Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-06-12


as large as it was, it would have availed moth
| ing, as Berret would have manufactured five
hundred majority just as easily as he manu-
Tactured his present majority. II cannot be
questioned that Mr.. Wallach received full two
thirds, if not three fourths of the votes of the
bona Jsde resident citizens Of Washington the
steady, substantial portion of the community.
MIR. Berret received the votes Of the Govern
ment employees, who dared not vote otherwise
than as dictated to by the official organ -of the
Marines--of the hordes Of Irish gathsx.a to-
gether here, for the ocrasi9n fofn, sl creation,
and a. ~ sangs Of rowdy rufians, cut-throats,
| fpickpockets, burglars, midnight and midday
assassins, who went from poll to poll disturb
ing the peace, and endeavoring to create riots
and blood-shed, in which they succeeded at
the City Hall, for time, and on Capitol Hill.
For week or ten days before the election,
the Irish were observed continually coming into
the city "in regiments, companies, squads,
pairs, and singly," with their black carpet bags
in hand. What their purpose was, no one
could doubt; it was to vote for Berret and,
having done this, they took up their return
march, carpet-bags in hand, and plenty Of
whisky aboard Two hundred and fifty of
these travelling voters, we are informed, voted
at one precinct in the Seventh Ward. They
were from the water works, and, as we have
been assured, voted at Rockville, Maryland,
last fall. How many there were from Balt-
more, York, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Phila-
delphia,s Wilmington, and other places, we have
no means Of knowing; we only know that all
the bitches, cutters, groggeries, and Irish shan
ties, far and near, seemed to have been scraped
and emptied their human ignorance and filth,
which were gathered together here on Monday
last to help the Government to elect their own
candidate for Mayor; and that by means of the
| votes of such cattle, James G. Berret has been
elected [what farce to call it an election Il
Mayor Of the political Metropolis of our coun-
try. 1t would have been just as much Of an
election had the Government directed their
Indian Agents to bring on here few thousand
Sioux, Chippewas, Snake, Blackfeet, Canaan
che, Arapapo, Navajo, and other wild Indians,
and directed them to vote for Mr. Berret. They
would have voted quite as intelligently and in
dependently, as did the hordes of Irish, and the
bands Of ruffians by whom he was elected
The National Intelligencer spoke, the day
after the election, in high praise of the quietude
that was preserved during the day by the extra
police. We confess that as there were not more
than one person killed, and three or four wound
ed by the discharge Of pistols in the hands of
the ruffians, of whom we before spoke, we have
reason to be thankful. TWAS great improve
ment upon the scenes of Bloody Monday"
one year ago, when fourteen were killed and
sixteen or eighteen wounded by the brave Ma
rines, under command of the gallant and chiv-
alrous Captain Tyler, who showed that the sight
of blood, on that occasion, even the blood Of
peaceable American citizens, had no effect upon
his nerves whatever.
But as to the quietude of the day: it was the
quietudc Of despotism and tyranny. Thepolice
were nearly all Democrats, and had on Demo.
spectacles during the day Tfthere were
Democratic rowdies about endeavoring to dis
turb the peace, they were unseen by the Dem
ocratic policemen; but if Wallach man re-
piled to insulting and provoking language from
a Democrat, he was instantly reprimanded, and
told that he must keep quiet. Ifa Berret man
hurrahd several times for his candidate, stand
ing by the side, and at the stirrup of one of the
mounted police, no notice was taken of tit
was not heard; but if he was replied to by a
Wallach man with single hurrah for Wal
lach, forthwith the mounted policeman, and two
or three special policemen had him in to,
marching him off for disorderly behaviorl What
we state, are facts susceptible Of proof, and
illustrative Of the manner in which this boasted
quietude was preserved, with which our neigh
bors were so much delighted
To call this an election-the expression Of
the will of the people through the ballot-box,
is ridiculous; it is farce worse than farce,
it is the holding out of corn to furnishing
people, and giving them only the husks; it is,
therefore, cheat and an insult. To save
trouble we might just as well give the power
to the President to appoint Mayor, Alder
men and Council for the city Of Washington
for with the power now in the hands of the
government, and the despotic manner in which
they use it, they have the entire control of our
city elections. The government employees,
who are mere temporary sojourners here, and
even those who have resided here all their
lives, dare not vote for any other than the
candidate the government favors-the party
candidate; to do so, they know would bc to
deprive themselves of that employment We
know that Mr.. Buchanan was appealed to
short time ago to allow some one who would
be supposed to speak authoritativey, to say
publicly that government clerks, bureau off,
GERS and other employees might vote as their
own judgment and preferences might dictate
and no exception would be taken, no questions
asked by those in authority. But no, he could
not bring himself up to this elevated and |
proier attitude towards those in his power
he could not get out of the fog, filth and fac
ulence Of partyl The Democratic party, he
said had made him president and he should |