The New York herald., 1876-12-15
CONFLICTING CLAIMS
Alleged Fraudulent Manipulatlons Of
the Ballots Cast.
Atfidavits by White and
Colored Inspectors.
A Full Account Of a Complicated
Muddle.

Tho following report Of tho facts bearing the
cent election in Florida has been rendered TO Prcsi-
dent Grant by General y. c. Barlow. cx-Attornoy
General Of tho State Of New Yorx. who was sent TO
that the purpose investigating the alleged
election Tauds:-
| To IN. PRESIDENT or THE uxlTsD STATES
Ally request went to Tallahassee reaching there
vass was finished and the result announced on De-
| ccnbcr6
whether the republicans or the democrats carried
the State upon the Presidential ticket. and whether
.there was iair count," are questions which have
been often asked and which ! am not willing 10
answer without stating, IN connection with my own
conclusions, the evidence and the questions arising
upon IT, Ny reason for this course is that the points
arrive at any conclusion on tho whole case with
entire confidence that he is absolutely correct In his
| judgment
\ The cause OF this uncertainty is that there a
series o contests before the Board upon which largo
amount OF testimony was introduced by affidavit
(some or them being made by marksmen and some
not), and which considerable Testimony
was giyeu, the questions arising on conflicting evil
dence ana Involving in some cases difficult questions
oilaw as to some OF which, at any rate, fair-minded
mcn might well differ.
/ No ono man can have read all this testimony or be
familiar with IT, though probably the members OF the
| Capvassng Board have the most thorough knowledge
Of II OF any one.
will stale tho main questions which arose and such
| conclusions as have been able 10 arrive at
Tho returns thcir lace, declared by the Board,
showed majority Of somc 40 Tor tho Hayes electors
In reaching this result, however, certain return
Sheriff. was held 10 be the true ond primd tacie 10
preference another signed by tho County Clerk
In my opin on ting Board was right in coming to this
| conclusion ON tho iaco of the papers.
But it afterwards appeared that the County Judges
had omitted two precincts. and whom this omis
! sion rectifed the true vote 0 the county APP
penred 10 give majority OF 90 for Tden instead OF
Al Tor Hayes, and the county vote was corrected ac
cordingy.
This transaction has been called the Baker county
'swindle" "fraud !" but, in my opinion. these
denunciations entry unjust
ln Clay county democratic majority OF 70 had been
omitted by the county canvasscrs the ground that
|
These votes werc allowed by the State Board under It's
Judicial powers Having Lay mus a.sposoa 81 @ inc cues @
returns, tho Board proceeded TO hear and determine
the several attacks made by each party upon the othcr
| ALACAUA COUNTY.
Tho democrats charged that IN Archer precinct No.
in Alachua county the true vote wasrcpublican $50,
democratic 1885, while the precinct return made II
publican 309 democratic 1856 II claimed that
2l9 votes had been irauducntly added TO the repub
| Fleming, . white democrat, who said that he had
stood all day at the polls aud taken The name
| the room, and he produced list Of them,
boing 3o5 IN number. And he said that not
exceeding fifteen voted inside the room Several other
whito democrats (somo by adidavit, and oraily)
testified the close OF the tho inspectors
on NovomSer Ii, Que Moore, y whi,c republican In
spcctor made affidavit that the truc tho
democrats caim. and that other return false
on November 20 no made her aIdavit re-
turn which he authorized or his colleagues to
return as madcI was correct and that his davt on
the llth was madc under great mental excitement
ana should not bc taken to impeach tho return.
A TOW days later he madc another affidavit, rciter
ating that OF the 1lth, and on November 20 hc ap-
pcarcd in person before the Board and said that tho
true vote, as cast, canvasscd and announced
publican lS0 democratic 1885, and that he signed. but
dd not swear his affidavit OF the Goth (nade on tho
republican sde) and that he was paid 500 for dong
So understand that the person who said 10 have
paid this money put in an AFFIDAVIT denying IL Floyd
Dukes, negro democratic inspector, went through
suostani TALLY The performance. though he said
that he was paid or promised only SIS .or his rcpub
lican affidavit, the paymcLt promise being denied
made it
Moore and Dukes werc called on the democratic side
to imp ach the return, and the only legal effect OF
| their testimony 10 show shat they were wholly
unworthy OF crodit; Moore because he was a scoun-
drel, and Dukes because he was ,mbccc; and tho
only possible CONCLUSION was that their evidence should
| be eliminated from the case
In like manner one Webster, tho County Clerk, and
Bolton, Justice OF the peace made ahidavlts that
they suspected that the return was fraudulent Their
evidence goes for nothing.
| Tho democrats thon proved that three days after
tho election tho ballot box (Which Webster proved had
only 277 votes found therein But tho law aid
quiro the ballots be put back In tho BOX and II tho
republicans had ampered with the box they would not
havo taken any Of the $40 but would rather
have added TO them TO make the ballots correspond
In support OF tho return the republicans put tho
stand Black, the republican Inspector and Vance, tho
republican clerk OF the poll Both were coored men
OF than ordinary education, and thcy swore
positively that the reIurn as mado was correct, and
| denied al! fraud.
Hero tho General proceeds to describe the conditions
statements we're made by tho republicans and demo-
the aggregate Of the precinct the for
| mer claiming large increase. He says:--
But II should be remembered that Tho through
out tho State was enormously increascd-rom 80, ,l57
In 1874 IS 6li ls56-and also that there pre-
cnct registry, but that those registered In the county
may vote At any poll; and that IN po'nt OF
often change from ono voting place to another,
/ from motives OF sniesy, &c ana also that, to add
Box /, even the democratic result OF Box2 l3l6),
| would a oil
the hole county on Tho returns was:-Democratic,
1897; republican. l.os4: republican majority III.
! In 1872 II was:-Republican, 1905; dcmocratc 772
republican majority. 734 In 1874 was:-Republcan,
1867; democratic, 756; republican majority Sill by
the census Of 1915 the voting population was BLACKS.
| 9,36i; whites l, 1913
The republican majority OF the Board sustained tho
| JACKSON COUNTY
Tho republicans attacked several precincts In jack
only thrown out--Fricndship Church and Cam p
bclton. The latter know nothing or As TO the
fence being made by AFFIDAVIT Hayes and Long col
ored republicans, ono Inspector, another United
States supervisor. mado aifdavits, signing their own
That Stevens, a democratic inspector, drove Long
the supervisor out OF tho room and kept him out all
day.
The process of voting well as the position OF the
ballot boxes is here described rendering It imposs.
bic any his ballot deposited in the box
| which was six feet back from window aud two feet
from tho 1oor tho window sill being six feet from tho
ground. General Barlow also refers attdavts going
TO prove that the box tampcrcd with after tho
Of the pol The showed only forty -four
republican TO las democratic votes, Opposing am
here given which 60 prove that the voting
could be both from the windows and doors OF the
church which used as polling place
Tho republican alidavl,s in two three other pre-
clnts OF this county stated the arrangements OF
tho bao, boxes rhe window six ees high and tho bo
two feet from the noor aud II this were 1t tended
TO show concerted scheme.
The vote OF this county the face OF the returns
was democratic, ,391; republican, ], go; demo-
cratic majority, 9S. In 1872 II dcmocratic s53
republican, 100; republican majority, 170 In 1874
II democratic, s97; republican, ,25d republican
majority, $50.
fy the census Of 1878 generally supposed to bo I'M
periect) Tho voting population was:-BIacks, l50S;
whites, 1.l42