79o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
NOV. 22 
Farm Politics. 
Here it is proposed to discuss with freedom and fairness, ques¬ 
tions of National or State policy that particularly concern farm¬ 
ers. The editors disclaim responsibility for the opinions of cor¬ 
respondents. The object is to develop a true and fair basis for 
organization among farmers. Let us think out just what we want 
and then strive for it. 
THE NEW BALLOT LAW IN NEW YORK. 
The “Secret Ballot” and the Tammany Tiger. 
N jB^AMMANY HALL is the bugbear of 
' the average rural voter, because it 
typifies to his mind all that is low, 
wicked and unscrupulous in Amer¬ 
ican politics. The new ballot law 
was aimed at Tammany, and it 
received its chief backing from 
farmers and country people who have come to believe that 
the slums of New York have too much to do with deter¬ 
mining the policy of this country. I wanted to see just how 
this new law would work, so I went to New York and 
spent the greater part of election day in the region about 
Baxter, Mulberry, Essex, Cherry, Chrystie Streets and the 
Bowery, watching the voters and the voting. The sketches 
shown here are true to life, showing exactly what we saw. 
What is Tammany Hall ? It is a vast, political “ trust,” 
working in politics as a matter of business. It was founded 
in 1789, Thomas Jefferson being one of the original found¬ 
ers. It was, originally, a club of rich and powerful politi¬ 
cians who desired to counteract the strong Tory or anti- 
American influence that prevailed in New York after the 
Revolution. In the beginning it was not unlike the 
Union League Club in influence and methods. But keen 
and far-seeing politicians soon saw these things: 
1. New York State is so large and populous that it will, 
as a rule, naturally hold the balance of political power in 
the country. 
2. New York city, being the largest seaport, is bound to 
fill up with foreigners. The city is of such peculiar shape 
that these foreigners and their descendants are sure to 
locate in compact masses. 
3. The party or organization that can absolutely control 
this labor and foreign vote, either by threats, by bribes or 
A Purifier of Politics. Fig. 376. 
by church influences, will control New York city, New 
York State, and, in a majority of cases, the country. 
That was the origin of the Tammany of to-day. Its 
leaders are in politics for business—they have no other 
business; they do not need any. Tammany regards the 
governing of New York city and the spending of its vast 
revenues as its natural right, and it will make any polit¬ 
ical “deal” with any party rather than lose its local 
“pull.” It appeals to the passions and prejudices of the 
most ignorant and depraved voters, and it holds its voters 
together by every known political device. It will always 
be found in New Yoik city, and will probably never be 
thoroughly conquered so long as politicians are willing to 
“Woman In Politics” on the Bowery. Fig. 377. 
make “deals” with it to help out State and national cam¬ 
paigns. It is a great, big political “ring;” but the prob¬ 
ability is that there is a political “ ring ” working in your 
county or township on a miniature edition of Tammany 
methods. Some years ago I knew six smart young men 
who went out to Michigan and located in a growing north¬ 
ern county. They settled in various parts of it, in different 
townships, and by working together in caucuses and 
county conventions got themselves into county offices and 
ran politics generally for years. Now that was a “ ring ”— 
the primer of Tammany methods, and the probability is 
that the funds of your township and county are handled 
by just such a “ring.” The Tammany “ worker” devotes 
365 days to the study of politics, while your “ respected 
citizen ” gives, say, 15 minutes. 
It is hardly necessary for me to describe the new ballot 
law—most of you have had occasion to see its workings. 
Briefly stated, its essential feature is the secret preparation 
of the ballot. The voter is handed a set of ballots—one for 
each party. He goes into a booth or small closet, selects 
the ballot he wants to vote, folds all the ballots, comes out 
and hands the one ballot he wants to cast to the inspector 
and sees it put into a glass box. The other five or six bal¬ 
lots are handed to another inspector who puts them into 
another box. All the ballots are numbered and must be 
Trimming the Tiger’s Claws. Fig. 378. 
accounted for. No soliciting of votes was permitted with¬ 
in 150 feet of the polls, and two policemen were on hand at 
every polling place to keep order. In former years Tam¬ 
many “ workers ” could march a string of men up to the 
polls and stand over them to see that they voted right. 
Those who framed the new ballot law tried to stop this by 
making the voter go into the booth and fold up his ballot. 
The assumption was that the scoundrel who buys a vote 
will not trust the scoundrel who sells it. The first knave 
wants to see the goods delivered, and under the new ballot 
law there is no certainty that the goods arc delivered. 
