Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-01-17

and justice, TO receive the votes OF these peO
pie, except in very few instances. Had they
been permitted to vote, II is natural to infer,
since they were brought to the city by the Re-
publcans, that their votes would have swollen
the Republican vote; but IL was the Demo
cratic vote that was swollen from 8, Ia in 1876
to 10000 in 1873, while the Republican vote
was less than II was two years ago, owing TO
the fact that the managers OF election through
out the city arbitrarily rejected hundreds OF
Republican votes upon one pretext and anoth"
er. The increase OF 4423 In the Democratic
vote of the city this year over that OF 1876,
taken in connection with the increase of 3, l52
in the aggregate vote, shows how and by
whom the vote was swollen.
Mr.. O'Couner, apparently conscious of the
fact that the majority he obtained over me In
the City of Charleston was clearly the result
of fraud. says that even throwing out that
majority he was elected, because my majority
in the country precincts Of Charleston County
was only "a fraction over 2,OOOn; less than
was anticipated, he intimates. While fail
to see how this suggestion will tend to refute
the charges of fraud that have been made In
regard to the election in this district, still
suppose it might avail to prove that the
frauds committed were not sufficient to change
the result OF the election If the frauds were
confined to the City of Charleston. But the
frauds committed in the Second Congress
sonal District were not confined to the City
of Charleston. They extended throughout
the entire district, were perpetrated In every
ticed at four-ifths Of the polls within the dis
trict. They we're so great as to transform a
large Republican majority actually cast at the
polls into a large Democratic majority re-
turned on paper. How my majority in the
country precincts Of Charleston came to be
only /" a fraction over 2,000,n shall now ex-
plain, first calling attention to the fact, how
ever, that it was even less than Mr. OConner
has kindly allowed me out of the abundance OF
his own majorities. Instead of giving me " a
fraction over 1000 majority" the returns of
the managers from these country precincts
give me only l,372 majority. | do not men
tion this fact to show that Mr.. OConnor
could not have examined the returns, the cor
rectness of which he has undertaken to de-
fend; but simply to prove that the frauds
committed in reducing my majority in the
country precincts were even greater than Mr..
OConnor was aware.
One thing can be said in favor of the frauds
at the country precincts They were uniform.
The same system was adopted and practiced
at each poll where the frauds we're committed,
showing that the instructions how to consum-
mate these frauds came from. one fountain
head. The plan was as follows: From 100 to
500 small tissue ballots were surreptitiously
placed in the ballot-boX, in consequence of
which the number of ballots in the box eX-
ceeded the number Of names on the poll-list.
At the close of the poll, when the box was
opened, all the ballots were taken out and un-
folded, so as To enable the managers to per-
ceve which were Republican and which were
Democratic tickets They were then all count
ed, and, as soon as it was ascertained what
was the excess of ballots in the box over
names on the pol-list, the ballots, all still un-
folded, were returned to the box, and one of
the managers or clerk drew out and destroyed
a number of ballots equal to the amount Of
the excess. The managers and clerk, being
all Democrats at each poll, managed, of course,
to draw out Republican tickets mostly. AS
the tissue ballots were very easily distinguished
by the touch, very few of them were drawn
out the person who did the drawings invaria-
bly, feeling for the large Republican tickets
Every Republican ticket drawn out was not
only Republican vote lost, but, as tissue
ticket was allowed to remain and be counted
in its place, it added one to the Democratic
vote, so that at every poll where 100 Republic
an tickets were drawn out the Republican vote
was reduced to that extent, and the Democrat
ic vote increased to the same extent, aud a
change of 200 votes thus made in the result.
This was the plan adopted, not only at the
couRtry precincts in Charleston County, but
at every precinct in Orangeburg County.
