Arizona republican., 1910-12-31
TELEPHONES.
A Gratifying Comparison.

 Ohio, has returned the enormous num- ber of 959 indictment against citizens of that county for selling their votes in the November election. More than one hundred of the indicted men have already entered pleas of guilty.
 Such a wholesale revelation of gen. eral dishonesty never before hap pened in the United States. It is geenrally known, of course, that vote buying and vote selling has become a regular industry in some states of the Union In Rhode Island and in Indiana, for example, it is recognized by the local political leaders in both parties that many substantial citi- zens are for sale in elections. It is one of the most disturbing features of our boasted American citizenship, for it is comparatively new, and the evil is rapidly growing. Integrity in the floating" vote of the great cities especially the foreign-born vote has always been lacking. But when careful investigators report that farm CTS of means and standing in their communities are in the habit of sell ing their votes, one begins to wonder what will be the end of our demo- cratic government. That hundreds of otherwise reputable farmers in the eastern and middle western states are republican" or democratic" accord ing to the controlling bribe given them for their votes, is an assertion made so often and on such excellent authority that it cannot be dismissed as idle
 When nearly a thousand men in a single county are indicted for vote selling. and the court whose duty it is to inflict punishment converts the situation into a farce and dismisses one of the gravest of crimes as a sort of joke, one begins to wonder whether the end of popular govern ment is in sight The dispatch from West Union, Ohio, which sets forth the manner of trial and the kind of punishment with which the bribe takers of Adams county are enter tained, deserves reproduction:
 Tt has become somewhat of point of pride with the indicted citizens to beat the deputy sheriffs by getting to court before warrants can be served. Judge Blair's methods in listening to the pleas of guilty are extremely in formal. He knows a large proportion of the voters of the county by their first names, and when they come into court the scene is rather a social one The judge sits on one side of a plain table, the indicted man on the other
 "'How about it. John? Are you guilty?' asks the judge.
 "T reckon am, judge is the usual reply.
 "'All right, John. I'll have to fine you s1O and you can't vote any more for five years And I'll just put a six months workhouse sentence on top of that, but I won't enforce it as long as you behave
 "'AI right, judge; you've got the goods on me
 ".And, say, John, you've been keep ing liquor in your house and inviting your friends in, haven't you? the judge will sometimes ask. (Adams county is drO.
 That's right, judge says the ac- cused man.
 Well, you'll have to cut that out. John Remember, there is a workhouse sentence hanging over you if you don't walk straight
 "'ATl right, judge and the penitent goes over to the clerk and pays his fine"
 trifling fine, and a sentence of Imprisonment" which is immediately suspended is a heroic way to discour- age bribery and vote selling, truly!
 And we have no doubt that the vir- tuous citizens of the states which have become notorious for laxity of civic conscience are of one opinion in the belief that the wild and wool ly" territory of Arizona is not fit to be on an equality with their states, because of our inferior" citizenship. The people of Arizona, like the most intelligent people elsewhere, occasion ally become enamored of "isms," and for the time being consider the achievement of these 'isms" the most important thing in life. This is be- cause of an emotionalism to which most of humanity is subject at times. But the very earnestness with which our people contend for things which