, 1877-01-10
"BULLDOZING," J"
Intimidation Of the Negro Voter in the
Southern States.
Personal Observations Of mn Irish Amer.
icaa Who Is Not q Politician.

Personal Observations Of mn Ir1sh.Amcr.
icaa Who II Not a Politician.
Mlss1sslrr1, Dec. 27.-7o the Editor Of HE
| Irish Nor'd: Relieving that The columns ot the
Irish World are a1wayh open for I so!cc in tho
| Interest of oppressed humanity, request space
| to give your readers true statement touching
tho political condition Of the ncgro In the South.
give you INF name In prsvate note; its pub.
]ieation you'll endnngcr my ttfc. For tho same
Fcason leave blank tho names Of persons and
places IN this letter, but you will 1nd them In
dc1cd in the private note, Which will also prob
aty satisfy you ttsat have had a1nple facilities
! for seeing and hearing both sides, md forming
| Nil impartial judgment. In your Issue OF tho
9TH Inst, In leader headed Party or Country
-Whichr' you say:
"As to Intimidation and violence, let that
story 70 bY. We don't credit It."
Had you Travelled recently In the South Is
| have dane, seen what have seen, 4nd heard
villa: hase heard, you would not write thus.
| The negro here, as rule, knows nothing Ia re-
gard to politics but "intimllat!on - and "vio-
1cnce." lie has no rights that tho white man
considers himself bounI 10 respcct, Or that he
would respect were It not fur the public opinion
| Of The North. The planter will tell the negro
that lie cannot stay on his land, cannot have his
mules to work, cannot have hs bread aud meat
| to cat, If hc votes tile Republican Ticket The
| whites urc all organized In clubs, and hare the
| names Of all the prominent Republican negroes
| tn the dlstrict. They notify thcse 10 leave
the country In 50 many days, aud the colorel
men, a1'ntd OF being waited upon some night
about or 2 o'clock bYa committee with q
rope mud six.shootcr, abandon the home Of
their parents, wlcre they hare been raised, and
their slrcs before them. know case now Of
all Industrious negro who was renting AftY acres
Of land on n plantation belonging to MI. -.
lie had to lcare on accotnt Of tho owner notify
| ing him that he would not rent him any more
la"'l; mil he went +" live On the plantation Of
| Prominent Republican politician, Mr. -.
Let mt give you some II my own experience.
On the night Of Nov. /, 1s1; (cIecton 3ay being
on tho el}, myself and felnw-tEaveler put NJ,
a. a house Of enterta!nncn. in village IN this
State, -, ab>ut u miles from here. Aftcr
supper We were In the eitt!ny.rooln with mine
host and his father, Mr.. when our attention
wan directed 10 somebody calling Mt tho gate In
ct!aIr gnd went out, and remained conveseing
With tho party for about fifteen minutes. Pres
emily the luor opened, he walked in, and tol us
that eo'lc black men outsiGc wanted to sec US.
| We kept Our statH, ind told hitn tU open the
door and let tl,cm In. He did 70, a,t,l tue two
| men wllo wrrc standing aside the door came In
frunt and lu,ked III at III, he at the eau,c time
picking up the lamp that WIS of, tho uiah.cl.
VIZ were not the men they wanted, aI,,l f,nn,e-
.iiMtc!y turned nxay from the Icht. We sAw
| pIatuly fron their cnuntclacca TINT they were
wh!tu mcn, dressed like negroes, with tlclrfarrs
painted, and lips red that they told the wllo1e
story. asked nliF host who they wcrr, aud 1,u
replied that he jill not know. | told hl1n tha.
believed they were white 1ncp.
Early OIL the morning Of Jun. I. 1s7H, met
yE,f7t ftiIf4R fra
from here, tt.at attracted mr. attention. First
came a boy with quilts and blankets on Ills sad
| die In front Of HIN; next yotlng negro Wonlan
sitting IN her bc,l-ticks; and last, youn. null
! her husbatnl holding Ills trunk mn the r,l1nHel
| of Its baddtc-all making towards tile railroad
station. lpasscl IN aud came to n plantation
| om tho roadside. where met iii elderly negro
woman, who askel mc II met party of moy-
crs On the road. l said ycs, aud askr'! why they
| were mnyinE III tllat way, Sflo replied:
"rhat is my Ron asrd his Wife, who were lately
married. IL was 'frttcd ,ty tic Democrats,
and hns to lcayc tho ctttntry."
| "Sputtch for wlatf' asked,
She answered: "Fur belonging 10 Rcnub.
liun c!nb.H
Instantly my thoughts were carried tack to
thc scenes Of my clsils'l,ood, mud could not hut
think that the lIcgroea were the Irish Of Ameri-
Gu mud the victims uf the same pulry.
