People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 January 1897 — Mount’s Gag Law. [ARTICLE]

Mount’s Gag Law.

Governor Mount in iris in- | augural address spoke against I the choice of nominating conventions being subject to the “traffic, barter and change at

the behest of a committee of party* tricksters.” The governor and his party propose to remedy this evil by not allowing a name to appear but once on a ballot; in other words they propose, by law, to prohibit fusion. By what plan they propose to prevent a “committee of party tricksters” from putting up or taking down a ticket they have not yet declared. Now, it very often happens that it is of great concern to two parties whether or not a third party is in the field; one party will “bid and barter” for a third ticket, the other party will “bid and barter” for the keeping out or the withdrawal of a third ticket; how will the governor and his party remedy this? The republicans in the last campaign offered thousands of dollars to the Populist party if it would put a full Bryan and Watson electorial ticket in the field in this state.

The gold bug democratic ticket was put up in all the states and carried through by republican boodle. Can Mr. Mount give us a remedy for this evil. We fear our governor is get-, ting too goody good in spots; spread yourself out’ little man and see if you cannot banish “trade and barter” from all political conventions. We believe we have really heard something before about corrupt methods in party conventions and committees; yes, heard about them before we ever heard of either fusion or Mount. The milk in this cocoanut of political virtue is to be drank by the republican party, in an endeavor to so disfranchise the voters of, this state that a minority may rule. The very attempt to prevent fusion is evidence of corruption, and belies this pose of righteousness.