The Adair County news., 1905-09-20

to destroy the ballots under the
pretense of theft or robbery and
thereby thwart' the will of the
voters. But it may be said that
such a supposition is to presume
upon the corruption of election
officers. That may be true; yet
it must be remembered that the
reasons urged for a secret ballot
is the corruption of one part and
the weakness of another part of
the community. The election
officers have to come from the
body of people and necessarily be
subject to the same weakness
and corrupting influences as
other men, and it would be just
as easy to buy a few election
officers as any considerable num-
Der of voters. While there has
been muchsscomplaint of late that
men have been bought and influ-
enced by other improper means,
in the matter of exercising the
right of suffrage, yet when
we come to consider we find that
only a very small per cent. of the
voting community are really sub
ject to such influences, and that
the great majority of our cit
izens under the present system
do vote intelligently and freely
and see that their votes are prop
erly recorded and counted, while
under the other system we would
be deprived of the benefit of the
balloting of those who do vote
intelligently and freely. | am
opposed to the secret ballot be-
cause it is unrepublican. | am
opposed to it because it is unlike
free men. | am opposed to it
because it is reflection upon the
honesty, integrity, intelligence
and independence Of our people.
| am opposed to it because we
thereby say that our people have
not the manhood and independ-
ence to openly express their opin-
ions of and preference for men
and measures. | am opposed to
it because it compels our people
to exercise that greatest right of
freemen, not like freemen, but
like sneak thieves. | am op-
posed to it because we gain but
little and in my estimation lose
much that is essential to repub-
lican institutions. What do the
advocates Of the secret ballot
claim for it? Nothing that |
have heard except that they
thereby exempt a few unfortu-
nate and weak citizens (Who form
a very small per cent. Of our vot-
ing population) from improper
influences that they may cast
their ballots freely. 1t must be
admitted that nothing could be
more desired by every truly pa
triotic citizen than fair elections.
Yet the question arises as to
whether or not the secret ballot
is the only, or the best plan to
reach that end if SO, it certainly
ought to be adopted am OF
the opinion that the only practi-
cal mode of reaching this end is
by the enactment and rigid en-
1 forcement Of such laws as will
insure to the weakest and most
obscure citizen the right to open
ly freely and fully express his
choice at the polls without let or
hinderance. | know that laws
that are intended to reach this
end are upon our Statute books
and have been for years, and
that they are Intellectual because
they have not been executed.
Every delegate in this hall knows
the reason why they have not
been executed is because they
have not been backed by what
Blackstone calls the vindicatory
sanction of punishment for pub
lie wrongs wherein consists the
most fOrcible obligation of hui
man laws" +" The trouble is that
there has been heretofore lack.
ing among the people that healthy
sentiment, and determination