'4Trans-Atantic's artItIu on ''lrclaud ns 1t
IL" tnublishcd fl thc lriah ltur'd aF,out nine Or
tth iDnnths agu} II reAily true Ut tho blacks III
"tle South as Il Ia" ts-iay.
wish TINT we're Possessed Of his talent, 1!nw
would try toportraY The grief ot an old gray
beaded man, about ii Or ~ years Of agt saw
the Loss Of his crop, whish he claimed to be
swlndlcl nut VI. Hc vas sitting IN 4 ssnol eat-
Ing plcct ii dry curi!tihigrr: lils daughter
WAS aftrEro1nng FROM the "Wt,.te fullss' hutlpe"
where he sen. her !or some milk. As kllc en-
tered iia nskctl her: " Did you get any:" She
answered: y No, itx not turnr,! yet "-at1,
with longslrawn Sigh, added: ~ 30! nor, Ii
never will be! Scyrr will turn for me!' Nor
Is Ills all hare come across whrrc there IS as
| lltEh a. four ulIl tiyr families living together,
nut Que Of tho Iarn Of whotil eycn registered Ut
yntcd through the dread of Icing nnticd to
travelled "a hare anil hrar.l tt!c upin!ons Vi The
whites In discussing thu political situation, you
| would nut, ! believe, have written, - We Iun't
rre'l.t It," 1t Ii not lung klnec heard an intel.
| ltycnt nlnn say: Will, II VIZ win, a,A ths
troops aro withdrawn trUn the south, every
white man will ~ tu The polls With clIlh md
dri.r rs nig5er a'ent, n"lf.' ~ r9fts tht Demo
cratic tstd." Po:itiScly ene q these fsFTrtssts
eart FIR Mas u q mud atJ' ..
| .At this last election the ~hstrs were better
| organized ana more determinrl ts!An ever to
strkc trrrur iato the heart Ut Tho nrgro. They
went to hls meetings, and II !e brught a tir!ll
tleru they cut ttIu hratl out nf 1t with thclr
knives, AMI Often brtiwhrnt tho speakers by
!Hutis,y nuA yelling. aErrc with you tint, at-
eor,lin:; to tfr machinery ret III Inotlou, Illtlen
IL eli ted President Vt ,Ar United States. but
fall to recognize tho fact that, without t1lc nil
of tho Whtc-Lcaguer, with Il Democratic tlrket
In pnr halui and stx.sht,otrr In lhr other, lhss
same rusal. would follow either IN Mississippi,
Louisiana, Or South Carolina. Tho abt,ye pfo-
ress Is siniilar to that ty which that humane
butcher, Gen. Chalmers, asrectc.l to Cnngtrss
frtmI the western part VI tls Stutc, In district
will 1luD Negro majority. Hisa Jares amt .
| Ata,n On .tnleflt.1n sntrhyc
Lamar and Wuttcrsou, in their dispatches
north irun! New Orleans. suy that there 10 no
Te1tchtc to he PLACED upou the statctcnts u
"worthess plantation hands," say there Is
fur 1nosr rclia,rc II be placed H. tic statements
of these ympe-Entuded but .'utra srd icnptc
than there Is III that Vt t!ltrlass tis,.n whom
they draw iheIs information. Fut ~ kentusk-
TIN, who Nus III the Mississippi bottoms making
u croi,, antl quit in disgust, Iatt,y 1bss5ved 70
tnc: ''1hrse men live u1'ull liet." Public opln-
ton Is hero all 4nc. .*h.rd. The blg guns Or +.
F.'s-the "tlrst faiullivs," tAe organizers Of sc-
cctslon-manufasture 1t. The "whlte trasl,'
swallow It., as il is not fashionable to resist tho
io.e, for trar that 50 doug might exclude tlcm
1roM thu a.uiles atnl society VI lLose pseudo.
/ iuff ftrtI1 fi,.,{r