The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1906-09-13


department bulletins and the ready lit.
erature of the favored apostles of pro-
lection, Mr.. Evans launches into the
subject of honest elections. He says
"honest elections are the paramount
issue in this campaign" He cites GER
tain instances in Knoxville and Mem
phis Of fraud and charges of fraud in
elections, and undertakes without war
rant to put Nashville in the same list,
but the Nashville case over which he
rejoices was not the result of ballot box
fraud.
Let Mr.. Evans understand, and the
people understand, that all he honestly
says in behalf of honest elections all
honest men in all parties endorse, and
there are enough Of such men in the
democratic party to defeat him over
whelmingly. Mr.. Evans has no supe-
rior or exclusive claim to virtue or
honesty or patriotism in this matter.
In the effort to appear so he indicts the
whole democratic party. He says he
favors a law which will forever disfran-
chise the man who sells or buys a vote.
This sounds like an echo from The
American. More than once within the
last few years it has declared in favor
of such a law, and more voters than
Mr.. Evans will be able to face in this
campaign read The Americans declar-
atoms. Mr., Evans, in all his preach
ments, has never uttered anything
stronger in behalf of honest elections
than The American has repeatedly ut
tered, and which other democratic pa
pers have uttered, md which the dem
ocrats of the state have approved with
as great unanimity as the republicans.
There are doubtless thieves in both
parties. What intelligent Tennessean
believes that If the republican party
were in power it would be more honest
than the democratic party? Is there
anything in the history of the republi-
can party to Justify such belief His
tory records and will record that the
republican party robbed Samuel J. Til
den of the Office of president, to which
he was elected, and seated Rutherford
B. Hayes in his, place. Anybody ever
hear Of II. Clay Evans protesting
, against that robbery? He reioiced in
it. When he voted to unseat more than
dozen democrats who had been elect
ed to congress, some Of them by ten
times the majority on the face of the
returns that Mr.. Evans claimed to be
elected governor of Tennessee, he did
so as q rabid republican partisan in
office--not as a republican without ar
Office, but seeking one in democratic
state and only hoping to get it by the
3 aid of democratic votes. Mr.. Evans
I refers to his elections to congress il
the Third district, but he did not tel
Of the methods by which negroes wert
0 herded and voted for him without war
= rant of law even when the election law
we're so loose as to invite wholesale
t fraud and corruption.
s Yet with record we have alread,
more than limited at he stands befor,
the people of the state and says 9Th
: present election laws of the state seen
= to have been framed and enacted TO
the purpose OF fraud, for the purpose o
practicing fraud and legalizing fraud.
This is mild, gentlaindictment Of tn
a democratic lawmakers of the stat
whose efforts to reform the ballot hsv'
been endorsed by the democratic party
= The election laws Of Tennessee, as
!. whole, are admittedly among the bes
Of those Of any state in the Union. Sue
10 Objectionable features as they have TIL
d American has disapproved and Mr.. Pat
terson has pointed out, and has urge
a change, without condemning tn
d whole law, as Mr.. Evans does in reck
h less manner and slanderous language
On this subject Mr.. Evans will fin
y that Mr.. Patterson will have few re
n marks to make.
Mr.. Evans undertakes to justify hi
- vote on the force bill, which was dc
VI signed for the sole purpose Of placin
United States marshals around th
ballot-boxes in the south, and nowher
else. He says it applied to the Who'll
le country. OF course, of course s
1t does the Crumpacker bill to reduc
representation in congress. But he
an idiot who does not know that it
'r directed wholly at the south. Mr.. Ey
n ans says the force bill appliad only t
federal elections. How could it appl
8. to state or local elections with whic
the federal government has nothing I
r do-yet. Does Mr.. Evans think th
people are fools or that they are hope
lessly ignorant?
r Other features of Mr.. Evans speec
will be noticed later. II it creates en-
thusiasm in his own party, the party
easily satisfied. We have heard MI
20 Evans make some fairly forceful an
,r able speeches. This is one of the weak
est he has ever made, after ample tim
. aud careful preparation. Let any way
ering democrat read it and see if he ca
3 find single reason for voting for il
author. Nashville American.