New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-12-07
ELECTIONS IN THE SOUTH.

DESTROYED.
iFEoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF TINE fRIBuNE'I
CHARtrsToS. s. c., Nov. 24.-The Charleston
election frauds exceeded both in magnitude ana au-
dacty those committed in any other portion OF the
State. TO find the strongest evidence OF TINS Is
not necessary to go beyond the returns themselves,
for # reoures no argument to prove that city Of
barely 10000 Inhabitants cannot honestly cast
vote of ,OOO or that 1860 ballots cannot be put
into a SINGLE box in 100 minutes when every voter
hos TO be separately sworn unless more than one OF
them goes in al a time. The XLlNth Congress
passed upon the first Of these propositions aIilIa-
lively, and established precedent whichlt VIII DC
difficult TO disregard when it adopted the report oI
its Committee on Elections declaring that ll,oOo
was too large a vote for Charleston City 10 case
honestly and ordered q new election IN tins district
The frauds admItted-and have found nobody
who thinks of denying them-it only remains To
show how they were perpetraied and what 'her
effect was upon the general result.
And first, in regard 10 the infamous law passed
last Winterb by the Legislature at the dctation OF
the Democratic County Committee OF Charleston
aboshing election precincts in sections where the
colored population is the largest. The leading tea-
lures Of this act are now pretty well understood by
the readers of Northern newspapers and need
only remark that nothing which have read about
II has been exaggerated The law is worse than IL
has been represented In this county it reduced me
Republican vote by from 1000 TO 2,5OO-actuaIN
aisfranchised that number OF citizens. But Dad as
the law itself is, the administration OF IL Dy the
Democratic election officers was even more out
rareous. They went far beyond the law for after
It had been made almost impossible for thousands
ofvoters to get to the polls at all, these managers
Illegally refused to receive the votes OF those VINO
by great effort did reach the polhng-paces. Ineed
IF d
lsh in this county-St. Andrew's-tO show how men
were disfranchised in defiance OF law.
The parisb comprises a strip of land completely
separated by the Ashley and Stone Rivers from the
rest of the county and the law in question: having
abolished the old pollngplaces in it, designated no
new ones thus leaving about 700 colored citizens
absolutely without place to vote. The parish Is
opposite the City of Charleston and before the war
was connected with it by massive bridge across
the Ashley River, which was burned in 1860 by the
C0nfederates. Access to the city is now had by
means Of q ferry, and on this side OF the rlVer'
sbout quarter of a mile from the ferry, there was
apolling-place the nearest of all in the county 10
St. Andrews Parish. There is no ferry across the
Stono River and the first polling-pace to the east
is,n ReaufOrt County. The law of this State al
lows the citizen to vote at any poll In the county IN
which he resides upon taking an oath that he IS
citizen has registered and has not voted elsewhere
A majority of the cOlOred voters from st. Andrews
therefore walked long distances to the ferry,
crossed over, paying their fare, which was no small
amount for poor negroes, and went directly TO the
poll in spring-st nearest TO the ferry. Upon aTrlY-
ing there they took their places IN the line, but
when they reached the balot-box they were told by
the managers to 60 home and vote there.
But there is no poling-place there; 1t has been
abolished" the cOlOred men replied.
~ 60 nol who known
said the managers; " we don't know you here and
cannot receive your votes"
"ButD protested the cOlOred men, eve are not
known anywhere in the city, and the law does not
require that the managers of election shall know
the voters We are ready to take the oath that we
are citizens and have not voted to-day"
"Then 90 and make the oath before some tral
Justice and bring it to in writing" would be the
reply, although the law makes it the duty of the
managers themselves to administer the oath.
All their cntreates being in valn the colored men
would leave the line, some going to the office OF
trial Justice only to find it closed, and the remain
der to the next nearest poll As soon their turn
came and they again offered to vote, some Demo-
crat would step up and challenge them.
"On what grounds do you challenge this mani"
the managers would ask
"On the ground that he has voted before, to-
day"
"How do you know it p
81 saw him in the line at another poll" naming
1t.
"Oh the managers would say to the negro, after
taking the oath of the challenger, then you have
voted once before to-day you can't vote here"
"But we have not voted" the poor colored men
would protest.; we admit we were In the line, but
the managers would not allow us to vote"
"Well." would be the reply, IF they refused to
let you vote, they had some good reason for il"
and thus citizens were turned away, with the threat
that if they did not 60 IN hurry, they would be
sent to the statiOn-house. And so these poor men
wandered over the city from poll to poll, and
refused at almost every place. In few cases, when
manager was acquainted with one of them. his
vote would be received, and about 100 were al
lowed to vote at one downtown poll, through the
efforts of one of the candidates on the Republican
ticket. But there, later in the day these col
Ored men from the country were turned away by
the managers because, as the latter said :" they
were MISUNDERSTANDING characters" i went over
the ground Yesterday to learn the location of the
several vOtirg-places in the city, their surround
ines and positions relative to those sections Of the
country that were deprived of voting facilities and
many Of the facts have given above were obtained
during that tour
The chairman of the Democratic County Commit
tee of Charleston, Mr.. G. Lamb Bust when in CO.
lumbia last Winter. gave rs reason for desiring
the passage of the bill abOlishng election precincts
in those parts of this county where the Republican
vote was heaviest and putting Others in most mac
cessible places that it would enable the Democrats
to carry Charleston. But the cOlored people showed
more zeal in the contest this Fall than antic-
pated They were not intimidated in the least, and
every effort of the Democrats to convert them, by
argument or otherwise signally failed, as the DEM
ocrats themselves admit. On the other hand, there
has not been so great apathy among the Democrats