The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-09-02
Election Frauds Ballot-bOx Stufiing :
Who are the Guilty?
Read the following from the Louisville Journ,

Read the louoWlng from the LOUISVILLE journal:
aLIGHTs AND SHADOWS OF PoLITIcAL LIFE
On last Saturday, Judge Conrad, of one of the
Philadelphia courts sentenced man, named
Rump, to prison, for two years and eight months,
for the preparation of frauds by which James
Buchanan was elected to the Presidency last fall
Mr.. Buchanan now occupies the White House at
Washington, and Rump is domiciled in cell at
Moyamensing!
dOur readers are of course familiar with the
gross and outrageous frauds referred to. Their
enormity has never been equalled in the country.
Not even those of the famous Plaquemine parish,
Louisiana in 1874, by which Henry Clay lost his
election and the country the services of its ables
statesman in the Executive chair, are at all COM
parable with them. They were sufficiently start
ling and gave evidence of the deep and utter
degradation of Locofocoism--of the vileness of
the means to which that party would resort for the
accomplishment of its objects but even beyond
the lowest depth there has been found still lower
deep in political infamy. 1t was reserved for the
quasi Democracy of Philadelphia to perpetrate the
most enormous frauds upon the purity of the bal
otbox that have ever disgraced the elective fran
chise of the nation.
/" These frauds were practised at the State elec-
ton in October, and gave the State of Pennsylve-
MIA to the candidates of the Democratic party
The influence of that election is well known. 1t
was anticipated throughout the nation with the
deepest interest. Upon it hung the national re-
suits Had the Democracy then been defeated in
the home of its candidate the battle would have
gone quite differently in November. The Buchan-
an leaders well knew the importance Of the Octo-
Der contest, and they left no means untouched to
accomplish that which was Of vital Importance to
their interests, On the day Of the election Phia-
delphia was perfect caldron Of seething boiling,
noxious corruption. Rowdyism was rampant
The voting places were accessible only by force.
Ballotboxes were stuffed. Democratic judges of
election acted with eye only bipartisan success.
Bribery and chicanery and all the elements of po-
litica vilainy were brought to bear upon the lower
classes of the population. In that manner the
vote Of Philadelphia was secured and Philadelphia
rendered Democratic.
"What followed il is needlessfor us to state The
South fooishly imagined Buchanan to be their only
hope, and general reaction took place through.
out this section Of the country, most terribly dis
astrous to the cause Of Fillmore and Americanism.
"This is the simple, true story. 1t needs no en-
bellishment. The startling nakedness Of the facts
is sufficient TO bring home TO every true American
heart sense of depression and to thrill his frame
with a shudder for the safety of government
whose destinies thus be so lawlessly controlled.
There can DO no question of the fact but that the
present administration owes its elevation TO power
to gigantic scheme Of fraud and violence, wnked
at, encouraged, and authorized, too, by men who
assume for themselves honorable positions in so
oiety >3.
"There is some atonemcnt to injured Justice
and the outraged rights Of freemen in the punish
ment that is being meted out to the viainous
authors OF these wrongs But 1t is no wise ade-
quate. Rump and his confederates might linger
in prison during the remainder Of their lives, but
will that deter men high in authority from the
commission of similar crimes through the agency
of such miserable wretchcs? As long as the
Democratic party has vitality enough to make
battle its leaders will resort to just such agencies
for the accomplishment of their purposes It is
the party Of radcalism, of turbulence, of revol-
ton, Of individual ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, and shrinks
from tile commission Of no felony that success
may crown its efforts.
1.-THE Philadelphia case has great moral but il
is too patent to the rejecting freeman to need
elaboration. We leave it to the good sense of our
readers. They will see how foreign scoundrels,
under the authority Of Democratic champions,
ruled the election, and turned the scale last Noyem-
Der, defeating true Amercansm and its candidates.
Mr.. Buchanan in the White House and Rump in
his Moyamensing cell are widely separate in posi-
ton, but there is between them the smallest ave- an
almost imperceptible line Of distinction to the pure
political moralist. Both have wronged the Ameri-
can people,"