The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-11-28
QhtQttelLilqetee
An Adherence to Law Through

In Adherence to Law Through
out.
Tho re,ul. Of the contest now in pro
AIM the South depends for its fnR
sio1ic,tiou 4. the hands OF public opin'
,o, m the facts that shall be fully and
"D,ne,,iOuabIy NV developed. Up to this
tim. public opinion is in abeyanee await
IN, these forthcoming facts as the ma
S,i,l necessary for = verdict. For tue
On,no.e Of getting at these iAct' and pre-
venting fraud a! far as possible, number
Of men Of high character went sOu'n'
True, most Of them went IS p'Esl'An''
,b., Is, u either Republicans or Demo
s,,,, bu. they went nevertheless as men
in whose personal honor the public had
I,,,. measure Of confidence III not be-
lIsrsd tb,, they would lend themselves to
.cbsuo for the achievement Of party
,ucos,, ,ha. will not bear the light
Of day when the facts come to be
Known II there we're no men oil this
character in the country, who could be
trusted to this extent by public opinion,
the situation would certainly be deplor-
able. For the sake Of the final result,
whenever that result may be determined,
rb.tbsr in the disputed States or in Con-
,,e., il i, we'll that the development ot
o,ipiuaI facts has been supervised from
III, very outset Of the contest by many
or,ous whoIe opinions will have weight
With the country.
Up 10 this time there Is one leading
fac, that has been so fully established be-
fore tho bar Of public opinion "a to leave
ury little room for an opposing
.ntimenl. We refer TO the fact
Of violence on the part Of the
White Liners Of the South. No fact
connected with the canvass in that sec.
tiOn /, now more generally credited than
,hI. one Of violence. The witnesses have
been too many and the details too specific
TO Vdmil Of serious denial. But the point
vt moment Iuat now is to ascertain accu'
rateIy how far this violence changed the
ruul, in the States whose electoral votes
are in dispute. 1t is not enough to prove
violence in Mississippi and South Caro-
lima. 1t lmust be proved in all localities
where 1t !. asserted that the vote has
been changed by it. We eau prove II
morally to very general extent
throughout the South, and, morally
speaking, the country is even now
we'll satisfied that violence and
intimidation operated, more or less
actively, in nearly every Southern state.
This is logical inference both from the
we'll known aggressive spirit that enter
ed Into the canvass 10 the South in the late
campaign and also from the abundance
Oispscifc instances that have been pub.
Iiihed TO the world over responsible sig.
Altures.
II there were 40 meaus OF restraining
this spirit Of intimidation and violence
the South the holding Of elections In
that section would practically have to be
Ib1ndoned. There would be but one side
to the politics Of that region. All op.
position to the Democratic party would
b substantially hushed. There would
BE- peace iu Warsaw once more, but Il
sOuld be til. peace Of helpess acquies.
csnIe.
The negro might just as we'll b. iis.
i'auchiIed as regards any power to CO.
,psraio with the Republican party. His
ulIural alliance with that party would
be wiped out, and il he voted at all 1t
solll be after the manner Of the Frenc b
pISSiEite, where The result has been de.
isruined for him before hand.
Twas toprOtect the vote OF the Repub.
lIcin element that Returning Boards
were instituted in some Of the Southern
states. They are creations Of law in
!SOsss!ateS, peculiar to their local laws
indPeFIec1Iy legal. The point has never
get been raised by any au!hori.
y Of Eepu.e that u Returning
Bard is not legal creation |
and fully competent to exercise the pow
tFaconierrCd upon it. In Louisiana the |
Board plainly expressed judicial pow.
cts The sStIawyers, such men ~ Stan.
icy Mathews and Senator Lamar, all |
ls'ee on Ihis point. II has the right to
at IN Judgment on all State election re.
'utH'' aud exclude such returns rs have
0sea viIlA'ed b! fraud and intimidation.
4Al' Is not a peculiar power by any
Suy means, nor is there anything novel |
.S0u! a.. It. The County Courts Of West
virginia have The ssme:and even greater
powers conferred upon them, excep, that
'aslF Jurisdiction. is limited to their 70.
'EC''ve COUNTIES, They can not only
'''O' out illegal votes but put in
'o" shaI have never been poll
81 Taey are R,Iurniug Boards with
P'sa''y P1Es'', and there is no provision
Lo'" appeal from their decisions. The
Returning Board Of Louisiana is simply
Nsis Virginia County Court on large
"''e but with really more oircnmscribed
~" Stiny' Us to our last point, which
aaS, There Is now no serious question
y" Ias power Ol a Louisiana Returning |
SA'a TO prO'ec. the helpless voters Of
'SN State sgainst the invasion Of their
,''" .! the polls. What the country
''~'''' IS an honest exercise Of its
"''1 No corrupt exercise Of It will
W W ''y good to the Republican party.
:, S'''R'E"eIl wi'her Of the party wants
:" 4 temporary success achieved in
"I, %''y. Gen. Grant struck the key note
.i,sl S'''!'l' when he so promptly declar.
!. ei' no man worthy Of the office Of