If, upon opening ballot-box and counting
the votes therein, it is ascertained that the
ballots in the box are largely in excess of the
number of persons recorded as having voted,
is not the fact sufficient proof that that ballot
box had been stuffed with fraudulent ballots
And vet those who claim that no fraud was
committed in this district know full well that
at the following polls in Charleston County,
outside of the limits of the city, in pursuance
of the plan have just described, the ballots
in the box exceeded the names on the poll
lists of the managers to the extent stated
below:
At Mount Pleasant the number of names on
the poll-list was $40; the number OF ballots in
the box |, 1853, or an excess of 543.
At the Twenty-Five Mile House the number
| of names on the poll-list was $40, the number
| of ballots in the box $50, or an excess of BAL.
At Hendersons Store the number of names
on the pol-list was 1874; the number OF ballots
| in the box 269, or an excess of 70.
| At the Twenty-Five Mile House the number
| of names on the poll-list was 604; the number
of ballots in the box S34, or an excess Of 230.
At Cooper's Store the number of names on
the poll list was 2S7; the number of ballots in
| the box 422, or an excess of l35.
At Hickory Bend the number Of names on
the poll-list was 800; the number of ballots In
| the box 39l, or an excess Of 62.
At Strawberry Ferry the number of names
| on the poll-list was GIL; the number of ballots
| in the box 136, or an excess OF lbs.
At stephens the number OF names on the
poll-list was 5l2; the number or ballots in the
| box 6l2, or an excess of 100. =
Not one OF the Democratic managers at any
of the polls above named will deny that the
| ballots in the box exceeded the names on the
poll-list to the extent above stated. In conse-
! quence of the excess thus created by stuftng
| the ballot-bOxes at the above mentioned polls,
number of ballots corresponding with the
| excess at each poll were drawn out and de-
stroyed.
As Il tissue ticket took the place of each Re
| publican ballot drawn out, how many votes
| the Democrats gained and how many the Re
| publicans lost by this operation will be seen
| by. the number OF Republican tickets drawn
| out and destroyed at each one of the above
named polls The number of Republican tick
| cts drawn out at each one of those polls Is as
| follows: Mount Pleasant, 372; Thirty-two
| Mile House, 1886; HendersOn's store, 70; Twen-
| ty-two Mile House, III; Cooper's store, s.; ;
| o. n.
| phens about So Making a total Of !, 1,269, to
| which extent the Republican vote at these
! polls was reduced, while the Democratic vote
! was increased to the same extent, and these
eight polls, which really gave Republican
majority of 1852, were, by this process of stuff
| hng the box with tissue tickets and then draw
! ing out Republican tickets, returned as having
cast 555 Democratic majority. By such frauds
as these was a Republican majority of 4, 500 in
! the country precincts of Charleston County
reduced to 1872, and by the same system of
| frauds a Republican majority in Orangeburg
County transformed into Democratic major
Hy.
AS an argument in favor of the fairness of
| the election Mr.. O'ConnOr refers to the fact
that the entire vote Of Charleston County for
Congressman this year was less than that Of
| 1876 by over 500 VOtes-the exact number is
500. Ii is true that in this county the vote
| returned is 500 less than IL was in 1876; but,
il TO the votes returned be added S65 votes ac-
tually cast at the Washington engine-house
poll and not counted because Of the destruc-
tion of the ballot-boX, we find that the vote
of 1878 exceeds that of 1876 by 1853, notwith-
standing the fact that the polling-places in
many localities had been abolished, and the
| voters left without a place TO cast their bal
lots and that the total number Of polls had
been reduced from ffty-hve to thirty-two, or
nearly one-half. Moreover, on Edisto Island,
which usually cast not less than $50 votes, the
poll was not opened, although the voters re-
mained around the polling-place nearly all
day awaiting the arrival OF the managers.
Had this poll been opened, as 1t ought to have
| been, the vote this year would have exceeded
that Of 1875 by over 1900. II with twenty
three polling-places abolished, and one not
opened, and the votes at another not counted,
the County of Charleston could poll this year
within 900 votes Of the number cast two years
ago, what stronger evidence is needed that
fraud must have been committed to bring