Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-09-06
POOR MISSISSIPPI
WHY DEMOCRATIC ELECTION FRAUDS
WERE IMPOSSIBLE IN THAT STATE.

This ncgro-ridden' and carpet-bag
plundered Commonwealth, next TO
Louisiana, has suffered more under the
Radical reconstruction policy than any
other State. For twelve years previous
to tho lst of January, 1867, this State
has been wholly under the thumb-scrcw
of Radicalism, and yet, black and white
were more impoverished and unhappy
ON the opening OF the new year than
ever before. Why either race should
have been rendered unhappy, while oil
their friends held the offices, we cannot
define. In November last, very unex-
pcctedly to all parties, a large majority
of the people voted for the Democratic
nominees for State and county offices.
The former were all elected, and the
county offices in thrcc-fourths Of the
counties were also of the same party.
This unexpected overthrow of the
Radical party in that State made Rad
icals howl fraud fraud ! until all were
rendered hoarse. Then they elevated
the "bloody shirt" IN the United States
Senate, sent committee of four Radi-
Gals and one Democrat (Mr. Bayard)
into the State to hunt up the frauds.
To show how successful the Com
mittcc was, we need lay before our
readers but few questions asked the
witnesses by Mr.. Bayard. More:
The reconstruction policy of Con.
gress bad fully and perfectly forced the
Institutions of the State of Mississippi
into the most entire subiection and con-
formity with its provisions. What
Mississippi was at the time of the last
election of Gov. Ames in 1873, she was
"the work of reconstruction by Con
gress.' The will of her people, their
tastes, their prejudices, their virtues
and their faults had been melted and
run into a mould fashioned by the will
of Congress alone. If her institutions
were defective, if they were not con-
ducive to the ends of good government,
if they were arranged with an unwise
disregard of the condition and wants Of
her people, that people are no more re.
sponsible than the population of France,
for they had no voice. Such as she
was in 1878 the Congress Of the United
States had made her. Tho State con-
stitution was moulded in accordance
with the will of Congress. The lcgis-
lation under it had been enacted by
men placed in power by the Federal
government. The ruling principle of
that legislation seems to have been to
lead as much power as possible directly
into the hands of the executive, in
which the reins were placed. The IN.
stitution of suffrage was of course the
proposed basis, and TO control this the
machinery OF elections was placed alb
solutely in the hands of the Governor,
who had the sole power to appoint
those officers who, in their turn, had
the power of appointment of the regis
trars of every county, who in their
turn appointed the election officers
throughout the State in their respect
i've counties, and supervised the elec-
tions and returns, thus gathering the
whole control Of elections in single
executive hand. This was the state OF
things when Governor Ames took his
seat on the first day of January, 1874,
elected in the month of November pre-
vious. There was not an official of the
State who was not q member of the
Republican party. There was not q
county official to be appointed by the
Governor who was not In close affinity
with him. In all the Republican coun-
ties, and all were Republican in which
negroes were in the majority, every
official was O member of the same party.
Thus we see that the entire control Of
the State was in the hands Of Governor
Ames and his party associates. At
page 80 of his deposition the fact is
stated by him as follows:
Q. You have stated the violence and
intimidation to have existed in the
Republican counties of the State2
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You have not referred to violence
in any but Republican counties2
A. No, sir.
Q. Such is the tact, is it not2
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were not, then, all OF these JUS
tices Of the Peace, Chancellors, the
judiciary, and the machinery for choos-
ing juries in the hands Of the domi-
nant party in those counties?
A. Yes, sir
q. / need not ask you if all the
United States officers in that State
were not members OF the Republican
party that was so, was it not2
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then the grand juries and the
petit juries, and the Judges and the
Sheriffs, and the Supervisors, by whom
the juries were selected, were all con-
trollcd by the dominant party in those
A. They were all belonging to the
dominant party.
OF course every official Of the Fed
eral government, District Judges, Dis
trict Attorneys, Marshals, Supervisors,
Post Masters, revenue officers, were all
Of the same party, and necessarily act
i've adhcrents. IL may be truly said
that there was no trace whatever of
official power in the State of Mississip-
pi in the hands of the Democratic
party until the first day of January,