The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-12-18
PUTTING MARKET VALUE ON
:. 100 VOTES

cd about the franchise. It is an al
most insuperable obstacle to wide
spread graft and corruption Under
the Australian ballot system, it is pos
sible for corrupt politicians to pay
money for votes, but they never know
that the votes are delivered.
|, The moment YOU remove the element
of secrecy from the ballot, you make Ike
it possible to put a market price on
votes.
The new law which the league gang
damned through the special session Of
the legislature, removes the element
of secrecy for very large PERCENTAGE
of voters. Under the plea Of making
it easier for farmers to vote, they have
made it possible for any voter living
more than half a mile from the voting
nrecinct to cast an "absent voters bal
lot" any time within 80 days OF the
election. That is not the dangerous
feature of the law, however. The VIC
ious feature is that which permits MN
to have anyone he elects assist him IN
marking the ballot.
That law makes it possible to buy
votes in North Dakota. 1t makes II
possible for league organizers, or
'Big Business" agents, for that mat
ter, to go into the country 80 days
before election and buy thousands OF
votes, and see that they are deliver
ed" as bargained for.
Il has moved us back SO years In our
election methods. It opens the way to
limitless graft, bribery and corrup-
ton. It is wholly vicious and wholly
indefensible law. The reason It was
PASSED. Of course, was to permit the
league gangsters to sew up in advance
several thousand votes, which may be
very sadly needed before the next
election in North Dakota. !.
Every man whb voted for that
measure should hang his head IN
shame. It is a disgrace to free COM
monwealth. 1t is a brazen insult to
honest men and women. 1t is an out
rage that cannot and should not be
forgotten or forgiven. No man who
voted for that law should be permitted
to hold office again in North Dakota
Forum.
II Twenty-Five rubber stamps, form
ing ma jority of the members OF the
present state senate, voted yesterday
to ask Attorney General LANCER to
resign. We are mighty thankful that
part Of Barnes county at least is rep
resented by men who have the cour-
age of their convictions to stand for
what is American, for what is right.
We allude to the Fifteenth district
which is represented in the senate
3by Hon. Frank E. Ployhar and in the
house by Hon. Burl Carr. The least
we say about the Thirty eighth dis
trict the better. In any event while
twenty mine men in the senate, told
by Bill Lemke to vote to ask LANCER
to resign, there are fifty odd thousand
voters in the state who will say TO
LANCER hold your job-you are right.
It has been clearly demonstrated tnat
the bunch of socialists now running
the state do not want the light Of day
to be thrown on their work 50 they
want to retire every official who does
do the right thing by the people. They
have now passed law censorlng
newspaper articles or the publication
of newspaper articles showing up the
rottenness of the present admlnlstra-
ton. It is felony now for any state
officer to give facts to the newspapers
unless thes facts favor the league, but
it is not a felony for any Lacquer 70
90 out and lie like damned horse
thief" as Mr. Townley told them to 90.
The bunch of red card artists are go
ing to have a picnic muzzing the
free press Of this state and country.
This paper has never been muzzled
under its present management and
never will be. Our advice to Friend
LANCER is to stick to his job, come
out among the people and tell them
the facts-thousands are waiting 70
hear from him and there are all kinds
of them in Barnes county waiting TOT
him to set the date he will come
hundreds will come out to listen 20
what he has to say. Sit tight, old
man. and don't let any free love bunch
of socialists make you resign. We
know from experience that IN tlme
truth will prevail. Might is not al
ways right, or rather the majority Is
not always right. It certainly is not
in North Dakota. The late session
has been nothing more or less than q
gathering of vindictive non-partlsan
Legislators whose sole aim in life has
been to punish three or four state ofil-
Gals who have been trying honestly
ia protect the people. The results
from the special session summed up
IN nutshell ale many thousands Of
dollars of added tax burden to the
people, a muddled up mess Of useless
laws that will result in endless litfga-
ton and stronger feeling between
factions in the state that are going to
make conditions bad from this on ,,n-
' IL -. the ebb has commenced for the
socialists and that after the next pri-
mary election the skeletons Of the free
love bunch will be left high and dry
81 the sands Of popular disapproval
and their political bones will be swept