Daily Kennebec journal., 1876-10-04
What a Solid South Implies,

Attorney General Taft addressed large meet.
ing at Cincinnati on the Goth. His speech was
largely devoted to discussion of the attempt to
carry the ''sold south" for the democratic ticket.
Letters, newspapers and official documents were
presented to show the condition of things in the
south and explain the diabolical plan by which
the democrats are trying to carry that sec ION for
Tilden. The following is an extract from re.
port Of bis speech;
"a solid south is what the democratic leaders
claim and boast Of. Bat a solid south for the dc.
mocrscy implies fraud and intimidation in the
worst form. 1t is well known that the States of
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina
aud Florida bave large republican majorities, if
they vote. At least there is moral certainty that
such IS the case. The republican majority in
Mississippi, until the late shotgun campaign, was
not less than 3O000. In South CarOhus 1t has al
ways been large so in Louisiana and SO in Fla
There Was a sudden change 10 Miss. from a heavy
republican to heavy democratic ma jority, ami the
evidence OF unparalleled frauds and lntimidat ions
is abundant. The frauds and intimdations were
sufiIct mt cause for the change, and there is not
shown to be any other. There Is the same con-
vncing proof OF the fraud and ntn dation by
which Ala. was carried. They have been too nu-
merous for any detail. The government
has some able and patriotic legal officers in the
southern States, but tney are environed with d fiji
OF political affairs in the south the question is now
giavey presented whether the negroes shall be al
lowed to share in the election of the officers who
are to administer the governmen. or not orrather
whether the dominant class, with property and
with superior intelligence in the south shall he
allowed to deprive them and us of their right TO
vote. shall we give II up, or shall VIC insist upon
their right lhetc are other poor people, both
north and south, who are also ignorant. Shall
they. too, be deprived of their suffrage 7, If we
eNaxat N in hn
tocracy worse than that which we had hoped was
destroyed. For the shareholders will have more
political power than they had when they owned
the negroes. FIVE slaves were counted in the
scale OF political power as three freemen. Now
they count as five, that those masters will WELD
two-thirds more power in the federal government
on account OF the negroes now than they did be-
| fore the war.
The question for the people of the L. to de
termine at the coming election is, shall the 18th
| amendment be given up, yielded 10 intimidation
and fraud q If yes, then the instructions to mar.
shsls of the T. 5. to preserve the peace Of the U.
S. at the polls were wrong. If you think that
poor men, II cltizens shall be allowed to vote ire
spectve Of race, color or previous condition of
servitudc, and that it is the duty of the officers of
the U. S. to enforce the law if possible, then the
ci cular to the marshsls was right and was not un
timely. The motives of the southern
democrats to make the south solid for the dcmoc
racy are great. They desire, not without hope, to
have the claims for rebel losses of property by the
late war, some time in the future, allo wed and
paid. They desire to have provision made for the
rebel debt and also for their loss Of slaves. II any
of these things are TO be accomplished at all, they
well know that it must be through the agency of
the democratic party. They know that il the elec.
tion is carried by solid south, they Will be ma
Jorlty Of the democratic majority, and cat contr
It, That same desperate Purpo se 10 prevent the
| coored men from voting st the present election,
extends to the permanent control or exclusion OF
voters in the future. With the democra tic party
in pow.r they might hope for some or all oi
these things. With the republican party 10 power
they have no such hope. The stake they have in
the result is great. They will not hesitate to re.
sort to desperate measures TO win it. Fellow cit-
zcns, are you ready to intrust the government OF
this great country to such com mbination Are you
willing that minority, by intimidation and fraud
shall make the south solid for the democracy
against divided north, thereby enabling that mi
noriy Of the south TO rule both the north and the
south, and shape the destinies of the country !
This is the great question we are to decide at the
coming election"