“The masses are asses”

Entry in progress—B.P.
 
“Be careful when you follow the masses. Sometimes the ‘M’ is silent” is a related saying.
 
Wikipedia: The Masses Are Asses
The Masses Are Asses can refer to:
 
. A 1974 play by Pedro Pietri
. A 1997 song by the female punk rock group L7 appearing on the album The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum
. A phrase used by Karl Rove (in the negative) during his July 29, 2006 address to the graduating class of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University
. A phrase in the poem “St. Tammany and the Nabobs”, on page 272 of the book Poetical works of Charles G. Halpine published in 1869 by Harper and Brothers, New York.
     
6 January 1893, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, pg. 4:
“The masses are asses and we are their natural riders and guiders,” is a condensed statement of the Republican position.
 
29 January 1903, Lucifer the light-bearer (KS), “Parry and Thrust,” pg. 17:
To count ears instead of votes would prove that the masses are asses.
 
Google Books
Uncle Sam and his revenue:
Some observations by a Kansas farmer
By Loyd Knight Kistler
Waterville, KS: L. Kistler
1910
Pg. 71:
In political science the masses are asses and being more or less abused by their master.-, the ruling classes, it is time to speak.
   
Time magazine
HOUSING: Up from the Potato Fields
Monday, July 03, 1950
(...)
Bill (Bill Levitt, founder of Levittown—ed.) cared little for school or books, quit New York University after his third year because “I got itchy. I wanted to make a lot of money. I wanted a big car and a lot of clothes.” In those years his favorite phrase was: “The masses are asses.”
 
Google Books
The American Political Process
By Charles Raymond Adrian and Charles Press
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
1965
Pg. 46:
A minority argue that “the masses are asses” and should not be permitted to choose the rulers.
 
Quoteland.com
skagit_guy
Posted 05-29-08 11:58 PM
Who said the quote, “The masses are asses.”
 
I have seen this quote attributed to Voltaire, Karl Rove, Alexander Hamilton, and H.L. Menken. I have not seen any good evidence that the attribution is accurate. Does anyone know who the real author of this quote is? Thanks!