PATENT BALLOT-BOX.
S Mr. MOODY moved to suspend the regular order and to reconsider the vote of the House refusing to ask the Senate to return the bill concerning elections and the contest thereof to this House. He said: When that bill was upon its passage through the House I sought an opportunity to protest against its passage. I made a careful examination of this bill after it passed. The only recommendation the bill had was that it was originated by the Codification Committee. This ballot-box will cost the people of Indiana $75,000 to cast a vote which ought to fall as easily and free to the citizens of Indiana as the beautiful snow; yet this bill was hurried through simply because the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Ryan) thought the people of Indiana wanted it. I believed when that bill passed that it would not protect the elective franchise. I believed it was a fraud upon the people of Indiana, and I am now convinced and make this effort for the purpose of reconsidering it.
Mr. CARTER--If this is a bill that will conflict with the rights of the Democratic party, the Senate can take care of it. I do not think we ought to have this bill brought back here. It has been away a number of days. It passed this House. We could not reconsider it except by a two-thirds vote.
Mr. RYAN said: It can not be possible for a man who talks as much as my friend on the left to always tell the truth. He can not always be posted on every question. The harangue has been more for the benefit of the Democracy of Indiana than the people in general. If he was so overcome with indignation, why did he not at the proper time and place manifest it? The passage of this bill was inspected and sanctioned by men of his party upon this floor--men who have more regard for the purity of elections than I think the gentleman has, from the speech he undertook to make upon the pass ge of this bill. I will venture to say that there is not a man who can produce a single objection to the features of that bill. This is not the time nor place to discuss this question.
Mr. EDWINS--The motion this morning was not for the purpose of bringing about a discussion. No one denies but what the ballot box contemplated in this bill will be useful, but I do claim that where we find that we have made a mistake, and can correct it, we should do so. Twenty-five dollars is too much to pay for these little insignificant boxes, when we can get them for $5 or $10, and I think that is sufficient to pay for them. I favor this that the Members of this House may have an opportunity to correct the mistake. This is the place to remedy the error, where it originated; therefore I am in favor of the motion.
Mr COLE--I desire to say that it comes in bad taste from a gentleman who occupies as much time as the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Ryan) to refer to the time occupied by the gentleman from Dekalb (Mr. Moody). I do not think this is a political question. I voted for the bill when it passed the House, and might vote for it again. I understood it was a fire-proof and burglar proof balot-box, one in which it was impossible to get an illegal vote. I have learned since that a plan was devised by which illegal votes were deposited into that ballot-box, and that it was only defeated by accident. I would like to examine this thing, and think it proper that the Houe should examine it, and if it can be shown that the boxes can be purchased for less than $25 a piece, it is right and just to do so.
Mr. MOODY said: "I did not suppose that page: 121[View Page 121] when I moved to reconsider the vote that I was going to strike the representative of the patentee of this ballot-box. I did not suppose that he was in the hall of this Legislative Assembly. I did this for the purpose of getting to reconsider the action of the House on the bill, and if there could be any improvement made let it be done; but for one, I am not willing to vote away $75,000 of the people's money for a thing that is of no earthly benefit to the State.
Mr. RYAN moved to lay the motion to suspend the regular order on the table.
This motion was rejected--yeas, 42; nays, 44.
The motion to suspend the regular order was also rejected.
