Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-10-23
@lLuEN zhD REFORM.
q ~
The -Mannef In Which the Great Defeat.
ed Tried to Buy the Presidency.
To Purify Politics, to Purify the
Civil Service, Was the Chief
Aim Of the Democracy
In 1876.
A Complete Expose Of the Democratic Cipher
kilograms The Key Discovered and the
Villainy unearthed-Read this, Re.
publicans, Before You Vote.
From the New York Tribune.

The extraordinary ciphers devised by
the democratic managers OF the electoral
campaign which came after the election IN
1876 are described 10 full below, and, to-
gether with an account Of the manner in
which they were made, VIZ present a detailed
history of the process by which they have
been Interpreted. There are no fewer than
six distinct systems of c%ryp,ography in this
collec ion of secret telegrams-pernaps even
nore-but one system predominates so
greatly over the others that 10 it we shall
devote nearly all the space we can spare
this morning for the exposition. The others
We may perhaps discuss briefly when We
print the dispatches that belong to them.
We invite the public to witness every step
in the process Of this decipl ering, partly
because it is an interesting Intellectual ex-
e%rci.e, and a ~salutary reminder that the best
laid plans of rogues and plot,ers are always
in danger OF detection, and partly because
we wish to show that the reading we offer
has been arrived at by no happy guessing,
but by a course OF sheer demonstration
The accuracy of the keys which we have
found for the substantial part of this elabo-
rate puzzle is a,tested with all the certainty
of an absolute mathematical proof.
SCOPE OF THE CORRESPONDENCE.
The captured political correspondence,
now in the possession of The Tribune, COW
ers the period between the presidential cleo
ton IN November, 1876, and the compile
ton OF the count in all the disputed states,
early in the following month. 1t compri-
SEES:
l. kilograms between the democratic
managers in New York and their agents in
California and Oregon, relative to the grant
ing of a certificate TO one Of the democratic
electors who was not elected, and the "pur-
chase of a republican elector to recognize
and act with him"
2. kilograms between the democratic
managers in New York and their friends
and secret agents in Florida during the
progress of',he count.
8. kilograms between these New York
managers and their friends and st cret agents
in Louisiana during the same critical pc
rid.
4. kilograms between these New York
managers and their friends and secret agents
in South Carolina during the operations Of
the canvassing board at Columbia, aud the
argument before the stale supreme court, by
whose interference Mr.. rilden's representa-
tiv.s hoped to control the action Of the
board.
S Various dispatches between local dem.
oc.atic politicians in Flor da and Sou b
Carolina. including the series Of telegrama
on the subject of an armed opposition to
Chamberlain's Inauguration, already pub
blshed by the Tribune under the title Of
Fun at the Fair"
The whole number of these captured dis
patches is not far from 400. About half OF
them are in plain English, the rest In CT
pher. The plain kilograms of course are
not usually of a c,mpromising character,
except so far as they refer indirectly TO trans
actions which are explained in other parts Of
,he.:correspondence. Many ofthem~, however,
are amusing, and many are useful in throw
ing light upon the dark ways and vain tricks
concealed in the topographic communica-
tons. 1t is these last which constitute by
far the most important of the kilograms.
We have devoted long and close study to
them, and lave at last mastered the systems
upon which they we're constructed, and OBJ
tanned the keys which unlock their mean
ing. The pull lie will undoubtedly agree
with us in thinking that the labor expended
on this work has not been wasted.
THE CIPHER sYsTENs.
The ciphers employed we're Of several
kinds. The Oregon correspondence va
conducted BY what il generally called the
"Dicti 1asry Cipher" Here the 6r.t word
Of the message 70 be sent vas sought in
dictionary previously agreed upos; thu
xriser then turned back four pages (of cours'