The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-11-15
WASHINGTON.
Collector Brayton ON the South Carolina
Frauds. - ~

l Frauds. - ID -
WAsnISGroS, November 49, Commits
sioner Raum has received the following
letter from Collector Brayton, Of South
Carolina district, giving graphic descrip-
ton OF gross frauds practiced throughout
that State at the late election:
"CoLUMBIA, November 8.
"DRAR 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 cooperation Of
sworn managers. Tissue tickets, diminu.
tive in size, were voted in all the counties
OF the State where there was Republican
opposition. These tickets were voted
in patches, sometimes rs many MS
thirty, wrapped in larger ticket.
In some boxes there were three
times rs many votes as there
were voters. For appearance sake,
a blindioldcd man was presumed to with.
draw the excess. Those taken out were
always Republican ballots, for blind
man could always distinguish between the
tissue and ordinary ballots. This county
was Republican in 1875, in spite OF all
methods resorted to, by over 500 major.
ity. never saw the colored people vote
more solidly than this year, and when the
polls were closed they felt confident ofsuc.
cess by 1900 majority. Think Of our con-
sternation at the count when the Demo.
cratic majority was reported at over 500,
at least 500 more than there are white yot-
ers in the county. Behold Charleston with
over G000 Republican majority in 1867,
changed to $500 Democratic in 1875, while
Republicans voted there almost TO Il man.
These frauds were noticed in some
way in all counties where there was op- |
position. Will the North submit to this 2
The Democrats engaged In this stufiing rs
a pastime, and the consequence is that the
majorities are so large that fraud is self
evident. It is treated us joke, and no
one attempts to deny it except the news
papers, which try to explain itby saying
tho colorcd people voted almost unani-
mously for the Democrats. OF course 1t is |
a lie. But so it was in 1916, when the vote
in this State exceeded 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 1t was be-
fore. The Northern people allowed them |
selves to be beguiled by liampton's asser-
ti0n that the colored people voted largely,
for him. How could this be when the
vote was nearly 5000 more
than it ever was before? i
sat that election the Democrats cheated
by repeating; this time by stuting. The
election was very quiet, for the Democrats
had discounted the result. Fraud had
proven more successful than murder, VIC.
fence and intimidation. This evening |
received telegram from Judge Lee, OF
Sumter, asking me to inform Gov. Hanp- |
ton that his office rs United States Com
missioner had Just been raided by q mob,
and he barely escaped with his life. The
Governor being too i'll 10 be seen, called
upon the Attorney General, and he i'm
patiently told me It was none OF his busl-
ness, and that Lee had no more rights
than any other citizen; that ii he was in |
tcriered with, the courts were. open to
prosecute the offenders, and yet for aug ht
] know he may be surrounded by these
outlaws, or perhaps killed"
"The disheartening feature OF those
huge frauds is the evidence it shows OF
the Generalization OF the best citizens
when their interests come in conflict with
Republican action. The fact is patent
that not only Hid citizens protesting to be
respectable vote more than one ticket, but
sworn managers counted them. All Dem
ocrats laugh over and justify it, and the
State Executive Committee were its au'
thors. '. Il
81 have seen the tissue tickets OF several
counties, and they all show that they are
printed upon one press, supposed to be To-
Gated here, in the headquarters OF oftheparty,
Everybody seemed SO eager to have a
hand in this pastimc that in most OF the
counties the majority is ludicrously large,
sometimes exceeding the entire vote OF the
county. The managers were observed
during the voting often stirring up the
votes, but nothing was thought OF it, 1t
was a device to scatter the tissue votes
that were put in by the quantity; Surely
it would be better to have tho votes,
weighed instead of counted.
"Yours truly, L. l.. BRAYroS."