The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-15
aEronMrNa rHn BALLOT.

N1@~tt%A 4A@&A ssA@ A<At0 -
 Tt will be a great day for this coun- try" remarks The Chattanooga Times. when the people shall demand that aii sorts of election chicsnery shall cesss' when the men and the parties engaged In corruptins the ballot shall bs sIfAr1- cd and diskraced and when confidence tn the common honesty Of the politician ana the ofice.seeker may be estab- lished. It Is q disgrace to our Ameri- can system and melancholy reflection upon the intelligence and seif-respect of the American people that the cleo. tion methods of the country from con stable to President should be peren-r nially under suspicion. And # will be always so as long as the people permit it."
 No one can gainsax the truth of the contention that free ballot and an honest count are among the vital es- sentiaIs of free government. To use the words of old John Pierpont:
 weapon that comes down as still
 As snowdakes fall upon the. sod.
 As lightning does the win of God: And from it's force no doors nor locks Can shield you--'tis the ballot-box!
 That would be a truly desirable cons aition of affairs but dare we hope for it? Election frauds are not altogether modern. as some imagine. Reading of what we are wont to refer to as ''the better days. of the Republic" we find charges and complaints of the same na- ture that are so common in these latter days.
 There was time in the history os most of the Southern States when bal- iot-box manipulation was not really 8 crime. moral or legal. It was not poli- tics or partisanship that caused it and upheld 1t. but self-preservation and that we are told. is the first law of ra- ture. It was necessary for the exist ence of our homes. our property and our liberties that the white people of the South should rule. There woald have been no government, no law and no safety if the black element in the South could have controlled thA elec- lions and the white people wei conl- pelled to prevent it. How theydid Il is not a matter that needs to be dis- cussed. They did it because in hat way alone was elf-preservation. and they took the way without hesitation and without any feeling of self-abaae- ment. No right-thinking person who Knew the conditions then existing will have any words of blame because our people saved themselves, theIr homes and their families from peril that was real and appalling.
 Those days are past, never to rs- turn, let us hope. What occurred taen is no defense for unfair elections now. The conditions that existed here for some years do not exist. now. They never existed in any other section. If there is illegal voting. stuflng of ball. lot boxes and false counting of votes Ei. iss done for partisan purposes and greed for office. If political party in- dulges in pr condones suffrage crimi- nalty 1t is done for the purpose of Ob- ta,ning or retaining office aa4 for, n6th- ing else. corrupting the ballot is not confined to any party or section. .t is too common for that.
 Can the people correct the evil, as The Times intimates? How will they set about 1t? Government is what the people make it and political parties ex- fst by the will of the people. lcrthey eondone ballot corruption and sustain those who indulge in 1t we niAy be sure of its continuance. If the people want honest elections they must en- sure them by their own acts. 70 vote for a man who is known to be ar elec- tion corruptionist is 10 put the seal of appreciation on his acts. The pet p;e can reform our election methods, but the reform must begin with the people themselves for they are the seat of all power. If they so will and dcrermine.