The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-01-04
"INTrMIDATION."
Appointment. E.REPUBLICAN's PROTEST
AGAINST HIS PARTY's PRoGRAofhfEi :.

AGAINST HIS PARTY's PROGRAMME .
n..:t; ff:,'.' .:. ~ 49, -
mfr. Horace. White, editor of the
Chicago Tribune for some'years before itl
became an organ of the radical element
of the Republican party, writes as'fo foao~s'
to that; paper: i!!,'7- .'',t 80" - .
Any result of.the: pending Presidential
election which shall be reached without
harm to- the processes under which our
elections are held and .:our Institutions
maintainedowill not only be ;acqniesced
in by the.people, bur welcomed by the
larger portion of both political parties.
Any result which shall be reached by
undermining those processes viii !9e
fraught with peril Ito the country and
will bring condignIp punishment upon the
party guilty of so grave a crime:,' =; II u.
Among the processes by which our in
stitutions are maintained, the';most' i'm
portant!isithat of frequent popular cleo
tions, and themost important of these is
the PRESIDENTIAL elections We ARE now
brought, for the first time, to ia state of
facts which threatens t0n substitute, in
place Unpopular elections, the views of y
returning board. This I call threat
ened subversion of the process by which
our institutions are maintained, in COM
parison with which the election of Hayes
or of Tilden isf'of no consequence.
Whether Hayes or Tilden be elected, the
people can, within four,:years, resume
their prerogative of choosing another
President. provided the process of declar.
ing theirc choice has mot been tampered
with. They canncorrect any errors that
may have been committed meanwhile by
Hayes.o Tilden; provided the system of
popular election remainssi! But 'if the
process has been rampered with, and the
system itselfundermined then anything
NAV happen. The American Republic
NAV become as' unstaple, and property
here as insecure, Tand social disorder as
unbearable, :as' in Mexico or Venezuela.
We are told:-that the interference
of n. Returning Board in Louisiana is
necessary on account of the intimidation
of voters. 1t is precisely this interference
which challenge as a subversion of the
processes by which our institutions are
maintained: tits proposed to throw out
the vote of A B:because c D isisupposed
to have intimidated E F. 1T is only
necessary to make this the rule hereafter,
and to ,secureJits general Gadoptionj. in
order to dispense with elections entirely
and TO substitute, in their place thejviews
Of thirty-seSen Returning Boards. In
timidation will become the only element
of.any value in politics. Instead Of dis
cussing the civil service, the currency
the last war, or the next one, the office!
seeking class will. con6ne themselves
wholly to intimidation. Intimidation
will multiply like grasshoppers, and in a
short time ravage the whole land:' - -
I assert that thereis no way to throw
out, on the score of intimidation, the
votes of legal voters duly polled, that
does not admit and invite this species of
rascality. Is there any mode of election
eering so inexpensive and certain as this :?
Is there any mode so. likely to become
popular with the class who live by poliI
tics? Is there any mode which so clear
IL and completely subverts the process of
popular elections, or which so directly
attacks the foundation of our govrnment !?
But, say some, it cannot possibly spread.
1t is too absurd and contemplate to find
lodgment among the superior beings of
the North. Not to cucumber this article
with didactic reasoning as to the danger
of admitting SO evil precedent into our
system, I observe that the case now be-
fore us has spread, to all intents and pur-
poses, over the entire land, since upon its
determination rests the whole .Presiden-
tial election, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, from the lakes to the Gulf. The
rights Of voters in Illinois are as much
bound up in it as though the case were
awaiting decision before a Returning
Board Sitting in Chicago instead of one
sitting in New Orleans. , ~ ~. - -.
Now let us take the worst case of "bull-
doing" that anybody can bring forward
that of West Feliciana. It is claimed
that the negroes we're an actual majority
in the parish. It is admitted that the
Republicans had the State government
and the local government; that Republi-
can supervisors of elections were every
where, and that plenty of United States
troops were there, or if they were not
there it was the fault of those who now
claim that their votes were intimidated.
Nevertheless, it is alleged that the
negroes were afraid to vote. And be-
cause, with these aids and incentives to
political intrepidity, they were still
afraid to vote, therefore the votes of
those who did vote are to be thrown out.
I venture to predict that the political
party that takes its stand on this plat
form will be "bull-dozed" worse at. the
next election than any parish in Louisi-
ana or elsewhere: ~';'; = 80 Il. -
LIDO not;belieye that Gov. Hayes will
accept the Presidency on any such plat
form. If he would, should regret
that. 1 cast my vote for him. 1.-The
would, do not see how he could
carry on, the government afterwards.
The Republican party, in the tattered
condition to which the present admins
tration has brought it, is not able to give
its antagonist any advantages Of position
in the next encounter. '"'l' 90. -''
Stress is laid on the fact that Gen.
Grant wilpsee Hayes duly inaugurated.
The only form of Inauguration known to
the law is for the'newly elected President
to take an oath to support the Constitu-
ton Of the United States, and this he can
do before any person authorized by law
to administer oaths; and, when he has
taken it, Gen. Grant cannot inaugurate
him or disinaugurate bim.any farther. |
am not one of those who think that the
present financial cramp is due to- politi-
cal causes. but / can see that the disorder,
confusion and uncertainty growing out OF
double-barreled government would pro-
duce far greater depression in business
than anything we have experienced since
the panic OF 1873. .' -
If the Republican party is ready to
adopt intimidation as an element in poll
tics, and to substitute the judgment OF
Returning Boards in place OF the votes
legally polled, it is worse party than l
supposed when l joined the Liberal
movement in 1872. | do not think 80
badly of it as this. / think that all the
present fuss is due to the anxiety OF
oltice-holders for their places, Tor whicn
4.