This quote is from lincoln steffen's 1904 book the shame of the cities. in this excerpt, steffens describes a speech given by a corrupt philadelphia official who was trying to counter charges that his ward was "low down":
"[the orator] reminded his hearers that his was the ward of independence hall, and naming over signers of the declaration of independence, he closed his highest flight of eloquence with the statement that 'these men, the fathers of american liberty, voted down here once. and,' he added, with a catching grin, 'they vote here yet.'"
which statement expresses the irony of this particular kind of corruption to the democratic process?