Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 March 1880 — Roes a Registry Law Protect the Bal lot? [ARTICLE]

Roes a Registry Law Protect the Bal lot?

The father of Senator Voorhees died on Monday last. The smallpox has broken out amoi g the horses in Canada. The exodus has struck Evansville. No women and children in the consignment. - Grant did not go down to a watery grave as was feared; Ceeaar lias returned, and Blaine, Sherman, et al, are happy and serene. Can an instance be shown where a cumbersome and expensive registration law has proven a protection against illegal votingV Every vote east against,' the State constitutional umendniMits will be a Democratic vote. —Republican. If so, their fate is sealed —defeat is sure.

Attorney General Woolen, in a recently published opinion, holds that a Board of Commissioneis cannot appoint one of their nr mberto superintend any public wot k, and such at act “is not only in bad public taste, but contrary to public policy and il legal.” The New York Evening Express says that Senator Logan’s four day. ’ pitched battle against Fitz John Potter has closed, and the Held is strewn with dislocated parts of speech, and wounded adjectives and lost nominu tives trying to find the verbs they belong to. The Peoria National Democrat says' The currency question is like Banquo’s ghost. It will not down at mi} man’s bidding, let him think himself ever so great. The best way is to meet it manfully, and meet it in the Interest of the masses, and not in the interest of privileged classes. General Thompson and T. “Major” Bitter* are exceedingly incensed and exasperated at the delay in settlement of the pensions to which they are entitled! caused by the Democratic congress. After all the suffering and privations they endured it is truly sad and awful. Give ’em a dose of your justly celebrated “hog-wash” Bitters, ‘Major.’ -

An organization young Republicans bus been formed at Boston which has declared that neither Grant nor Blaine is fir, to be President. The Repubii can party cannot name a man within within its ranks against whom there is not a strong opposition and threats that ho shall be defeated if he is forced upon the party. Surely the outlook for any Republican is not very flattering. The Indianapolis Sun is tho organ of the Greenbackers of this State and it is strongly opposed to the adoption of the proposed amendments.— It says: “Wo believe registration laws are convenient aids to political thieves, and huvo no hesitancy in opposing any amendment to our constitution that shall require the enactment of law’s providing for the registration of votes. Wo hove no objection to the < onsolidation of elections, but as re gistration has been tied to the amendment changing the day of election, we shall cast our vote against it in the interst of American liberty and tho purity of the ballot box.”

LaPorte Argus: A gentleman from the South part of the county, writes us a letter this week, in which he takes strong ground in opposition to the Ist and 3d Constitutional Amendments, and shows wherein they will work hardship. We understand that Presiding Elder Cissel, of this city, suys if the Ist Amendment is adopted it will disfranchise fully one thousand Methodist preachers, and he is strongly opposed to it. Our South Woods eorrospoudent says the people of tho Eastern part of the count} are generally opposed to these questions, as they are of great importance to all clusses. Every man should carefully read them and then vote according to the dictates of his judgment.— There should be no partisanship mixed up in this question.

The law providing for the submission of the constitutioral amendments to the electors of the State enacts that “the secretary of State shall procure ballots of blue paper on each A which shall be printed the proposed amendments and below each amendment shall be printed the word “Yss” in one line, and in another line the word “No;” that any qualified elector may vote for or against any amendment by depositing one of those said-ballots in the ballot box. If he intends to vote for any amendment he shall leave thereunder the word “Yes” and erase the word “No.” If he he intends to vote against any amendment the word “Yes” shall in like manner be stricken out and the word ”No” left; and if both words are allowed to remain, without either of them being erased, the votes shall not be counted either way.” The law re quires that the tickets be kept in the hands of the Inspectors of the election and that they be given out one at a time, as they are demanded by the person wishing to vote. Says the Indianapolis Sentinel:— “Nearly all of our Democratic State exchanges oppose portions of the amendments; some of them are opposed to all. A registry law seems to he particularly obnoxious, simply because the Republican party perpetrated a greater ami nnt of rascality under the only registry law we ever had in Indiana than under any other instrumentality ever used by the sleek,

smooth political rascals of that party. j This H quite a sweeping assertion, | but during the reign of the old regis- i try law wo knew a young Republican lawyer, of this city, who has since seen the errors of his way and become a Democrat. He said that one Sunday before a certain election in Indianapolis, lie consumed the sacred day by copying names from a New York City directory, that there might, be enough signatures to tally with the stuffings of the ballot box. This was a better plan than that used in Morgan county on another occasion by the Republicans, w'ho ran out of ; names, and then voted the graveyards of Morgan ceuuty. This, howuvei | w\is not under the registry law, but serves as an illustration of the brilliantly rascally tactics of Republicanism.”

The Indianapolis Sun, Greenback organ says: “We question the pro. ptie'y of tiie enactment of registration laws Such laws usually aid rather than prevent dishonest men in their fraudulent transaction. If a law shall he passed requiring all voters to register la-fore entitling tl.emjto a vote, it amounts to two elections, and gives the political ringmasters great advantage in the election that is to determine any matter at issue. There are at least live hundred thousand voters in Indiana; it will take one day out of each year to attend to the registration. Now put the wages of each voter at one dollar a day, and you find that it will cost tin; people live hundred thousand dollars a year to get ready to vote, besidse large outlays for registration books, clerks, &c. It does not protect the ballot, but makes it easier for the fraud merchant to carry on his business Me will know the number of registration, and will at once prepare to carry his point by fraud. As the law now is, every man eun, if lie wishes, keep iiis purposes to himself so far us voting is concerned, *nd thus it is that the political ofliee-liuntor is at a loss to know just how to move in the matter. The ballot box should be free to all citizens who have the legal right to use it, nor should the world be informed before hand as to the number of voters in any given district. No citizen should bo compelled to advertise himself as a voter, or be denied the right of an American freeman. Wo are therefore, at present, opposed to the registration amendment. We had better | have two elections every four years I than to give such advantages to the \ enemies of constitutional liberty.