New-York tribune., 1878-11-11
FRAUDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

FRAUDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA
yrf11ANoCs TRANSACTIONS IN CHARLESTON BY
WHICH BIGGER MAJORITY WAS GIVEN AGAINST
MACKEY THAN THERE ARE DEMOCRATS IN THE
CITY.
IBI TELEGRAPH TO TIE TRIBUSE.l
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10-EveTy mail brings adj
ditional reports of open and systematic frauds and
acts of violence committed by tho Democrats OF
South Carolina at the election of last Tuesday The
following letter from ex-C Congressman Mackey, the
Republican candidate for election in the Charleston
District, will be found interesting:
"CHARLEsToN, s. c., Nov. Z, 1878.
"MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 9th inst. received.
As you anticipated, the Democrats have counted
me out. That 1 received majority of at least
5000 there is no doubt yet OConnor is given by
the election officers a majority of 1000 and per-
haps it will be MORE How it has been done shall
tell you, and hope you will publish the facts in
every paper you can.
"Iu the first place, in the appointment of managers
of elections the Democratic Commissioners of
Elections in the several counties this district
absolutely refused to appoint single Republican
manager throughout the district, so that we were
compelled to vote without single election officer to
represent us in the entire district 1t is true had
a United States Supervisor appointed at each poll;
and though the Democratic managers at most Ofthe
pOlls admitted them into the polling places, vet
they threw every obstacle they cOud in their way,
and IN no instance would they allow them to exc
rcise any authority save to stand by and wit
ness the voting. In some instances the authority
of the supervisors was entirely ignored. In
one case the managers ordered the supervisor
ont of the polling place. and upon bis refusing to go
they ordered the State cOnstables TO eject him,
which they did. This was at the Mt. Pleasant poll
in this county. At the Palmetto engine house in
Ward Three Of this city the supervisor was severely
beaten by the Demcratic voters and driven away
from the polls The authority of the United
States Marshals was treated with utter contempt,
and to save themselves from arrest by the city aud
State authorities they were compelled to refrain
from exercising any authority.
In thisc city the Democratic managers of elections
arbitrarily refused to at least 900 colored voters
the right to vote. Unless colored man was known
TO one of the managers Of election he was refused
the right to vote unless he could bring witnesses TO
prove where he resided. Many were turned off
under the pretext that they were not twenty-one
years Of age, or rather that the managers were
doubtful it.
At the last session Of the Legislature, the two
voting precincts III st. Andrews Parish abol-
shed and the 900 cOOred voters of that section of
the county left without polling place. The parish
is only separated from the city by the Ashley River
and used to be connected with Charleston by
bridge w hch you will probably recolect was burned
at the evacuation of the city by the rebels. The
people crossed over to the City of Charleston for
the purpose of voting, but the Democratic man
ayers would not receive their votes, though
the City of Charleston was the only place where
they could vote. The Legislature also abolished
all the voting places on the State road between
Charleston and Summerville, and yet when the peO-
pie came to Charleston to vote the Democratic
managers denied them the privilege, telling them
TO GO and vote where they lived although they
knew full well that there was no polling place
where they resided.
Notwithstanding all these outrages, the Republi-
cans carried this county by at least 1000 ma
iority, but to their utter SURPRISE when
the ballot-boxcs were opened at the various
polls, the boxes were found to contain in
most cases several hundred more ballots
than there were names on the poll list Out of the
80 polls in this county at 90 of them the ballots
were largely in excess of the names on the poll
list. Every ballot-box was stuffed with tickets OF
the kind inclose. [The ticket is of tissue paper
with the names printed upon 1T. For Governor,
Wade Hampton etc These tickets were not cir
culated during the election but had been printed by
the Democratic Executive Committee and dis
tributed amongst the managers only. The regular
Democratic ticket, well as the Republican
ticket was five times as large. In most i'll
stances, especially where very few Democratic
votes were cast, the managers. after counting
them 10 the baOt-bOx, but were careful TO leave
them unfOlded, and proceeded to draw out the num-
berof ballots in excess ihey were careful how
every instance the large Republican ballots were
drawn ont aud destroyed.
AT the Mt. Pleasant poll 4S2 Republican bal
lots were thus drawn out and destroyed, and this
poI where the Republicans had voted five to one
against the Democrats, was made to give Demo
cratic majority OF 32O.
"The most outrageous cases of ballOt-bOx stuf1ing
occurred at the two polls in Ward Three Of this city,
At the poll known as the Palmetto Engine House,
one of the managers, W. L. Daggett, the foreman of
The Ne,rs and Courier job printing office. stued2,500
of these little tickets in the box after the poll
closed The managers, finding that there were
5fg ballots in the box, declined to thTOE out any,
but counted them all and returned the vote OF that
poll as 401 for Mackey and 3, lOS for OCOnnOr. At
The other poll in this ward the same act was per
formed and the managers returned 12l for Mackey
and 1856 for OCOnH0r, 30 that one ward
out of the eight in the city was made TO give ma
jority of 1892 votes for OCOnnOr. Ihe utter m
possibility of voting 3,569 persons at one poll IN
the space of twelve hours need hardly be argued;
AS the managers swore each voter separately, ara
questioning some voters it is safe TO say that the
average time consumed in voting each man was one
minute which would allow 100 votes to be polled,
provided there was continuous stream of voters
during the twelve hours the polls were opened let
at this poll the managers make return under oath
that 3f69 persons voted in the space of twelve
hours By this method Charleston City is made TO
give OConnor a majority of 6.527. or q majority
larger than the entire Democratic vote OF the city,
''Thron ghout this county and the entire district
tho boxes were stuffed in the same ay not only IN
Charleston, but in Clarendon. Not satshed wltn
stufine the ballot-boxes the Democrats, finding il
impossible TO stuff the ballot-bOx at the Washing
ton Engine House, in Ward Six, because OF the
vigilance of the United States supervisor put out
the lights and stole the box and destroyed 1t be-
eauso1 had q majorty Of about 900 there. On
Edisto Island, where 1000 Republican voters re-
sde and where the Democrats have only about
90 or 90 votes. the DemOcratic COmmlssioners