Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-11-21
corresnondent saws !:

Democrats of South Carolina, under
Hampton, week ago to-day They
did it by changing their campaign
cry from Hampton and Reform TO
Hampton and Bat box ssuffiog.'
Because the Republican, State con.
venvenlion refused TO indorse bin
Hampton determined TO use his office
to wipe the Republican party Of
South Carolina ont of existence.
Notwithstanding the i,w requires
that in the appointment of three
commissioners Of elections for each
county. one shall be q Republican,
Hampton appointed Republican
commissioner in only four counties
of the State in the remaining %
counties lie appointed full Demo-
| cratic board, in direct violation of
law. These commissioners, in whom
Is vested the appointment of mana>
| ger OF elections at each poll in their
respective counties From one end
! OF South Carolina 10 tie othor. the
Republicans did not hare single
manager of election. 1t IS true, the
acts OF congress authorize the ap
polntment of Supervisors at each
poll, and il IL equally true that in ac-
| cordaEco with those acts Supervisors
were appointed al eeeh poll, but ev-
cry where throughout the State the
Supervisors were utterly disregard.
ed and defied, and nowhere were
they allowed to exercise the powers
conferred upon them In the city
OF Charleston, at Que poll, the Super
visor was violently assaulted and
beaten for ordering the arrest of
Democrat who bad voted ice, and
at Mount Pleasant, 10 the county of
Charleston, the State cons.ables, by
ORD pr OF the managers forcibiy ejcc-
ted the Supervisor from the polling
place. In fact, the utter contempt
with which all persons holding com.
missions from the United States
were treated affords ample prooftha
the authority of The United States is
respected less in South Carolina now
than it was in 1860. In the city of
Charleston, at every poll, officers of
the Democratic clubs were freely
admitted to the room where the can.
wasting was going Oh, while special
United States Deputy Marshals were
prohibited from entering, and were
even threatened with arrest by
Democratic policemen If they at
tempted to enter the room TO wit.
ness the count.
With this utter defiance Of the Gen
eral Government, with the whole
State Government in their possession,
and with the absolute control of the
election machinery, the Democrats of
South Carolina found it utterly i'm
possible to crush out Republicans
without resorting to ballot box stuff.
ing of the most outrageous character.
In every county in the State where
there was Republican opposition.
very small tickets were printed on the
finest tissue paper, in diamond type.
These "kiss jokes" as they are called,
were secretly sent to every poll. The
regular Democratic tickets were large
and printed in large type. Except at
few places the "kiss iokes'' were
carefully kept from the view of Re-
publicans. At many polls, nearly
every Democrat in voting concealed
from 10 to 20 of these small tissue
tickets inside the fold of the regular
ticket,an from time to time The man
ayers would violently shake the bal.
lot.box SO as to separate the small
tickets from the larger ones. At
many polls, the Democratic managers
opened she polls long before the hour
required by law, and stuffed hundreds
OF these small tickets into the box be-
fore the arrival of the Fed aral Super
visor. Whenever any Republican or
the Supervisor demanded permission
to examine the balot-boxes, thew
were informed that the polls had
been opened before their arrival I'll
any one protested that it was not six
O'Clock the managers would reply
that they were guided by their own
watches. AT nearly every poll in the
State, upon opening the boxes aud |
counting the ballots, it was found |
that the number of ballots in the box |
exceeded the number of names on
the poll list by several hundred. All
the tickets were unfolded so that the
Democratic tickets could be distin.
guished from the Republican tickets
and then returned to the box. One
OF the managers then proceeded TO
draw out the surplus tickets, and as
the tissue Democratic tickets were
easily distinguished from the large
Republican tickets, none of the "kiss-
Jokes" were drawn out and DESTROYED,
and Democratic "kiss jokes" counted
in their place, and thus Republican
polls were made TO give immense
Democratic majorities How this
scheme worked can be best Judged
by examining the result in Charleston
county, where the Republicans had
$500 majority in 1876. This year
it gave nearly 6,000 Democratic ma
jority.
At the Thirty-two Mile House st.
James Santee, $40 votes were cast.
Upon opening the box it was found
to contain $50 ballots, an excess of
34l votes, and il wts furthur ascer> :
tanned by actual count that the mum.
Der of Democratic "kiss- Jokes" 10 thu
box was just .341. From the fact
that none of the "kiss- jokes" had
been seen during the day, ard that
the number of them in the box cor
responded exactly with the excess,
here can be no doubt that they e
we're stuffed into the box, yet the
managers placing all the tickets back
n the box. drew out and destroyed
536 Republican ballots and only 5
Democratic tickets. The votes as /
hey were cast at that poll for q ;,
member of Congress stood Mackey o
Rep 500 O'Connor (Dem 40 :,
Republican majority, Isl. After de. d
troying 336 Republican tickets, the d
managers counted the votes, and 3
made the following return: Mackey, 2
Rep 164 O'Connor. (Dem) 1856 Il