Smyrna times., 1862-11-20
Soldiers at the Polls.

Every Democratic paper in this, and all
they can enlist in other States, including
the Philadelphia Evening Journal, than which
there is hardly a more virulent paper north
of Mason's and Dixon's Line; every stump
screamer and "pop-gun" politician are
yelping and whining because soldiers were
brought into this State to secure peaceful
election.
When they deprecate the fact, we join in
with them and deplore the necessity of the
thing as much as they. 1t certainly shows,
to say the least, that we have fallen upon
evil times, when the baser passions have
taken precedence over the finer moral SEN
sibilities of our people. The Union party is
composed of men mainly of the moral and
quiet portion of the community, and taking
advantage of this fact, their opponents
bullied and crowded them SO at the Inspec-
tors election as to make their attempt to
vote hazardous thing, and did intimidate
number from going to the polls. They are
alone responsible IN consequence Of their behaviour
at the " Little" Election for the necessity of har-
ing soldiers among as at the General EZectiom
If the Democrats had not been so arrogant
and oyerbearing, no. soldiers would have
been placed at our voting precincts. Though
grumbling and growing all like bears with
sore heads, there is not one of them when
pressed to answer the question, but will
admit, that we had in this place a far more
quiet election than we should have had and
far exceeding in this regard the ''little "
election, and despite their grumbling they
claim that the presence of the soldiers here
was an advantage to them of t,centy or thirty
rotes. They admit that the soldiers protect
ed them as much as the Union men.
A prominent man of the Union party
proposed that the two parties should enter
into an agreement to keep an open way to
the window their reply was that they
would keep order, and it was not until the
military were stationed opposite the polls,
that they agreed to a mutual passage, after
which everything worked smoothly.
The absurd stories about bayonet charges
upon Democrats in Dover, Hazletteville and
other places in Kent and Sussex counties,
are false in every particular. At Dover,
we hear, mob fight was got up over a
"doubtful" voter which was growing Sc
rious, but was speedily quelled by the ad-
vance of the soldiers with fixed bayonets.
Nobody was hurt At Hazletteville the
Democrats, as they did at the former elec.
tons, took possession Of the window and
held it until the military arrived, and q
Union man tells us that Democrat threat
ened him before the soldiers arrived, that il
he did not behave so-and-so," )" he should not
vote at all. And there, as well ais here. and
all other places near tho Line, very large
number of Maryland Secessionists were
near the polls armed to the teeth, and mo-
| only these, but our own innocent "peac,
men" were also armed almost to n man
; one OF them bOasting at this place that the,
} had nearly four hundred revolvers on tn,
r ground. AT Hazlettville alone there wer,
fifty or sixty of the Maryland bullies. Nov
Y it these men wanted a peaceful election
why should there have been such a genera
armlng and large accession of desperate
characters from across the line, PARTICULAR,
t as it was not known until the morning O
3 the election that soldiers were coming? |
Il looks very much as ifthere was complicit
of action among these men to take contro
of the polls on that day, and but for tn
fair election ensured by the soldiers, the
q might have got that 25OO majority the,
e were claiming day or two before the cleo
|. ton.
IS The Sussex Messenger, though deprecatinl
IS and condemning the act of bringing tn
}. military there, does not instance sinpl
! case of violence in Sussex county, and tn
a statements made in the Phila. Journal an
IS reiterated in our Delaware papers that larg
e numbers were kept from voting in tha
q county is manufactured out of the Who'll
"a CLOTH" The "secesh" sympathizers wer
a desperate in this State, and there is ever
reason to believe that they intended to cor
n troll the election by violence, and their grea
p discomfort grows out Of the fact, that thei
plans were thwarted. No, this "hubbub
:. kicked up over "green backs" and bayo
q nets by the political knaves is done to d
vert the attention from their own true chs
racteIs.