Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-11-29
"Bulldozing" in WatertoWn.

Southern. Its meaning mas Deen thus
explained:
The pleasant brethren of the "Stop"
"a political society-were in the habit
of giving warning calls once, twice,
three times, to those whom they de-
sired and demanded should join the
Stop" If on the third and last call
they did not comply with the demand
and take the oath, the unfortunate
negro who refused was taken to the
woods and given "bull.dose" Of the
cowhide on his naked back. A cool
hundred laid on was considered bulls
dose; and the victim either listened to
such potent reasoning and took the
oath as a member, or fled the country.
From bulls dose soon came the verb
to buN-dozle.
In Louisiana and some of the other
Southern States where the negroes
were pevented from voting by intimi-
dation, or compelled by threats of per-
sonal violence to vote the Democratic
ticket, they are said to have been 'bull.
dozed:' or "bulldozled. The term,
we think, might be aptly applied to
elections in Watertewn, where the
same system which prevails in the
South exists only upon smaller scale.
We arc stating what all intelligent
persons know to be true. when We as
sert that at every election more or less
intimidation is used and violence
threatened against Republican voters.
1t is fact which no truthful Demo
crat will deny that we have here Ger
man Republicans in business who dare
not let their political convictions be
known because Democrats threaten to
not trade with them if they act with
the Republican party. Democrats os.
tracise Republicans in every way pos.
sible. They openly declare that they
will employ no one who votes the Re-
publican ticket. Their common labor
ers and even wood sawyers are given
to understand that to vote with the
Republicans is to forfeit all claim tc
the consideration and patronage Of
Democrats. With such state oil
things existing, is it any wonder that
the Democratic party here should be
SO strong? When Republicans are
"bulldozled" in this way, they cannot
be expected to stand up for their hts
as defantly as if they were not in a
hopeless minority. Personal violence
ds not unfrequently used, and Repub
lican ticket peddlers driven from the
polls. Republican voters, to our per.
soaal knowledge, have not been per.
mitted to vote the ticket of their choice
without being insulted and abused
To such an extent has this species O.
"bulldozimg" been carried at time:
that instances have been known of Re
publicans not voting, and Of tickle
peddlers abandoning the polls, leaving
them in charge OF Democrats who were
J. then free to perpetrate all the Frauds
they dared to, and to roll up any ma
jority their ezigencies seemed to re
quire. And all this happens in FREE
and intelligent Wiseonsin-in one o
the principal cities Of the State
Now, if this can be true here, what i
to prevent all the "bulldozing" that i
charged as having occurred in til
South Here all men are upon a.
equality, and have never known wha
; it is to- be subordinate to their fellows
There, where large population wer
a few years ago slaves and dependen
upon their masters, they are NOR
easily subdued and terrorized, and
requires no stretch Of the imaeinatio
, to believe that with the material com
prislng the Democratic party Of tn
> South, the negroes there have bee
either compelled in many localities t
, vote the Democratic ticket. or else t
refrain from voting at all. 1t is
| frightful commentary upon our fire
> institutions that elections can be ca,
ried in this way, but We can readily Sc
how this can be done in the Sout
where the bullying element of til
Democratic party is SO strong, particu
larry if it can be enacted in Watertow
|