Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-09-20
How the bemOerats Carry the Flee.

NOW the Democrats carry n Elecs
lions in New York.
Everybody who has paid the least at
tention to politics knows that such a
thing as q fair election in New York
city has not been had for at least adozen
years. The overwhelming Democratic
majorities regularly turned out there at
city and state elections are taken as a
matter Of course. But just how the
trick was performed has not always been
familiar 70 the general public. While
the fraud has ever been psipable, the
modHs operdEdi Of the gamblers has
been more or less a matter of conjecture.
But the gigantic frauds and shameless
swindling of the Tammany ring Of poll
teal vultures who have been preying
on the people of the great metropolis
having been laid bare by the Times
newspaper, there are others who are
bold enough to step forward and expose
other mysterious games Of the remorse-
less Democratic robbers of the people.
One Of the most interesting Of these ex-
poses comes through q Democratic
member Of Congress from the City of
New York, Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt,
Editor Of the New York Citizen. At a
great meeting Of both parties held a few.
days since at Cooper Institute to con-
slider how the city might be rescued
from the clutches of Tammany, Mr..
Roosevelt was one of the speakers, and
explained to the uninitisted the mys-
teries Of fraudulent voting in that city.
He said the frauds were Of suchs whole
sale character that the votes Of the people
were OF no value in deciding elections.
There are three methods of cheating
repeating, ringing, and false counting.
y-s.. REPEATING. ~ -.
Heretofore there has been aregistry
of all legal voters in this city. 1 can
only speak of the past I cannot tell
what Tammany will do hereafter, and
now that this registry law has been
repealed, we may be sure that matters
viii not be improved, There we're three
registers to supervise these lists, three
inspectors to receive the votes, and three!
c~anvasSers to count them. To begin
with, gangs OF repeaters were organized,
whose first duty was 10 have their names
recorded in as many districts as possible,
usually from q dozen to fifty land it wa
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 repeaters are enrolled,
and I hare had lists of them offered to me
for safe at so mach a vote 0hen Idmmany
did not need them, Isfqgs-
ION election day these men went to
the polls in gangs, with their captains,
and marched from district to district,
like companies Of soldiers. II one of
them was challenged, the result de-
pended upon the locality; in a disrepu-
table neighborhood the challenger was
knocked into the gutter, and probably
locked up by the police for disturbing
the polls. In a district where this would
not answer, the accused was taken
before a police magistrate, who sat all
day to hear just such cases, and who let
him out at once on bail, the necessary
bail being also on hand for the purpose,
and the repeater was usually back at the
polls, and hard at work, before the chal-
lenger, and no one yer heard Of such q
case being brought to trial afterward.
~In another way were these repeaters
used. Many people, especially wealthy
Republicans, do not vote. 1t is theduty
of every man to vote; this is q OF the
obligations he assumes in demanding
liberty, and, rather than have the duty
neglected, TsmmSny sees that II is per-
formed. Toward the latter part OF the
day it will be found that certain persons
who are registered have ~notTOted, and
e Shn. Aa11.~z 4N-fha nn11fnu ~ rara IN
COPY such names on slips and pass them
to the proper parties outside; and 1t
would horrify il not amuse some OF our
wealthy millionaires to see what ragged
clothed, bloated-faced, and disreputable
individuals represented them st the
polls, and performed for them 3 public
duty which they had neglected. This is
repeating. 1 have given You but a
hurried sketch OF it; the votes poiled By
IL count up by tens Of thousands"
RINGING THE BALLOTS.
"The manipulation Of the ballots,
ringing the ballots, as it ia sppro-
priately called, is a very beautiful opera
ton, and is said by those who have tried
it TO be perfect, 1t is now the fayorite
plan; It is simple, inexpensive, and
effective. When nj Of you good, inno-
cent Republicans, we viii suppose, is
going to the polls 70 vote the wrong
ticket or support the wreng man, as you
are so fond Of doing, your unwise in
tentions 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, and drops yours on the floor
before he puts his in the box. This is
a simple sl~eight-of-hand trick, easily
learned and readily applied, II, how
ever, you are suspicious, and watch the
official, If the latter is awkward or mex
perieneed, q man near by pushes against
you, or the policeman seizes You and
accuses you OF having voted before. Of
cours ample apologies are Immediately
rendered for the rudeness, the inspectors
are indignant that so respectable q gem
tleman should be insulted, they abuse
the rough OF the policeman, you are
shown out with great respect; but your
ballot went down on the floor, and the
substitute got into the box"
II there is a suspicion that the neces-
sary Democratic majority has not been
raised by the repeating and ringing
frauds, there is yet another trick worth
the other two, because it is so simple
and inexpensive. This consists in
making a false connt OF the votes cast.
For instance, II Jones, the Tammany
candidate, gets 100 votes, and Smith, the
opposing candidate, receives 200, the 200
Of Smith are transferred to Jones, who
give his 100 to Smith. This is an ex-
quisitely simple process, but in practice
it is said to work badly, and great COM
plant is made Of it by those who have
tried it, In the first place, the esndi-
dates are often too nearly equal TO give
TammanY its just pr~eponderance or to
overcome some persistent opposition in
q district where this plan cannot be
worked, for it is found utterly imprac-
ticable in some districts. Its defects
a sometimes be'cured by a false count
That is to say the votes are counted by
tens, one canyasseg taking them up and
counting ten, when he calls tally and
slips q piece of elastic around the bun
die. or course he has only to take five
votes instead Of ten and call tally to
augment greatly the chances OF his
fsvorite. In one instance, this was done
so enthusiastically that the Tammany
candidate had received fifty stallies, or
800 votes, and had a large quantity IN.
counted, when the poll-clerk found it
advisable to inform the canvassers that
there were only $50 names on the
registry" fr-y- . yiT..-
New York, for years, has been Hrun"
by a combination or 'tring" OF bad men,
who have grown great and rich on pub
lie s~tealings. It is to be hoped that the
honest, cheated, betrayed, long-sufering
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