The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-02-23
HIGH TIME TO CALL A HALT

HIGH TIME TO CALL A HALT
From the Nashville Americana
The corrupt use of money in cleo.
l.-tions is an evil that must be checked
If elections are not to be regarded as
farce in this country. 1t is useless
for voters to declaim against corrup-
ton in high places so long as there is
so much corruption in the source OF
power. When the elections reek
with fraud who can be expected to re-
spect public officers, the laws or the
courts? To corrupt the ballot is to
pollute the fountain. Fraud in a pri-
mary is as criminal as in a regular
election. The vote buyer is no whit
better than the vote-seller. The cor
rupter of the ballot is an enemy of
society. Custom cannot make dis
honesty honesty. Wholesale thefts
does not make the thief respectable or
any less a thief.
The laws against ballot corruption
should be more severe, and they
-,should be enforced. The court that
fails to enforce them is not entitled
.cto respect. England at one time suf-
,fered from notorious election corrup-
tionists Nearly $50 years ago in one
borough of less than 1000 votes $4,-
100000 was spent in buying votes.
r, Ill IL - L.
against it became a necessity. In
1888 a law was enacted that is re-
garded as model. The provisions
of this law, as condensed by the Balti-
more Sun, are as follows:
1t Furnishes with fine of 81 900 or
imprisonment for one year the giver
.or receiver of a bride. The imper-
senator or the repeater Is liable to
two years Imprisonment at hard Ia
Dor. 1t makesit an illegal practice,
punishable by $500 fine, to pay for the
use Of any house or premises for ex-
n,hibiting posters; to pay for any bands
of music, torches, banners Or for the
conveyance of voters to<the polls 1t
DISTINGUISHES every. person employed
for money by the candidate 1t per-
mits the expenditure of sum not to
exceed $1,700, where voters number
1000, and $3.50 for each 1000 voters
above that number. Only the agent
of the candidate can spend this
money. Within thirty.five days after
the election he must file a statement
showing the sources from which he
received the money and how it has
been expended. Both the candidate
and his agent are compelled to de-
clare, on oath, that to the best of
their knowledge no club, society or
association spent money on behalf of
the candidate. Finally, the Director
of Public Prosecutions must prosecute
violations of the corrupt .practices1
act il there be a petition against the
offending member; or he must prose
cute in the absence of petition If any
information is given to him that cor
rupt practices prevailed.
English laws are made to be en-
forced. Under the election law cleo |
tons in England are honest There
Is no political debauchery, and cleo
tions for Parliament are said to be
absolutely free from vote-buying. |
They have hot campaigns and excit- |
ing elections, but there is no fraud. |
The recent English elections were the
most notable in that country in many |
years. 1t was radical revolution
but it was unattended by fraud or
corruption.
There must be reform In practice |
and sentiment in this country. The |
negro vote no longer menaces in the |
South. Yet the South, with its boast |
ed honesty, is becoming honey-comb- |
ed with election corruptionists-men |
who have lost the power to blush at |
their own dishonesty, while among |
the honest yoemary" the vote-seller |
is becoming common.
The Herald will add just one line to |
the above. Every man should be |
more loyal to principle than to party; |
and any man who wins his nomina, |
ton by corrupt practices, should be
defeated by the people at the general
election, regardless of what party |.
label he wears.