The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-10-13
How Tammany Carries Elections.

| from the fOuftn NEW OK DlStllct,
gave the following exposition of the
most improved methods employed by
Tammany to carry elections. Let hon
est men OF both parties give it careful
perusal:
THE MYSTERIES OF REPEATING.
Heretofore there has been registry
of all legal voters in this city. | can
only speak of the past. / cannot tell
what Tammany will do hereafter, and
now that this registry law has been re-
pealed we may be sure that matters will
not be improved. There were three
registers TO supervise these lists, three
inspectors to receive the votes, and
three canvassers to count them. One of
each of these boards was u Republican,
and could stop all the frauds if he
pleased, but as the parties to be defeat
ed were only those Democrats who were
opposed to Tammany, he shut his eyes
with resolute determination. To begin
with, gangs of repeaters were organized
whose first duty was to have their
names recorded in as many districts as
possible, usually from q dozen to fifty !;
and it was curious with what childlike
innocence the Republican register
would receive the names of 100 men
who assumed to reside at the private
dwelling of some leading Tammany
ward politician, and who pretended to
camp out on some vacant lot. The re-
peaters are enrolled, and have had
lists of th9m offered to me for sale at so
much a vote when Tammany did not
need them.
On election day these men went to
the polls in gangs, with their captains,
and marched from district to district
like companies of soldiers. If one of
them was challenged the result depend
ed upon the locality in disreputable
eighborhood, the challenger was
knocked into the gutter, and probably
locked up by the police for disturbing
the polls. In district where this
would not answer, the accused was
taken before the police magistrate, who
sat all day to hear such cases, and who
let him out at once on bail, the neces-
sary bail being also on hand for the
purpose, and the repeater was usually
back at the polls, and hard at work, be-
fore the challenger, and no one ever
heard of such case being brought to
trial afterward.
used. Many people, ESPECIALLY wealthy
Republicans do not vote. 1t is the duty
Of every man to vote; this is one of the
obligations he assumes in demanding
his liberty, and, rather than have the
duty neglected, Tammany sees that it is
performed. Toward the latter part of
the day it will be found that certain
persons who are registered have not vo-
ted, and it then belongs to the polling
officers to copy such names on slips, and
pass them to the proper parties outside,
and 1t would horrify if not amuse some
of our wealthy millonaires to see what
ragged-clothed, bloated faced, and dis
reputable individuals represented them
at the polls, and performed for them a
public duty which they had neglected
This is repeating. | have given you but
u hurried sketch of it; the votes polled
by it counted up by tens of thousands
But successful as it was it had its de-
fects. The repeaters began to imagine
they were the masters; they thought
they held the power because they were
the instruments of power, To use a
"a political slang term, they undertook
to set up shop for themselves. Still
repeating, when kept in its place, is not
dlsapproved by our ring rulers.
THE RINGING" DODGE
The manipulation of the ballots
bringing" the ballots, as it is appropri-
ately called-is a very beautiful opera
ton, and is said by those who have
tried it to be perfect. 1t is now the
favorite plan ; it is simple, inexpensive
and effective When one of you good,
innocent Republicans, we will suppose,
is going to the polls to vote the wrong
ticket or support the wrong man, as
you are so fond of doing, your unwise
intentions are quietly frustrated. The
Inspector holds in his hand the ballot
you ought to deposit, and when he re-
ceives yours quietly substitutes one for
the other, apd drops yours on the floor
b, fore he puts his in the box This is a
simple slight-of. hand trick easily learned
and readily applied. If, however, you
are suspicious, and watch the official, if
the latter is awkard and inexperienced
man near by pushes against you, or
the policeman seizes you and accuses
you of having voted before. OF course
ample apologies are Immediately ten
dered for the rudeness, the inspectors
| are Indignant Inal SO Respectable gen
tleman should be nsulted, they abuse
the rough or the policeman, you are
shown out with great respects but your
ballot went down on the floor and the
substitute got into the box. Repeating
is expensive. false counting is trouble
some, our Tammany men are not ex.
perts at arithmetic, and figures are
often troublesome, as our amiable
Comptroller will admit at this moment !;
but "ringing' ballots is complete sue
cess. 1t is only necessary to buy Re-
publican inspector, and small place or
few hundred dollars will usually do
that.
FALSE COUNTING.
The third plan is false counting. This
is done generally by transferring the
figures bodily. For instance, if Jones,
the Tammany candidate, gets 100 votes,
and Smith, the opposing candidate, re-.
ceives 200, the 200 Of Smith are trans
tsrred to Jones, who gives his 100 to