The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-01-07
FOR AN HONEST PRIMARY
LEGISLATOR CALLS FOR BILL TO
PREVENT FRAUD.
Would Provide Penalties for SIrreg-
uIarities" System Leaks
Like q Sieve.

Inc 81. Matthews ReCOlu Will puo
lish a few articles on primary reform
written by member Of the legisla-
ture. They are strictly non-partisan
and are designed to point out the
changes necessary to eliminate frand
without taking the ballot away from
any South Carolina Democrat. The
articles are in no way inspired by
any candidate for Office, and none
know of their preparation. They are
designed solely to assist the mass OF
Democratic primary votes to clean
house. Bills to this end will be act
ed on in the next legislature and
South Carolinians are of course in
terested in the subject at this time.
Every lover Of pure democracy
must rejoice in those features OF our
primary system that give every true
Democrat in South Carolina the right
to vote whether he be rich or poor,
learned or illiterate. Perhaps no
where else in the world is there such
universal white manhood suffrage.
The problem is tc make the vote
pure as we'll as free.
No matter who the voter is he does
not want his vote killed by the bal
lot of some repeater or outsider.
What use is it for one county to be
honest when some other practices
wholesale fraud? or for you to vote
once when others are voting twice,
To decide on a remedy we must
Freedom has to be guarded.
first find exactly where the trouble
lies. am going to cite some in
stances. See if you do not agree that
the fault is twofold, first with you
and me and the rest of the rank and
file Who have been unwilling to be
put to the trouble of obeying even the
loose rules we have, and then with
these rules which are so poorly ar
ranged that the most conscientious
election managers are helpless where
voters set out to cheat.
Tammany Methods.
"There may have been some minor
irregularities in this county, but we
believe that it was a fair election sc
far as county is concerned d
reported one county chairman to the
investigating committee year ago
He adds, however, "I found that the
club lists had disappeared. Our com
mittee has been unable to locate
them"
Over night some one stole the
record from the ballot boxes. A
familiar device of Tammany thugs in
the good old days practiced right here
in a farming county of South Caro-
lima. The chairman was honest and
sincere, though, when he called this
"minor irregularity", for every one
of us who has anything to do with
our election management sees rules
so violated on every hand that only
downright bribery is considered Sc
rious.
Early or Not at All.
In another important county it is
no uncommon thing for a voter tc
find on going to the polls that some
one has cast ballot in his name
Friends who had this experience
laughed to me about it as part ot
the regular order of things. remark
ing, Next time we must be at the
polls when they are opened" The
State executive committee called on
the party authorities from that coun.
ty for a report on the election and
the reply was mo irregularities
found. There so mild a term as
.'irregularity" is too harsh name
for the most fragrant frauds and
everything goes.
Why Rules Among Friends?
In still another big county the
local executive committee found
among other "irregularities" that:
Men were alleged to vote whose
names were not enrolled on the club
lists.
At one box 12S names Of those
who voted were found after most
searching examination to be fcti-
tious.
The average of the poll lists Of all
the county boxes showed from 10 per
cent. to Is per cent. that could not
be identified.
At other boxes $40 names of actual
persons were found to have apparent
ly voted from two to five times, and
after making allowances for pos
sible proportion as proper, a large
number were seen to be repeaters.
In a very few instances was the
club roll certified to.
Bystanders were called in by man
ayers to assist in counting the ballots,
one of whom did destroy or attempt
to destroy tickets.
Managers OF election were not
sworn and other voters took no oaths.
Yet this committee in summing up
spoke of these things as numerous
irregularities but found no evidence
Of fraud.
Summarized in Another Way.
Managers omit to take the hon.
esty obligation oath the party rules
require.
Regarding the rules, they allow
men to vote whose names are not on
the poll lists.
These voters and others cast their
ballots without swearing as to their
qualification, though the party rules
demand the oath.
Uncertified poll lists with dead
mems names by the score and scores