Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1876-11-23
WOODSTOCK, VIRGINIA.
Thursday November Ea7G
The Situation Summarized.

SudhReu.
For the benefit of those of our
readers who d., not understand fully
the state of affairs, we will condeuse it
all i'll brief summary.
First, it required l85 electoral
votes to elect.
The states voting democratic were
sufficient to give ISL.
Fin states voting republican gave
i66 votes.
Three states in the South, namely,
South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida,
have returning boards under whose
supervision the count must be lad
before the result can be definitely
announced.
BY the same process Of counting
which obtains in Virginia, 1t was
ascertaincd that the democrats had a
small majority in two of these states,
and nearly 5000 majority in Louisiana,
making the electoral vote tor Iilden
2)3.
These three states have 10 votes :;
and to elect Hayes, he must get all OF
them. Tilden, requiring but one
more vote, can be. content with either
one ofthem.
The returning boards in these three
states are constituted Of certain Off
Gals er-oticio. and are therefore all
republican. except one member of the
Florida board.
Under a psetense of patriotism
Grant distributed his troops and dis
patched Sheridan with batch of
civil mercenaries to the State capitols,
ostensibly to secure fair count. but
really to sustain the returning boards
in counting out the democratic pre-
cints on charges of fraud and intimi-
dation.
20 counteract this number of
distinguished democrats also went
upon the scenes for conference. They
proposed consultation and joint action
with the republicans, which was res
jected.
In South Carolina, the democrats
got writ of prohibition from the
supreme court, which in effect re
quires the returning board to do
nothing else than count the vote aa
given them by the judges of election.
This NAV secure Hampton's election
bnt will still leave Tilden in some
doubt.
In Louisiana, where our majority is
undisputed in fact, the board has tull
power under radical legislation to
throw out what it pleases. The
board is composed Of the same men
who counted Kellogg in at the cleo
ton of 1872 and set up a govern.
ment which the republican U. S.
Senate refused to recognize when
Pinchback Chained his seat under it,
but which was sustained by Grant in
consequence of the nonaction OF the
Senate on the resolutions of its
committee declaring the government,
2 fraudulent one. The president Of
the board is the same Wells when
Sheridan proclaimed. villain IN In
famous dispatch to the war depart
meut-when. the barn burner wa.
better disposed toward the South than
gow-and the two associates are
negroes who were taken at once TN
der radical espionage and kept aboarc
gunboat in the harbor. 1t woufc
seem almost too bold to count us ou
OF an aseertained majority of. 5000
but i: is not improbable that radiea
eifrontery will be equal to the. job
In Florida the case stands somewha
better, albeit our majority there j,
much smaller. There we have on.
democrat on the board, and his two
associates are Ieputed to he Of fai
character. Besides, several distln
gnished republicans have come before
the country certifying that the demo-
Gratis have carried the state. The
count here, however, is not had til
81 days after election. But if th,
government party shall successful,
manipulate the returns in Louisiana
i is hn' reasonable TO expect tina
they will not stop short of absolut,
coercion, in Florida. In this event
the contest will be transferred to tn,
two floors Of congl ess, and then tb,
excitement begun in June with bt
continued over the winter.
This is the situation at this writing
As the returning boards Of Louisiana
and South Carolina are now in session
we may be able to give something
more definite before going to press
LATER.
Since the above, the telegraph
Announces that the Hayes electors
have been accorded ,uajorities in
Soath Carolina ranging from $50 tt
llO0. 10 accomplish this result, tbs
board adopted a duplex system d
counting, y which Inc democrats ~