The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-12-25
AN INTERESTING EXPERIME NT

D
AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT
No opposition was expressed to the
enactment Of an absent voters law in
years past. The men who would
chiefly benefit by such a law were
travelling men. 1t was, to the big bus
mess mind, quite right and proper that
prune peddlers should have the OPP
portunity to vote.
And that view is indeed entirely
correct. But why should those who
feel it proper to give travellers an OPP
portunity to vote Immediately begin
to shrek fraud when the farmers
legislature tries to make it easier for
farmers wives to vote? Nobody who
knows anything at ali about the lot Of
the average farm woman need be told
that she needs help. She is the most
overworked Of all human creatures.
If she does her duty as an American
citizen, now that the ballot is hers,
she will be still more overworked.
Farm women living at distance
from the polling place, with all their
household duties, and with a flock of
little children, are almost estopped
from voting, especially if the weather
happens to be bad on election day, as
it frequently is. The state has there
fore quite properly decided to make
it easier for them to vote. We think
those who read in yesterdays issue OF
The Courier-News the provisions Of
the new bill will agree that the bal
lot is sufficiently safeguarded against
| misuse. If it is not, it is the farmers
| who will suffer, for it is the opposi-
ton here which has the slush fund
and will use it-as the Newberry
| revelations show was done III Michl-
gan. Indeed an objection to the law
| on the ground that it is too cumber-
some to be helpful would sect to be
much more in order than that it
would lead to fraud.
But the farmers legislature has
done a mighty good thing in trying to
make it easier for the farm women to
vote-and their husbands also-and
if defects develop, as probably they
will, they can be cured later in the
light of Observation-Disclosures
No dirtier fling at the travelling men
of the state could be made than is cor
tanned in the above editorial when they
are alluded to by this free love news
paper as prune peddle:s and ridiculed
on account of the absent ballot
There is absolutely no parallel be-
tween the present absent voters law
special session. The present law pro,
vides that any citizen who is to be
*bsent from the county on election
day, may, under certain conditions
vote in advance and leave a sealed bal!
lot with the county auditor to be sent
to the judges of election on election
'av to be properly counted. Hun
dreds of travelling men are compelled
to leave home for their routes and be
gone past the election day and would
thus be deprived of their ballot, ano
the law is certainly a good one. Call
ing them prune peddlers does not ad
varce single argument for the re
peal of this law. The law passed {
few days ago makes it perilous for the
secret ballot Anybody living half {
mile from the polling place can be APP
proved by a politician and notary
public, the vote secured, the line Of
the vote obtained and practically thu
result of the election known in ad
vance. The sob story about the won
en- not being able to go to the poll
is a laughable stunt. There is not {
woman, unless she is too sick, wht
cannot go to the polls with her hus
band and vote the same as he does
and a big majority would do it ant
ba glad of the chance. The editoria
from the Fargo morning daily is onl!
another camoufage and a desire t.
ridicule travelling men more than any
thing else In fact the c. N. is sim
ply obeying the voice of it's master
any method to win out next election i
. it has to swallow free love, state SO
cialism or the stealing Of private
. and sacred ballot. There is nothing
too low, nothing too rank, or nothing
too villainous for this bunch to at
tempt in their desire to retain contro
!, of the millions and millions of stat,
funds with the fat offices that go will