The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1872-04-26
From the sacramenta Reporter.l
PASSIVE POLICY IN Penn
SYLVAyIA--A SIGNIFICANT
TRIUMPH.

y q
TRIUMPH.
The telegraph announces that Col
onel A. X. Mcclure, anti Grant Re
publican, has successfully asserted
his right to the seat in the Pennsyl-
vania State Senate held by Gray,
Radical. This may be set down as "a
notable triumph for the Passive Pol
I icy, and defeat of the corrupt and
powerful Philadelphia ring. The
facts in this contested election case
are worthy of being succinctly sta
ted in order to due appreciation of
the important result jusS announced.
Over two months ago a Radical
member of the Pennsylvania Senate
died, leaving tie between the polit-
ical parties III that body. 1t the
special election to fill the vacancy
there were two candidates, Mcclure
and Gray, both Republicans. GRAY
was the regular Radical nominee and
strong Grant man. Mcclure was
nominated by the Republican Reform
organization. His opposition to
Grant was pronounced. The Dem
ocrat3 presented no candidate be-
cause the district, the Fourth, en-
/ bracing nine wards Of the city OF
Philadelphia, was overwhelmingly
against them. At the election last
fall the Radical candidate for State
/ Senator In this district was elected
/ by about seven thousand majority.
So the Democrats determined in the
special election in January TO try the
passive policy, and there was union
of all the anti-Grant elements upon
! Mcclure, who was an able and pop
ular man, and in short, as John W.
| Forney himself testified recently,
"a statesman. All parties went il
to the fight with a perfect under
standing that it was Grant and anti
Grant The result was officially de-
clared TO be the election of Gray BY
nine hundred nlajority-a Grant loss
of six thousand. This would have
been most gratifying, but the truth
vas even better. It was apparent to
Mcclure that the most unblushine
frauds had been perpetrated in the
interest of his opponent, and he
promptly claimed the seat. The
contest was hot one and lasted many
weeks. The Republican Reform
Committee offered fifty dollars re-
ward each for evidence leading t.
the conviction of every illegal voter,
and five hundred dollars for informa-
ton leading to the conviction of any
election officer who falsified returns.
Some rich developments were mad,
before the Investigating Committee.
The Grant men appealed IN vain for
delay. The Committee proceeded to
work promptly, and it Is we'll they
did for they had long job of it
( The election records of the Twen-
4 tieth Division of the Nlneteeth Ward
were first brought out They show
ed 191 votes for Gray and 50 for
/ Mcclure. Straight-way ninety-one
respectable men walked up and made
oath that they voted for Mcclure al
that poll. Then the Eighth District
of the Nineteeth Ward was taken up
The records showed 47 votes fol
Mcclure. Eighty-five voters swore
that they cast their ballots for Nc
Clure And so on through several
other districts. The shameless
frauds of the Philadelphia Radical
Tammany were fully exposed, so tina:
no unprejudiced mind could doubt
that Mcclure had been elected by
good majority. The charge of the
Age, made at the time, that the Gus
tom-house ring carried the day by
'.the registry despotism, and by
rnffians, rufianism, FOUNDERS, re-
peaters, ballot-stuffers false counters
and all sorts of election fIauds,' l.;
sustained to the letter.
The New York Herald, a warm
apologist of Grant, in commenting
on the result of this election few
days after it occurred, assumed that
Gray was honestly chosen by nine
hundred majority, but admitted that
sat this rate the anti-Grant Repub-
| licans with the Democrats can sweep
the State of Pennsylvania" It fur
ther declared that ''the election of
Mcclure would have been an i'm
mense victory for the anti Grant Re
publicans. Well, it turns out, af-
ter searching and patient inyesti-
CATION, that Mcclure ,cds elected,
and perhaps the Herald is not too
ungenerous to admit-to be consis-
tent it must admit-that McClure's
success is an immense victory for the
anti-Grant Republicans. 1t will ac-
knowledge, furthermore, if it is
frank, that the anti Grant Republi-
cans with the Democrats can sweep
the State of Pennsylvania, and thai
they a0iH do it in November next.
A REAL GENrLEMAN.-A writer in