Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-03-22
ELECTION CORRUPTION IN eng.
Land and AMERICA,

Recent elections in Great Britain
have served one purpose in the edu-
cation Of the people, though some
doubt may be expressed as to whe-
Their 1t is a good one. Human nature
is much the same In England as II
is in the United States when It comes
to striving to carry an election by
fair means or foul.
II has been quite customary to
compare the United States most un.
favorably with Great Britain when
discussing the degree Of honesty that
prevails in election methods. But
since the last British elections the
British observers in their own coun-
: are inclined to give us the bene-
at of the doubt.
That the London press on both
sides was SO violently partisan as to
color and suppress news, that free
speech was often impossible. that
meetings were packed and that
rough-house tactics were constantly
employed, was accepted as matter
OF course. In addition, however,
charges of bribery and intimidation
and the dealing out Of free beer in
, unlimited quantities have been COM
mon. Especially noticeable was the
lavish use of money in electioneer-
ing '..,-
1t Is true that no action has been
taken to unseat members Of Parlia-
ment for bribery and corruption as
was done In 1906. In that year
| yote-buying and fraud were carried
on so generally In Worcester, cath
| edral town, that the city was dis
franchised for two years and was
deprived of represe ntation in the
House OF Commons. The purchase
and sale of votes Tor money was
proved in at least three other con-
stituencies.
Contrary to the universal rule In
this country, the saloons remain
open on election day IN England.
Where the great brewing interests
were SO directly interested in de-
feating the Government as they we've
this year, free beer was sure to be
a popular argument. The protec.
ZIONIST forces for some years have
! commanded Immense resources
Numbers of organizations formed
for political purposes have provided
means of evading the Corrupt Prac-
tices act. Supplied with large funds
for carrying on their work. they
were not compelled by law to ac-
count for their receipts or disburse-
meIts. At the same time they were
free to do electioneering work for
candidates on a scale which they
could not legally pay for in person.
The lack of laws requiring full
publicity as to campaign contribu-
tions. direct and indirect, and the
unrestricted. practice of making sub
scriptions to charities, clubs and
various enterprises and movements
up to within few days Of election,
when candidates are nominated,
opened the way for the wholesale
| use OF money IN contest WheTe
the wealthy classes had everything
to gain from political victory that
would afford protection to their poe
kets. They seem to have met the
crisis generously, although unsuc-
cessfully, and the first result is that
they face a fresh agitation against
electoral corruption.
Now that the British have found
they may be as bad as We are. let
us hope that lessons may be gained
In the experience OF each country
for the improvement OF election con-
ditions in both nations. Too much
time and thought have been OK
pended In striving to prove one
worse than the other.