The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-09-26

the carpet'bag crowd, was elected Gov
ernor OF the State. The constitution
prescribed that all whom Congress had
disfranchised should be denied vote
Well, Congress proceeded very properly
though tardily, 10 take of this dislran
Chisement, so that ninety.tive or ninety
nine, certainly ninety.dve, out of every
hundred OF those who hpd been disiran
chised as rebels were re.enfranchised by
Congress, but the carpet-baggers said no
Congress has nothing to do with this
The State constitution which was formed
in 1868, disiranchised these men whom
Congress had then disfranchised. Now
Congress takes of the bond and we dc
not We are going to keep them tight
They approve this government. Clayton
appoints the Board Of Registration fol
every county, and from tho decisions ol
that Board there Is no appeal, and they
put on the registry Just whomsoever they
please. met thirty or forty citizens d
Arkansas in Louisville two or three days
ago, and they assured me that over 10000
otthe property.holderS and land. holders o.
Arkansas were disIranchised and kept of
the register, not that the laws requires &C
many, but where tho laws did not the
register did, They had the power and
they would put on such as they chose;
and when they found they were
not going to get the majority without
striking of they would strike of, so US tC
have the vote kept right. That Is tho gov
ernment under which the people to-day
arc living. There the land. holders ought
to be enfranchised but they are disIran,
chised by this carpet.bag government
which means to cast the electoral vote
oi the State against the people OF the
State by keeping large portion of peo-
pie disfranchised. And al the late Grant
State Convention 1t was solemnly resoIv.
ed that none ot these persons disiranchis.
ed should be allowed to vote this fall
After that they would see about 1t. Let
me tell you how 1t operated In the year
1870. They had then asecond election un-
der the State Government not for Gov.
ernor but for Legislature and for Con-
gress. Powell Clayton, the Governor OF
the state and controller Of all this election
machinery. appointer of the registrars all
over the State, was candidate for U. 8.
Senator. It was a safe thing to bet that
he would be elected under that system,
first making all the registrars and they
putting on just Us many voters as they saw
fit. Suppose you have right to be on
the registry and they will not put you on
and you cannot get on, and there is no
remedy for it. There is another hitch be.
yond that Powell Clayton, Governor,
and his subordinates are the State Board
of Canvassers, with an absolute power to
right whatever votes they see fit and bring
out such result as they choose. SO then
it appeared when the Legislature was cho.
sen that it was largely Republican, yet
MIR. Clayton had not got control OF it
enough TO elect him 10 the Senate. He
has TO throw out votes as President of the
Board OF Canvassers. lie discards these
votes, those that he pleases, so as to bring
in the candidate that he pleases. For in.
stance, in one county there was
IN anti-Clayton ticket. He throws
the vote out, three quarters oil the
Republican vote; he throws out these
and brings in the Democratic ticket
rather than have the Republican ticket
elected, which was against him. So lie
goes through like this and makes out o
Clayton majority which elects him to the
Senate, but in doing this you must under.
stand that you cannot reject the votes cast
for one Office and admit the votes cast by
the same voters for another Office That
is perfectly plain. II you decide that this
poll is not legal poll you have got to
throw 1t ont for all purposes. So Mr..
Gov Clayton throws out the votes Of the
Republicans because they were electing
an anti.Clayton ticket and thereby dc.
feats Thomas BOwles, the Republican
candidate and elects John Edwards, the
Democratic candidate. John Edwards
comes forward. with a certificate as good
as anybody's. Mr. Bowles don't like it.
People generally don't. He goes ON and
contests the election and with abundance
OF testimony proves that these votes and
his, thrown out for the sake
Of electing Clayton, were not
rightlully thrown out aud committee OF
the House Of Representatives takes the
case up, considers 1t from top to bottom,
and says unanimously, without dissent.
ing voice, that the people elected Thomas
B0wles and he must have his scat. On
this unanimous vote 1t goes up 10 the
House, which by an equally unanimous
vote says the same thing, and Bowies Is
put in. 1t was not because he was a Re-
publican, because they fought just the
same thing in Texas when they turned
out William T. Clarke, a Republican, and
put in D. c. Giddings, a Democrat, be-
cause he was elected by good majority,
and there was not dissenting voice in
the committee or in the House. So, then,
you see you are not resting on my story
about Mr. Clayton and his government,
but it is unanimous decision Of the Com
mittee on Elections and the House Of Rep
resentatives that MIR. Clayton had iraudu.
lcntly returned the votes, and had return
ed the man not elected and rejected and
ousted the man who was elected. This
Is not statement, but conclusion by
the highest possible authority. Well,
gentlemen, the Federal Court was
convened or held session two or
three months after these outrages
Of which I tell you, by Clayton and his
band. The Grand Jury OF that Court
examined into these facts, and indicted
Powell Clayton and his contederates for
this crime. We had a District Attorney
prepared to put him right through. Mr..
Catterson, appointed by Gen. Grant, as
good Republican as ever lived, was
going to put Mr.. Clayton through, and
| the States nrisOn was before him hni
now Mr.. Clayton and his satellites walked
on TO Washington and induced Gen,
Grant to remove that righteous and faith.
ful District Attorney, put one Of Clayton's
tools in his place, and that is the end oil
prosecution; that was the end Of the
whole thing-all gone TO rack and ruin
Now Mr.. Clayton goes swimming into
the Senate instead Of into the State
prison. You are asked what the govern
ment has to do about It. will tel! you
They all back themselves right on the
power at Washington, They all cry out