New-York tribune., 1868-03-16
THE CASE OF ALABAMA.

The n Y. Times thinks-at least, says-that
"Mr Beck Of the Reconstruction Committee made a
admission Alabama The foundation for the bin lies IN
the statement that notwithstanding the vote OF 1000 Tor
voicrs by 10 ooo the number who would have
II they could, dared, II It had not stormed, was
really large majority. Why pass the bill. thent says
Mr. Beck IL the vote has been IN any way irregular lot
it bo taken again. and corrected Why pass the bill
Ans,rer by The Tribune-Because it is not well
TO subject wantonly twenty or thirty thousand
laboring poor men TO the penalty OF expulsion
from their homes and discharge from employ
ment as a punishment for voting TO ratify the
Constitution. That ia one main reason for pass
ing Mr.. Stevens's bill VIII The Times say why
it is not a good onei
There is not an intelligent person in Ala
bama who does not know that majority OF her
legal voters are in favor of the new Constitu
ton. In fact, its enemies have virtually con
fessed this by declining TO vote against il, and
seeking to defeat it by cOercing their tenants,
laborers, and employees into abstaining also on
pain of starvation. Had they believed them
selves a majority. they would have gone to the
polls and voted the Constitution down.
Will The Times deny that the Whites Of
Alabama were threatened with being held up
to execration in black-lsts and the Blacks
with deprivation of employment and shelter
if they dared to vote for the COnstitu-
toni On this latter point, hear what The
Worlds Especial correspondent" pettifogging
the case of his Rebel clients, writes from Mont
gomery, under date of March 9th:
"As to threats OF dscharge-here ceTt such threats
IN certain ss eo o Gs'; d & yoU D%eeh lost t an
Ideas ballot Early in the morning or just at dusk
the threatened sufragan would drop In his ballot, aud
fashion
whatever said, his own lie would still be upper
most And then, too there was another advanced idea
by which these threats, when made, were met IL
neither at dawn nor at dusk could Gun get in his
ballot unperee,yed oil that was necessary was TO give
hard but some Cudjo could be fop1 to assume for
electoral purposes Ihe eognomen OF Gun Moral ideas
Is shrewd knows thing or two Is u 90 the snuf and
does MT mind little dodge like thi5 you know"
Here is clear admission of the fact that
those who did vote, if tenants or employees of
Rebels, as the Blacks mainly were, must sneak
to the poll as though it we're some other
mans hen-roost, "early in the morning or just
"at dark y and, eff detected" face it out" by
lie upon lie. Here is the testimony of a hos
tile witness, seeking to make out q case against
ratification. Does The Times wish such scenes
repeated
The pretense that voter could hope to
conceal the fact that he had voted, when the
name Of each voter stands duly recorded, or
that he could be personated by another when
kcen-eyed Rebels watched every poll and cbal-
lenged every vote that there was a shadow Of
excuse for shutting out, shows the desperate
state Of the Rebel case Congress did an
amazingly foolish thing in providing that votes
withheld should be counted against the Con-
stitutions respectively; but this coercion not
TO vote il in manifest fraud of the act and is
treated as it deserves by Mr.. Stevenss bill.