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BALLOT. the arrangement of the names of all the candidates for a given office, whether nominated by party organizations or by independent effort, in order on the ballot, the voter indicating his choice by some mark written by him opposite the name of his chosen candidate. The usual and preferable form of the official ballot is the 'blanket ballot,' in which the names of all the candidates for an office are arranged in alpha- betical order, irrespective of party affiliations. In a few of the United States, however, the prac- tice of arranging the candidates in party col- umns, each column headed by an emblem — as an eagle or a star — has been adopted. This device is justified as a concession to the necessities of the illiterate voter, who may, by placing his mark at the head of a party column, cast a vote for all the candidates of that party, instead of choosing, o>it of an alphabetical list, the names of the individual candidates favored by him. This form of ballot is greatly favored by the political organizations for the reason — which constitutes the chief indictment of the method — that it tends to promote 'straight' party voting and to discourage the practice of independent voting. Certain novel mechanical devices for insuring secret voting and for obviating the more serious objections to the use of the printed ballot will be described under the head of Voting-Machine. For a description of the process by which the State has assumed the regulation of elections, and for an exposition of the laws which have been enacted for securing the purity of the bal- lot, see Election; Electoral Reform; Cor- rupt Practices; Primary Elections; Vote; Voter; Suffrage, and the authorities there re- ferred to.

BALLOU, ba-loo', (1771-1852). An American clergyman and one of the founders of the Universalist denomination in this country. He was born at Richmond, N. H.; after scant schooling he began to preach in 1793, and became a pastor at Dana, Mass., in 1794, and at Barnard, Vt., in 1803. From 1807 to 1815 he was minister of the Universalist congregation at Portsmouth, N. H., and from 1817 until his death was in charge of the Second Universalist Society of Boston, Mass. In 1819 he established the Universalist Magazine, and in 1831 the Universalist Expositor. He took a most active part in formally organizing the denomination, in extending its work, and in adding to its literature. He was also known as an eloquent pulpit orator, and was much in demand for special celebrations. From John Murray, the first preacher of Universalism in the United States, he differed in the entire rejection of the so-called Calvinistic theology. Chief among his publications are Notes on the Parables (1805), Treatise on the Atonement (1807), and The Doctrine of Future Retribution (1834). For an account of his life and doctrines consult biographies by T. Whittemore, 4 vols. (Boston, 1854-55), and O. F. Safford (ib., 1889).

BALLOU, (1796-1861). An American clergyman, the grand-nephew of Hosea Ballou, of Boston. He was born in Vermont; was pastor in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and in 1853 became first president of Tufts College, He was one of the editors of the Universalist Magazine, now published under the name of The Trumpet. He was the author of Ancient History of Universalism, and edited a translation of Sismondi's History of the Crusades (Boston, 1833). A Biography of the Rev. Hosea Ballou was written by M. M. Ballou, his son.

BALLOU, (1820-95). An American journalist, born in Boston, Mass. He founded Gleason's Pictorial, the first American illustrated weekly; and was successively editor of Ballou's Pictorial, The Flag of Our Union, Ballou's Magazine, and the Boston Globe. He published Due West; Due South; History of Cuba (Boston, 1854); and a Biography of the Rev. Hosea Ballou, his father.

BALL'S BLUFF. A locality on the Potomac, 33 miles northwest of Washington. Here, on October 21, 1861, during the Civil War, 1900 Federal soldiers of McClellan's Army, under Col. E. D. Baker, were overwhelmingly defeated by about 3000 Confederates under General Evans, the latter fighting from the shelter of a thickly wooded grove. The Federals lost about 1000 in killed, wounded, and prisoners, Colonel Baker falling during the engagement; while the Confederates lost only 150. The disaster was due to the blundering generalship of McClellan and his division commander, Stone. The latter was arrested by order of the Secretary of War and imprisoned for six months in Fort Lafayette. Consult Johnson and Buel (ed.), The Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Vol. II. (New York, 1884).

BALLSTON SPA, bjU'ston spa. A village, the county-seat of Saratoga County, N. Y., 6 miles southwest of Saratoga Springs, on the Delaware and Hudson Railroad (Map: New York. G 2). It has some reputation as a summer resort and is widely known through its mineral springs. The water flows from a depth of 650 feet, through a tube bored into the solid rock, and is highly effervescent. The village has a large tannery, and pulp and paper mills. Settled in 1787, Ballston Spa was incorporated in 1807. Town-meetings are held every two years, and charter elections annually. The board of education, as well as the village president and board of trustees, is chosen by popular vote. The water-works are owned and operated by the village. Population, in 1890, 3527; in 1900, 3923.

BAL'LYME'NA (Gæl., middle town). A town and important railway centre of County Antrim, Ireland, on the Braid, 33 miles northwest of Belfast (Map: Ireland. E 2). It lies in a densely peopled and well-cultivated district, has agricultural and iron-mining industries, and manufactures of linen, especially brown linen. The United States is represented by a consular agent. Population, estimated, 8700.

BAL'LY TREE. See.

BALM, liiim (for derivation, see ). Melissa officinalis. An erect, branching, perennial, herbaceous plant one to two feet high, of the natural order Labiatæ, a native of the south of Europe, naturalized in England, and escaped from gardens in the United States. It has ovate, crenate leaves, and axillary one-sided whorls of white or pale yellow flowers. The whole plant has an agreeable, lemon-like smell, on account of which it is frequently cultivated in gardens. It is a valuable honey-producing plant and is sometimes grown for bee forage. Balm is employed for making an agree-