Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-08-03
Terms,--s2.OO per Annunl.
Greeley OH Tilden.

Greeley OH Tiiden.
HIS BLIsT FIRING LETTER on ELECTION
FRAUDS.
tt is notorious that in the election
of 1868 great frauds were perpertrated
upon the ballot box in New York
The actual republican majority in the
state was overcome by fraudulent
majority in New York city. How it
was prepared and managed is shown
by the following copy Of Mr.. Tildens
famous circular;
Private and strictly confdent5all
Rooms or THE DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE,
October q. 1868. !
Ny DEAR SIR: Please at orec communicate,
with some reliable person in thee or four pr. Incl.
sal towns and in each city of your county and
request him Expenses duly arranged Tor at this
end to telegraph to William Nj. Tweed Tam
mans Hall, at the minute OF closing the polls,
not waiting for the count, such persons estimate
0fthc vote. bet the telegram be rs follows;
This town VIII Snow a Democratic gain Cor
Ioss) over last year Of" Or this one, if
sufficiently certain: This town viii a give Re-
publican Cor Democratic) majority Of
Thrrc as Of course, important object to b. Oh
taincd by a simultaneous Transmission ut the hou4
ofct sing the polls, bat not Longer ~aiting. 0ppor-
tunity can be taken of the usual half hour lull
III telegraphlc communication over lines before
actual results begin to be declared, and before
the Association Press absorb the telegraph with
returns and interfere with individual messages,
and give orders to carefully watch the count.
SAMUEL j. TILDEN, Chairman.
MR.. GREELEY's OPINION OF TILDEN.
To Samuel j. 7Ftden, Chairman
Democratic State Comemittee--SIR:
You and | are grow NC old. We came
here young from the country, and
lived and struggled side by side for
nearly forty years. We have partici-
pated ardently in many political strug-
giles, always on different sides.
On one very important point, however,
your bitterness as a partisan has I'M
PEELED you to ignore and come short of
your duties as a citizen and professed
upholder of government by the people,
and FOR THIS DERELICTION HERE
ARRAIGN YOU. I allude to the pres
ervation of the purity of the ballot-box.
p | can imagine how q man
can shut his eyes to many things
which he deems it convenient not to
know; but | must speak of what you
must know, howeUer youmay IRISH ar
seek to be ignorant Of 1t. The matter
to which call your attention is vital
to the very existence of free, popular
generally understood JnaU Il hail :. be
OF elections are not determined by the
ballots of legal voters, but by frauds
in voting or frauds in counting, then
the event of aYowed, unequivocal des
potism must be near at hand.-Be
tween the rule of an emperor and the
rule of a clique of ballot-box suffers,
every Intelligent man must prefer the
former as less rapacious and more re-
sponsible. When honest'citizens shall
avoid the polls, asking, '.What is the
use Of voting? the result is already
fixed" the days of the republic will
be numbered. Between ruler who
prohibits voting altogether and the
gang who make it a sham by filling the
ballot boxes with illegal votes, or mis-
counting those actually cast, the sway
of the former is every way preferable.
You hold most responsible and in
fuential position in the counsels of a
great party. You could make that
parry content itself ,oith polling legal
uotes If you only ooouJd. In our late
constitutional convention I tried to
erect some fresh barriers against cleo
ton frauds Did you? The very
little that [ was enabled to effect in
this direction [ shall try to have rati.
fed by the PEOPLE at our ensuing cleo
ton. viii you? Mr.. Tilden, you
cannot escape responsibility by saying,
with the guilty Macbeth
Thou Tt canst not say I die! it: never shake
Those gory locks at me,
for you ,oere at least a passiue accom-
p'ice an the giant frauds Of last No
Uenaber.
Your name was used, without pub
lie protest on your part. in circulars
sowed broadcast over the state, where
of the manifest intent was to ssmake
assurance doubly sure" that the frauds
here perpetrated should not be over
borne by the honest vote of the rural /
districts And yoa, not merely By ST.
teaee, bat By positiUe assumption, haze
covered those frauds Nth the mantle of
your responsibility.
On the principle that the receiver
Is as bad as the thief" you are as
deeptg implicated tn them to-day as
though your name ,0as TtOeed, O'Brien
or Oakley Hall
Mr.. Tilden, you and | were ardent
participants IN the struggle of $40, |
wherein Martin Van Buren, was Dust
ed from the presidency by Gen. lIar
rison. You know how thoroughly our
city was absorbed in that contest,
wherein every man, woman and child
took deep and lively interest Our
elections were then held throug', nut |
three days. There was a registration
P~o,L1r ..oo4ol ph,ab hlaal,1o~c -