passed by the Democratic of
rty In the interest of good govern Dc
mt and have been in force for near ii
fifteen years, when 10 and behold, "a
this year, 1904. the Republican an
ldidate for governor rises up and tn
proves them and says: ty
Let the Dortch law stand--it pro su
es for secret ballot. Let the reg. WI
-ation law stand--it prevents fraud. FIR;
the poll tax alone-it brings mon mi
- r. a r.. lfat