Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-11-20
South Carolina.

WASHINGTON, d. G., Nov. 49,
Commissioner Raum has received the
following letter from Collector Brayton,
of the South Carolina district, giving
graphic description of the gross
frauds practiced through the State at
the late election:
COLUMBIA, Nov 9.-DEAR SIR:
The election in this State was the
most stupendous and systematic fraud
engaged In by all classes of citizens.
invented and encouraged by leaders,
and made successful by the co-opera
ton OF sworn managers. Tissue tick
cts, dlmlnutive in size, were voted in
all counties of the State where there
was Republican opposition. These
tickets were voted in patches Of some.
times as many as thirty wrapped 10 a
larger ticket In some boxes there
were three times as many votes as
there were voters. For appearances
sake blindfolded man presumed to
| withdraw the excess. Those taken
out were always Republican ballots
for a blind man could distinguish
between the tissue and ordinary ballots
This county was Republican in 1876
in spite of all methods resorted to by
yer 1900 majority. [ never saw
the colored people vote more solidly
than this year, and when the polls
were closed they felt confident Of
success by 1900 majority. Think OF
our CONSERVATION at the count, when
the Democratic majority was reported
at over $500, at least 500 more than
there are white voters in the county.
Behold Charleston, with over 6 GEO
Republican majority in 1876, changed
to $500 Democratic in 1878, while
the Republicans voted there almost to
man. These frauds were noticed
in the SINE way in all counties where
there was opposition.
Will the north submit to this? The
Democrats engaged in stutfiny as a
pastlme, aud the consequence is that
the maJorltles are SO large that fraud
is selt-evident. It is treated as a Joke
and no one attempts to deny it exceed
the newspapers, which try to explain
it by saying the colored people voters
almost unanimously for the Democrats.
OF course, it is lie bu- so it was in
| 1876, when the votes 10 this State ex-
ceeded the number of votes according
| to the census In all but four counties
of the State, and the Democratic vote
was 10000 larger than ever it was
| before.
The Northern people allowed them
selves to be gulled by Hampton's as
sertion that the colored people voted
large y for him. How could this be
when the Republican vote Was nearly
5000 larger than it ever was before?
At that election the Democrats
cheated ty repeating-this time by
s.ufing. The election was very quiet,
for the Democrats had discounted the
result. Fraud has proven more sue
cessful than murder, violence, and
intimidation.
This evening [ got a letter from
Judge Lee, of Sumter, asking me to
inform Gov. Hampton that his office
as United States Commissioner, had
just been raided by mob, and he had
barely escaped with his life. Tn e
Governor being too i'll to be seen,
called upon the Attorney General, and
he impatiently told me that it was
none of his business, and that Lee had
had 20 more rights than any other cti-
zen; that if be was interfered with the
courts were open to prosecute offenders
and yet, for aught | know, he may now
be surrounded by these outlaws, or
perhaps XII lied.
The disheartening feature of these
huge frauds is the evidence it shows
of the decentralization of the best citi-
zens when their interests come in con-
1lct with Republican action. The
fact is patent that not on y did citizens
protesting to be respectable vote more
than one ticket, but sworn managers
counted them. All the Democrats
laugh over 1t, justify 1t, and state that
the Executive Committee were it's au-
thors. have seen the tissue tickets
of several counties, and they all show
that they are printed upon one press
supposed to be located here, the head
quarters of the party. Everybody
seemed SO eager to have hand in this
pastime that IN most of the counties
the majority is ludicrously large, some
times exceeding the entire vote of the
county. The managers we're observed
during the voting often stirring up
the votes It was a device to scatter
the tissue votes that were pnt in by
the quantity. Surely it would be bet.
ter to have the votes weighed instead
Of counted. Yours truly,
E. L. BRAYTON
LOUISIANA.
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 13.-Col.