New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-10-24


When reporter of the Baltimore GGzett
, saw forty colorcd men in a car on the Wash
ington County Branch of the Baltimore and
| ONO Railroad eHYORte for Cumberland county
Pennsylvania, where they are now at work
on the eastern division of the Harrisburg and
Potomac Railroad, he imagined that he had
discovered a gigantic fraud. In this exodus
OF iaborers he saw ncfariouS scheme for de-
feating the will of the people of Pennsylvania
at the ballot-box by colonizing' colOred
voters. Mr.. Samuel j. Randall, Chairman OF
the Democratic State Central Committee, al
though he well knew that such proceeding
was an absolute impossibility in Pennsylva-
MIA, caught up the hint and published a fran
tic proclamation warning his subcommittee
in the various counties of the apprchended
frauds. Everybody in PENNSYLVANIA saw the
absurdlty Of the charge, and paid not the
least attention to the Understanding mani
festo. When Andy Curtin alluded by way
Of Joke to 1.-THE darl;ies at work on Cameron 8
railroads" his assembled townsmen broke in
to broad laugh. When Randall told Nc
tlure that his own county (Franklin) was to
be oTerrln with negroes from the border
counties of Maryland and Virginia, the two
chieftains must have winked at each other
and smiled as Cicero's aucllrs did. There are
other States who do not know so much about
the Pennsylvania election laws and the man
ner in which they are administered as Mr..
Randall does, and for the benefit of these we
desire to call attention to the complete retu-
tation of all charges of dishonesty, which the
election returns afford. There is an irrcsist
ible logic in figures which cannot be put
down by silly stories about ''colonizing' and
repeating"
In the first place the vote of Pennsylvania
was comparatively light. In many of the
counties the aggregate vote is considerably
less than was polled in the Presidential cleo
ton of 1868, Notwithstanding the large in
crease of the voting population since then.
Including the newly cnfranchised colored
citizens certainly five thousand names must
have been added to the registry lists in Ale
gheny county since 1868, but we find that
Hartranft only received 2S4 more votes than
Grant, while Buckalew received $40 more
than Seymour. If there were any frauds in
Allegheny county the figures show that they
were on the Democratic side.
Take the prosperous and pOpulous county
Of Berks, where the whole local machinery
of the elections is the hands of the Demo-
Gratis. The total vote in this county in 1868
was 81 $50; the total vote at the late cleo
ton was 81 ,84j. Iartranft received 10 votes
less than Gen Grant did in 1868, and Buck
alew received 2G votes less than Seymour
did
The returns from Cumberland county do
not show any " colOnlzlng," Notwithstanding
the fact that forty colored men were seen in a
car on the Washington County Branch of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, en- route to one
Of its quiet villages. The whole vote in 1868
was S,765. Since then the fifteenth amend.
ment has added SEQ citizens to the voting
but at the late election the whole
vote $500 only showed an increase of 25.
Hartrantt received 4, l7G votes, against 4,l7l
for Grant, while Buckalew received 4,6l4,
being 20 more than were cast for Seymour.
We might go on through the whole list of
counties and show the same conclusive proof
of a fair and honest election in each. The
widest howl was made over anticipated
frauds in Philadelphia. The Greeley cor
gans,'' from one end Of the land to the other,
were grinding out stories about regiments of
"repeaters' and ballot-boX suffers, who
were to have complete and undisputed sway,
and through their labors the majority for
Hartranft was to be swelled to whatever size
the exigences Of the case required
Nobody of average common sense ever be-
leved these wretched fabrications, but il is
only when they are tested by the figures that
their utter ialsity appears. Philadelphia
adds enormously to her voting population
every year by naturalzing citizens of foreign
birth, and by drawing to her manifold indus
tries thousands of young men from all parts
of the country. There must also be more
than five thousand newly cnfranchised col
ored citizens domiciled there, who had no
voice in the last Presidential election. The
whole vote in 1868 was llG, 15S; at the late
election ii was S,ll9, showing an increase
IN, of Alr n1n
received 1882 votes less than Seymour did,
and Hartranft received S,G93 more votes than
General Grant did
If any honest man thinks that Pennsyva-
mia was carried by fraud we invite him to a
careful study Of the election returns.-BaN.
american.