New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-11-14

at least twice what it should have BEEN This law
was amended last Winter so as to allow an illegal
voter to be challenged but the negroes still flock to
the towns to vote, and as they not known there
by the election officers the citizens. frauds may
still be very easily perpetrated.
The Legislature of 1868 and those which succeeded
it have been Outrageousy extravagant in their APP
preparations for the Executive and Legislative ex-
penses of the State The annual sessions of the Sem
ate and House cost more than the entire ex-
penses of the State Government formerly did, and
there the same lavish expenditure in every branch
Last Winter the Republican House of Representa-
tyes consisted OF 100 members and had in it's employ
more than 80 clerks, messengers, &C.. some of whom
held two positions and rendered service in either
NO PROTECTION FOR PROPERTY OR PERSON.
AS might be expected Legislatures like those that
have nearly ruined this State have done very
little to protect either the persons the property of
the people One Of the greatest obstacles to
full planting in the Cotton Belt is the propensity of
the negroes to steal the crop. Large planters who
are members both parties have assured their
annual losses in this way amount to about % per
cent of all the cotton and they raise while it is
utterly impossible to keep pigs or fowls unless they
are locked up or carefully guarded every night.
The negroes go into the cotton and cOrn-ields by
moonlight, pick out the cotton gather the corn,
hide it in their cabins and sell it at " dCad-falP
the next night. A dead-fall"is grocery kept by
some negro or low-dOwn" white man at the cross
roads in the country and on the outskirts OF the
town where ston produce may be exchanged for
coffee and sugar, plug-tobacco, and bad whisky.
The cotton is taken in the seed and the corn in the
husk, and as it is impossible to identify it, the
keeper of the dead-fal" has no trouble in selling
it at the nearest market.
Repeated efforts have been made by the Corserva-
Of ip To- Tn
stolen produce and late as last Winter bills were
introduced requiring every person who purchased
cotton, corn, or any other products of the fafm
between sunset and sunrise, to keep an account OF
the amount and quality OF the articles SO purchased
the price paid. and the name OF the person from
whom the purchase was made. The Republicans
with very few exceptions. treated this party
measure" and defeated it by an almost solid vote
Ex-Gov. Parsons, the Republican Speaker of the
House. made speech in favor of the bill and begged
his party associates not to let it be said that when
ever proposed to lcgisate against thiovngth the
cry was raised that the rights of the negro were in
danger. But bis appeals and those of few more
like him were Cf no avail
CRIME ENCOURAGED BY LEGISLATION.
The Radical Legislature, beside refusing TO adopt
measures for the prevention of crime, las actually
passed laws TO encourage it, One OF the most OBJ
jectionablc of these is which provides that no
person arrested for a msdcmeauor shall be required
to give bonds to answer Mt court. In other words
if planter catches a negro stealing his cotton or
his corn. his pigs OF lis chickens, causes his arrest
and takes him before a magistrate, the man must
be released On his own recOgniZance to appear at
court and answer. ! need not say that i'll nine
tenths of the cases the thieves either away or
arc not prosecuted The FOR this law Is that
the negroes are so poor that in most they would
not be able to get bail and that, therefore any one
accused of misde,n eanor would have 10 go TO jail
to await trial. The fact is that, instead of protect
ing the negro, the effect of such acts rs this is TO
encourage the people to take the law into their own
hands. When planter catches negro stealing he
knows that to his arrest will do no good, and
so lie is tempted to punish the fellow Oh the spot
either by whipping or BY shooting him down Fin his
tracks" Such cases these furnished the basis for
some of the Ku-Kux stores circulated by CHARLES
HAYS and while they deprecated by all the more
rcspectalc citizens, thin, that under the crcum-
stances the wonder is that summary punishment Is
not met, ont oftener than 1t Il.
But. If | were to attempt 10 review the llScheE-
Gus LEGISLATION in Alabama since the war, should
have to write q book instead Of newspaper liter;
The instances have given viii help the readers of
THE TRIBUNE to understand why it Is 50 important
10 the material interests of this state that the cleo
ton this week should result III the triumph OF It's
intelligence and wealth.
RING AT EVERY COUNTY SEAT.
IL the Legislature which set nj, in 1863. by
act of Congress- was scandal not only to this
State but TO the nation, what must have been the
condition of the counties reOrganized III the same
arbitrary manner? Thieves at the capital had their
counterparts at the county seats all over the state
Men of little intelligence and devoid OF character
stole the peoples money or expended il reckles,ly
until fOIbearance almost ceased 10 be Vlrtne; MY
notebook is full of examples gathered in different
parts of the State 10 prove and illustrate this asser-
ton but shall cJntine myself 10 Only one OF tWO
1t is the duty Of the tax collector OF each countyt9
collect from each male citizen p years OF age ana
upwards poll tax of dollar and q iali, ana no
property of any kind EXEMPT from seizure 10 sat
isfy this tax. The money thus raised Is set ASIDE Tor
school purDOsos Now il is a fact that in tue black
counties the tax collectors do not return rs assessed
half as many polls as there are voters III me c0un.
ties and that of those they do return more than half
For instance, Macon County had voting popula-
ton in 1870 of 1903 and there were were returned as
cast in that county in 1892 1856 votes But TINS year
the tax collector of that county returns as assessed
only GO polls and reports about onehalf Of those as
ins0lyent. OF course every voter must have been
assessed and probably, in most cases TIE tax was col
lecIed What has become OfitY Gentlemen W!oaTe
very familiar with this subject estimate that not less
than 100000 is annually stolen from the school fund
of this State by the tax collectors.
THE ONLY HOPE FOR ALABAMA.
The school fund that is actually obtained is, in
great part, wasted. The county school commission
ers are in many instances ignorant and dishonest,
and they employ teachers who wholly incompe
tent. There has been, am informed. much IN
provement in the management OF the schools during
the past two or three years. but l saw. the other
day O voucher for money paid 10 teacher IN Coosa
County which was signed by that teacher with
cross-Inark That is the school money OF this State
is beng paid to teacher who cannot write his own
stances of this kind were very common.
think have written enough 10 show that the
result of ignorant pauper suffrage in this State has
been inst what il might have been expected 10 be,
where the intelligence and wealth were in the MI
norty. The only hope for Alabama is in division
Il mn of flll Ia Ia