Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1873-10-31
From the Brooklyn IN. " Eagle.
A Converted ABOLITIONIST.

The Charleston Municipal Elec-
| tion--COrruption and Fraud Ex-
| traord inary.-Carpet-bagi In
v.mcibIe--The state in the Hands
og Negroes, &c.
CHARLESTON, S. c., Oct. 2, 1873.
Before I left Brooklyn to come to
this city my private opinion IN regard
to politics was, that corruption was
taking the place OF honesty and 1alI
play; but now that L have passed
through Charleston municipal cleo
| ton, and am cognizant OF the way ID
which elections are permitted to DE
conducted, I have materially modified
my opinion in regard to Brooklyn
7 politics, and can say, with all due
difference to truth, that Brooklyn is
nowhere in political corruption to this
| city.
Our city passed through, yesterday,
a day of real excitement in its mum.
cipal election, and the scenes at the
various polls throughout the city were
| enough to damn the civilization OF
tic nineteenth century, and challenges
| a precedent i'll the known world OF
politics.
Ger. Wagner, the present Mayor
| and Conservative candidate for re-
| election, received handsome vote,
| but when steamboats, were run to dis
| tant island to bring in voters III OPP
| position to him, and ballot boxes were
| stuffed before the time of opening
| the polls, it was evident that Il. L.
| Cunningham, the Republican negro
| candidate, would distance him in the
race by ali odds. In other words, as
| matters were conducted, it was strng-
| Cling against fate.
| Fully seven-eighths of these negroes
| could not read the ticket they voted,
! and thousands we're driven to the polls
in carriages, which gave an Importance
| to their being voters, III their own
| estimation, and the ride alone sufficed
TO buy their suffrage. The negroes
crowded around the polling places,
and hundreds of special negro detec'
tives were appointed by the Sheriff tc
see to it that none of their color were
prohibited from voting on whatever
ground of challenge. Sheriff Bowen
himself was candidate for Alder
man in the First Ward of the
city, Notwithstanding he already
fills the position of Sheriff.
But this is South Carolina, and the
! State is going to the devil Under
it's Radical rule The negroes are
feeling their importance, now thai
they are free, and in a great measure
the whites of this State are under
their black heels This may, on the
face Of it, appear entirely tiguratlve
but it is too true. Your readers, who
live in Brooklyn, have no conception
of the state OF things as they exist
! politically in South Carolina. The
| negro here is power that in Liberia
| would be nowhere. His black face
| shines above the white face, and his
| black wool apparently commands as
| much respect, politically, among his
| white managers, as the gray hairs OF
Pickens, Sumter, or Calhoun would,
! if they were living! God save the
mark, But with negro officials in
Charleston, a negro Legislature, and
! Il negro State government what OF the
boosted pride and glory of South Car
Dina aristocracy and Charleston Ne
| apolitan honor? This is what this
| entire State is coming to, and the
seed, that have terminated during the
past eight years are spreading with
! rdpidity, and Will cover the Common
wealth very soon, as matters now
"Ariel," in his book on 1.-The
| Negro" Classics this race among the
| brute creation; but if he could have
| seen them riding in close and open
carriages to the polls yesterday, the
horses even driven 10y white men, /
| am inclined to the belief that he
would speedily recall the publication,
| and write a book entitled ''Trans-
| forInation.'' As I said before, seven
| eighths Of them knew not the
| ticket they were voting, from their
| own knowledge Tickets were even
found in tho street letter boxes, last
! evening, having been deposited there on
| the suppositlon that they were the
polls. For sale handbills, posted
| about the streets. were torn down on
the srpposition that they were Wag-
ener tickets, Those who could spell,
| but not pronounce, took the name OF
! Gen. Wagner for-'Gen. for a gen
! tlcmau, and "Wagencr' for wagon
| driver, and said that they never knew
! gentleman to drive a wagon" This
will serve to convey to the minds of
year readers the degree of intelligence
possessed by the present power i'll
Charleston
[ have but little more to say on this
subject The defeat of honest gov
crnmcnt is sadly to be deplored, and
the success of the bad is most inglori
ouS. When L came here [ was as
deeply dyed i'll Republican ideas and
notions as ever Radical was, but Icing
brought face to face with the workings
and Consequences of that ruling, ] am
forced TO acknowledge myself as bit
tcrly opposed to it now. RS | was then
radically III its favor. [ do not say
these things because L am writing to a
known Dc mocratic paper, but to as
sure Your readers of the honesty of
my convictions. Any Northern man
who has spent week III South Caro-
lima during the past three Years, will
tell YOU as | toll you and If he tells
yo3l more, it Is because he has seen
more than l have of the dcvilisl work
ings of corrupt Radical rule. Think
you the South can ever become recon-
ciIed under such management You
might as well attempt to turn a grind
. stone both ways at the same time as to
effect reconciliation under these cir
cumstances. Think you that Northern
people will invest i'll Southern property
while such state of things exists
Never This was and ever shall be a
white mans government, the freedom
of the blacks to the contrary nOtwith-
standing.
Yours, occasionally.
P. E. P.