Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-07-26
GREELEY ON TILDEN.
What the Democratic Candidate for President
in 1879 Said to the Candidate of 1876,
Tbe'' Great Reform Governors as an Elec-
ton CorruptiOnist. rt

in 1879 Said to the Candidate Of 1876.
The 8 Great Reform Governor" as an Elec-
ton Corruptionist. m
1t is notorious that in the election of
1868 great frauds were perpetrated upon
the ballot-bo 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.. Tilden's famous circular:
Private and strictly confidential 1895 q
Rooms OF DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE,
October 81, 186S.--MY DEAR SIR: Please at
once to communicate with some reliable per-
son. in three or four principal towns and in
each city OF your county, and request him (ex-
penses duly arranged for this end) to tele.
graph to William M. Tweed, Tammany Hall,
at the minute of closing the polls, not waiting
Tor the count such persons estimate of the
vote.
Let the telegraph be as follows:
g This town will show q Democratic gain for
loss) over last year of (number); or this one if
sufficiently certain: This town will give Re-
publican Cor Democratic) majority Of --.''
Ihere IS, OF course, an important object to be
uttt6HCeu Wy u simultaneous TRANSMISSION at
the hour of closing the polls, but no ylonqey
aoditing. Opportunity can be taken of The
usual half-hour lulI in the telegraphic com,
munications over lines before actual results
begin to be declared, and before the Associated
Press absorb the telegraph with returns and
Interfere with Individual messages, and give
orders to watch carefully the count. Very
truly yours, SAMUEL J. TILDgN Chairman.
NIB. GREELEYs OPINION OF TILDEN
To Samuel j. Tilden Chairman Democratic
State Con1neittee: laa
SIR: You and are growing old. We came
here young from the country, and have lived
and struggled side by side for nearly forty
years. We have participated ardent1y in many
political struggles, always on different Sides
On one very important point, how
ever, your bitterness as partisan has inn
PEELED you TO ignore and come short of your
duties as citizen and a protested upholder
OF Government by the people, and FOR THIS
DIREL1cTIoN HERE ARRAIGN YOU. I allude to
the preservation of the purity of the ballot
can imagine how man may shut his eyes
TO many things which he deems it convenient
not to know; but I must speak of what you
must know, hOsoeoe,. you q7s1a aoish or seek to
be ignorant of 1t. The matter to which call
your attention Is vital to the very existence Of
free, popular government Whenever it shall
be generally understood that the results of
elections are not determ' ed by the ballots of
legal voters, but by frauds in voting or frauds
In counting, then the event of avowed, une-
qulvocal despotlsm must be near at hand Be-
tween the rule OF an Emperor and the rule of
aclique of ballot-box suffers, every Intelligent
man must prefer the former as less rapacious
and more responsible When honest citizens
shall avoid the polls, asking, What is the use
OF voting the result is already fxed" the
days of the Republic will be numbered. Be-
tween ruler who prohibits voting altogether
and the gang who make it a sham BY filling the
ballot-bo1es with illegal votes, or mlscounting
those actually cast the sway of the former is
every way preferable. *Tsu *
You hold most responsible and Influential
position in1the counsels of great party. You
coutd make that party content acith polling leqal
Ootes u you only aooud. In our late Consti-
.utlonal Convention l tried to erect some fresh
barriers against election frauds Did you
The very little that was enabled to effect in
this direction shall try to have ratified by the
people at our ensuing election. Will you2
Mr.. Tilden, you cannot escape responsibility
by saying with the guilty Macbeth:
Thou canct not say I did it; never shake
W Those CORY locks at me,"G
for yoW aoere at least a pdssiue accomplish I'M
the giant frauds Of last November ..ge5
Your name was used, without public protest
on your part, in circulars sowed broadcast
over tue State, whereof the manifest intent
was to "make assurance doubly sure that
the frs uds here perpetrated should not be
overborne by the honest vote Of the rural dis
tricts.9 And you, ,aotnaerely By silence, but BIZ
positive assumption, haze cooered those frauds
10Th the mantle of yoalr responsibility.
On the principle that 8 the receiver is as bad
as the thief you are as deeply implicated in
them today as though your name aoas Taoeed
o. Brien, or Oakley Halt. 80 I'd 81 a3ila
Q Mr.. TIlden, you and I were ardent partici-
pants IN the struggle Of 1910, wherein Martin
Van Buren, WAS Ousted from the Presidency
by Gen. Harrison. You know how thoroughly
our city was absorbed in the contest, wherein
every man, woman and child took deep and
lively interest. Our elections we're then held
throughout three days There was registra-
ton freshly enacted which blacklegs' had not
yet learned to circumvent. The right OF suf-
frage was as widely diffused as 1t now is, and
no one ever complained that q single lega
voter was unable then to poll his vote. And,
though our city has since largely increased it's
population, the lower wards were, quite as ]
po.ulous then as they are to-day-several of
them more 80. They were full of boarding
houses crowded with clerks and mechanics;
many of these covered sites since given up to
great warehouses and manufactures; their
denizens have since moved up town, over to
Brooklyn, or out on some Of the railroads that
lead into the open country. Practically the
lower wards are being given up to commerce,
and no longer shelter by night the multitudes
who thronged their streets by day. asi&4oe
Now look at the vote of four Of these wards
in 1910 and 1868, respectively 1o.'5C -
zteaoo 1910 aoIzsfa# 1868 100
President, atea Governor.
Harrison. Van Buren, Griswold. Hoffman.
~ j, 1873 LIT ses4 48O & $3.50