M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1863-11-26
A Military Election Farce.
From the Fort Wayne Tnd. } SENTINEL


We have repeatedly alluded to the
farce OF having elections in our mill.
tary camps, where the soldiers are
coerced by their officers either to vote
as they may indicate, or to stay from
the polls altogether. 1t 10 an outrage
on the sarctity OF the ballot-box, and
the vote taken is no index of the feel.
ings Of the soldiers. Ii only shows
the views OF the officers, and too
many of them having an eye to pro.
motion, seek to curry favor by abso.
lutely compelling the men to vote in
such way as the Administration
may dictate.
A case in point occurred at the late
election held in Louisville, by the
Ohio troops stationed there. At the
Exchange Barracks $40 votes were
cast, only two OF which werv for Val.
landigham. The two that voted for
lVallandigham wero Immediately
arrested and placed under guard.
One of these arrested men is citi.
zen of Defiance County, Ohio, and is
well known there as a worthy and
respectable man, whose word may be
implicitly relied on. For voting as
his conscience dictated, he was arres.
ted and threatened to be shot With
such revelations in view, who can
deny that the military elections are a
tarce--an outrage on the sanctity Of
the ballot -6ox-and that instead Of
being privilege to the soldier, it only
renders him a passive slave in the
hands of his officers, Or subjects him
to the grossest outrages il he determ.
ines to exercise his rights as a free
man.
The Defiance Democrat publishes
an extract from letter oy Mr.. Forlow
the soldier above alluded to, giving
an account Of the treatment he re.
ceived because he ventured to vote
for Vallandigham. Read his state.
ment:
81 will give you q brief statement
of the manner in which the election
was conducted here. Istarted at two
O'Clock p. NJ. to the place appointed
for the Ohio soldiers to vote. | went
there, net saying word TO any one
concerning the election.
Royal Taylor, the State Agent to
this place, officiatOd. l asked him if
they had any Democratic tickets.
They said they had not. Then asked
{ if they had any tickest Of any kind
for Defiance County. had ticket
in my pobket, neatly folded for the
occasion. handed it to one Of tho
, officers, and he asked for my county
and township, which | gave. The
man who put the tickets into the box
had it in his hand the last | saw of it.
II started back to the Hospital. !
got part way back, when an officer
and a guard caught me and took me
back into the Office, and SAID here IS q
man that voted fer Vallandigham, and
an officer sent him to the Major, and
told him to shoot the damned cuss.
They took US down to Barracks No. l
and pnt US in the -, what they call
the 'guard-Ilouse,' but | call it pris.
on, or nearly a dungeon.
"We were summoned to appear
beforea court martial about ten o'clock
that night. The charge against mo
= was, voting for Vallandinham. |
= plead guilty Of the charge; | wrote
. my defense, and was then taken back
to prison, and have been kept there
ever since. There was another man
voted about the Same time did, who
was treated in the same manner, by
; the name OF 7. S. King, Adams Co.,
Ohio.
81 am here, not for any immoral
, conduct whatever, but merely for vot.
ing the regular nominated Democratic
, ticket Of my native State"