New-York tribune., 1879-01-02
ELECTIONS IN THE SOUTH.
THE PREPARATIONS FOR FRAUD.

AND ENGINEERED BY MEMBERS or THE DEMO-
CRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEE OF CHARLESTON
The POSTER WHICH WARNED REPUBiICANs-
HOW TIE FRAUD WAS CARRIED OUT
lFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENTS OF THE TRIBUNE
CHARLESTON, s. c., Nov. 25.-The crcumstan-
tal evidence to prove that the whole scheme of
stufng the ballot-boxes in this and other counties
of South Carolina with kiss-joke tickets was in
vented and engineered by members of the Demo-
cratic County Committee of Charleston, some of
whom are also members of the State Central Com
mittee, grows stronger the more the subject is in
vestigated. The Republican leaders of this city
learned the details of the conspiracy on the Sunday
before the election, and their information came di
rectly from the Democratic County Committee. So
positive and cIrcumstantial was 1t that on Monday
the day before the election, the Republicans caused
to be posted all this city the following notice.
which describes the frauds that were actually COM
mitted the next day as accurately as though the
writer Of it had been one of the cOnspiratOrs him.
self:
DEMOCRATIC FRAUDSi
BALLoT-BOX srUFFfNG!
The attention OF Republican voters Supervisors
and Marsna!s is called 10 the fact that thc Demo
cratic Executive Committee have had printed In small
type, on tissue paper large number of Democratic
tickets, commonly known as kss-Jokes" WIN whiSn zen
certain Democrats at each poll VIII attempt to stun the
The object ,s TO get at least 500 of these ksokes in
each balobox in order to make the ballots in the box
exceed tine names on the polst At the close OF the
polls. when the boxes are opened and the excess
apscertsned paJt one Of the managers, all OF whom
are Democrats, will he bndfolded for the purpose OF
drawing out the OF tickets OF course the Demo
cratic manager VIII in every feel for the Republican
tickets, which being larger than the Democratic Kiss
distinguished by the touch, of them viii be taken
out Supervisors and Marshals are earnestly urged TO
rake slch positions at the bapobOxes will enable
thcm to detect any person endeav0rng TO vote more
than ticket. BY keeping sharp lookout the parties
who are known can be eaeiy detected and must be
rod Notice gwen tnat All parties
cught will be vigorously prosecuted III the uhi'ed
states Court.
This information, have said, came directly from
The Democratic County Committee, and 1t was ac-
companied by other facts that will make interesting
reading for some of the members of that committee
if a searching investigation of the election frauds
IS ever made To show that this poster has not been
prepared since the election. it is only necessary to
quote the following paragraph from The Charleston
Ne,cs and Courier Of November 3, calling attention
TO it,
Mackey and Bowen caused to be posted in conspicuous
places all over the Sity, yeserday arge % n'o,r ,t 90
number OF election dOdges by the practice or when III
was alleged the Democrats exleced TO carry 'e elec
tion. How well these professional baOt-DON sluHers
remember how they did 1t when they had chinceI
But there IS other evidence, even stronger than
this, that the Democratic Executive Committee OF
Charleston were the cOnspratOrs to stuff the bal
lot-boxes. Tho tissue paper kiss-jokc" tickets
were all printed here in Charleston, those used in
other counties being exactly similar to those stuffed
into the boxes in this city. Here they were dis
trbuted to the managers of election at she several
polls, and the majority were put into the boxes
either during the day or after the polls were closed
at night. Two meetings were held, at which there
is good reason to believe arrangements were made
for perpetratng the frauds, and instructions given
to the managers who were to be the agents. The
Ill - h., ..ft lf.l An
cratic Executive Committee of Charleston on the
Saturday evening before the election. The follow
ing call for it appeared in the advertising columns
of The Charleston News and Courier Of that day.
THE PRESIDENTS OF THE WARDS, City Managers OF
Election an Cnarmen of Working Committees are re:
quesied 10 meet at 81 Broad-st., this evrning a
o'clock. j. ANcRuM sIMoSs
Secretary Executive Committee.
The managers of elections are State officers, sworE
TO do their duty honestly and lmpartially, and even
though they were all Democrats, it was hardly de-
cent for them to be meeting publicly with the pres
dents of the Democratic ward clubs and the chair
men of the Democratic subcommittee. 1t is not
probable that the tissue-paper tickets were dstrib-
uted on Saturday night, but there is good reason to
believe that the plan of carrying the election was
then explained for it became known 10 the Repub-
cans in all its details the next day, and was eX-
posed by them in the poster which l have already
copied The meeting at which it is believed that
the "kiss-jokes" actually given out was beid
at the rooms of the Democratic County Committee
ON the evening before the election. The following
was the call for it, taken from Ihe Necs and Courier
of November A.:
CoUNTY.-The Charmen OF the Managers and Working
at the Executive Committee Rooms this afternoon at
j. ANCRUM sIMoNs Secretary.
~ 1.th g tho
county and of the city wards in the conspiracy
with the managers of election who were to receive
and count the votes and keep the pol-rsts ballot
box stuiiing became very easy matter but for the
presence at every poll of one Republican Supervisor
of Election appointed under United states laws
For it is a remarkable fact that IN spite of the
promise of Governor Hampton, made in 1877
and accepted by the President and the peo-
ple of this country as having been given in
good faith that he would SEQ that in South
Carolina under Democratic rule, there should
be perfect recognition of the equality OF every
citizen before the law, with perfectly secure ex-
ercse Of the right of suffrage" the election
this month was the first held in the State for years
at which both parties were not represented on the
several boards of managers. During Republican
rule i'm this State the Democrats always had rep
resentative of their own selection among the Off
GERS of election at every poll; under HamptOn's rule
the Republicans had no representatives, those who
were nominay such having been selected by the
Democrats because they were known to be deserers,
or men who had been disappointed and had sworn
to do everything in their power 10 defeat the Re-
publicans.
But a single United States Supervisor cannot see
and know everything that is going on at poll dur
ing an election. While he is watching the ballot
box to see that it is not stuffed, the Democratic
managers may be adding fictitious names TO the
pollst and If he spends his time IN seeing that the
poll-lst is not falsfed, the managers may be put
ting kiss-jo tickets into the box 1t has there