Tammany fought the law to the end, but when it passed 
the society went to work to prepare for it. “ Voting 
schools ” were held where voters were shown just howto 
vote, and the ablest lawyers in the city decided just how 
far the new law could be stretched towards Tammany 
methods. As a result, the Tammany voters seemed to 
know their business better than college professors or busi¬ 
ness men did. Of course if we are going to make Tammany 
men vote in secret we have to let our hired men and ten¬ 
ants vote secretly too. No more can we give a hired man 
a ticket and stand over him while he votes it. I have seen 
that done in the country—haven’t you ? Come, now, it is 
a poor rule that will not work both ways. 
The voting was generally done in small shops, cigar 
stores, Jew shops, restaurants or dry goods stores. As 
these were very small—probably hired in order to keep 
some “ leader ” in line—the tables, chairs and booths 
crowded things considerably. On Cherry Street we found 
the place shown at Figure 375, which is like a dozen others. 
An exact picture of the friend who presided over the 
ballot box is shown at Figure 376. Three doors away, 
lying sprawled on the sidewalk, was a drunken woman, 
Figure 377, whose gray hair swept the mud and dirt. 
Blear-eyed men and women staggered about or stood sul¬ 
lenly in the doorways—ragged and desperate. Just around 
the corner was the “headquarters,” an exact picture of 
which is given at Figure 380. In former elections the 
streets were lined with stalls or boxes where ballots were 
given out. When a respectable man made his appearance, 
he was at once pounced upon by “workers” and ballot 
peddlers just about as shown at Figure 381. The new bal¬ 
lot law stopped that and drove the “ workers ” into the 
“ headquarters ” such as we have pictured. The saloons 
were generally closed—in front at least—but I saw many 
drunken men, though the Tammany instructions were 
severe not to get drunk during the day. A grand spree 
after the election made up for all lost time. The picture 
shown at Figure 382 is drawn from life. The fellow shown 
at Figure 375 walked into the voting place—a cigar store— 
and was handed a set of ballots. With a leer on his face he 
pulled irom his pocket a piece of paper and took it with 
him into the booth. In a moment he came out with his 
ballots all folded, ready to vote. That was where Tammany 
won. That piece of paper was a “ paster.” It was just 
the size of the legal ballot, had the names of the Tammany 
candidates printed on it, and was gummed on the back like 
a postage stamp. All the fellow did in the booth was to 
“ lick ” that “ paster ” and stick it to the back of one of 
the ballots. Then he folded and voted it. I am sure that 
he could not have read his ballots at all. Tammany looked 
out for such fellows and not one of them went to the polls 
without one of the “ pasters” in his pocket. In fact, I am 
sure that, in these lower ward?, two thirds of the ballots 
that were cast were pasted. I also noticed that these 
paster ballots can always be told when they are folded. 
They are thicker and damp. Around every box stood sev¬ 
eral “hard” characters with “ Tammany Hall ” badges. 
They did not “ solicit votes ” but they watched every vote 
that was cast, ana they could tell every “pasted” ballot 
that went in. How do I know? Because I could tell them 
myself in almost every instance. I watched the voting so 
carefully that a policeman with a regular “ States- 
prison ” face struck me on the arm with his club and 
asked. 
“ Ye gut’ny bizness here? ” 
Typical “ Headquarters.” Fig. 380. 
“No ! I’m only looking at the voting.” 
“Well, git out,-ye! Take a walk ’round the 
block!” 
If I had only put on a seedy plug hat, filled my mouth 
with tobacco, perfumed my breath with whisky and sported 
a “Tammany” badge I could have stayed there all day. 
At another place I saw a man come out of the booth to 
vote with his ballots all folded. 
“ What ye wan ter do ? ” snarled the “ inspector.” 
“ I want to vote.” 
“Workers” and Ballot Peddlers. Fig. 38 1. 
“ Gut yer ticket folded ?” 
“ Here it is.” 
“Let’s have it.” And the “public official” took the 
ballot and deliberately opened it far enough to read the 
first name. He put the tickets all together. 
“ Which one ye wanter vote ?” 
The bewildered voter picked out one—I am sure it was 
not the one he first offered—and voted it. 
And so the day passed off, and Tammany won—won 
“Waiting for the Returns.” Fig. 3S2. 
among scenes of such misery, shame and wretched squalor 
that the heart grows sick at the remembrance; the slums 
of New York, where misery, poverty and crime make their 
lairs of despair ; the slums of New York, where ignorance 
and brutality reign, where Presidents are elected, where 
national policies are decided, where the vote of an illiterate 
scouudrel counts for more iu a national election than the 
votes of any five intelligent farmers in the country. 
Surely the purifying aud cleansing of this vote is a legiti¬ 
mate question to enter into “ farm politics.” But, you 
