New-York tribune., 1872-10-10
THE HARTRANFT ELECTION OUTRAGE.

THE HARTRANFT ELECTION OUTRAGE.
now THE CAMERON RING ELECTED HARTRANFT
ENORMOUS FRAUDs-CORRUPT USE OF
LARGE SUMS OF MONEY.
tFROM TIE SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT oP THE TRIBUEBl
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 9.-It is not pleasant to
lnper about a lost battlefield TO gather information
of the dishonorable arts practced by the enemy to
rob righteous cause of victory fairly won; but
IL is due TO the Liberals of the country that they
should know why their brethren here who went into
Yesterdays contest with such buOyant hopes of sue
cess came out utterly crushed and beaten There is
no need TO recite the causes of the disaster to
friends here They know them only too well. But
they want honest men everywhere to hear the
shameful story Of fraud and wrong and to under
stand that it was from failure on their part to do
their duty that the plundereT Of the State Treasury
and the accomplice of convict thieves is elected
Governor Of Pennsylvania.
Our defeat was owing to two causes-fraud and
the lavish use of money by our adyersaTies. The
frauds were more general, systematic and skillful
than were ever practiced in this or any other State.
Their magnitude was so enormous that the very
men who devised them and set up the machinery for
their preparation were amazed last night at the
success of their schemes and expressed fears to each
other that "the thing had been carried too far
The frauds were of four descriptions: re-
peating practiced chiefly in Philadelphia, Pitts
burgh, Harrisburg, and Reading; cOlonizng the
negroes which was done in all the cities and large
towns east Of the mountains; substitution of Hart
ranft ballots for Buckalew ballots by the Republi-
can inspectors before they put in the boxes;
and false counting All of these methods
were pracuced extensively in this city,
but the latter was implicitly relied upon to supple
ment the others, and make the majority as large as
might be necessary to overcome the honest vote OF
the country precincts. The aggregate amount added
by these methods to HartTanfts vote IN Philadelphia
may be fairly estimated at 10000. 1T might as well
have been 10000 and would have if his election had
required that figure. The City Ring have fixed his
majority finally at about 17OOO believe. Last
night before they were sure Of how successful the
plans Of Cameron had been in the interior cities they
gave the figures for all the wards but three not esti
mated, but with exactitude. and they aggregated
over 1900 majority. The three wards kept back
would have raised it to 1900. After the heard
from Harrisburg, Reading, and other towns they re-
vised the figures TO make their frauds a. little
less glaring.
The very large amount Of money controlled by the
Ring made the perpctration of every kind OF fraud
not only possible but easy. They paid out over
100000 in Philadelphia during the past week and
raised $75 600 additional the day before election
Their disbursements in the State unquestonaby ex-
eeeded $50O,OOO, not including the sums raised by
local committees They used the greater part OF
their money a a corruption fund to bribe Demo-
cratic inspectors and to buy the floating vote of the
cities They found plenty of Democrats belonging
70 The class Of eoTDer-groceJy politicians who were