Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-07-31

conNn. Mr.. Williams in his, speech
on the bill to make appropriations for
the support of the Army, speaking of
the. election at Kiiqgssree, in South
Caralina. uses this language:
Il tell you that right. then and
there the United States was made to
eat the leek and to taste garlic, aud
from that time on to the wee small
hours of the morning onion-skin bal
lots went in unchalienged, but not un-
counted"
Now, Mr.. Chairman. that was a
wholly unwarranted and unsupported
assertion, which has its foundation for
truth only Ia tie imagination of the
honorable member. There is not one
word in all the evidence taken by the
Teller committee. not word in the
! testimony of the supervisor ct. election
referred to, or in that of any of the
rabid partisan republican negroes who
were e.xampsiinsd in reference to. the cleo
ton at kingstree or in the entire couu-
ty OF Williamsburg, which justifies
the statement of the honorable mem
Der. None of them assert that a sim
| gle "onion skin" or tissue ballot was
cast or counted at Kingstree or in the
entire county Of Williamsburg, and
the fact is that not one was cast or
counted in that entire county This
only shows out of what whole cloth
such statements are made and paraded
before the public for political purposes
by our republican friends on the other
side of this House.
Now, Mr.. Speaker, while that state
ment is grave one, and, if true, ought
to subject myself and other ,geatiemen
On. this SIDE the Chamber to severe
censure, because if we make state
ments and send them out to the coun-
try utterly destitute of truth, we are
certainly demonstrating. one. thing, and
that is, our utter unworthiness to occu-
py seats on this floor. But it is always
better to meet such charges as these
with facts rather thar with any ebul.i-
ton of passion: And let US see if we
eaa, The charge is that there is "not
one word in the testimony" not even
of the solid republican negroes, to
| Justify the. aboye statement. l did
not hear the speech of the honorable
gentleman at the time of its delivery,
and | did not know for days afterward
that that passage was in it, In fact I
believe the whole speech was not de-
livered in the House and l do not
know whether this portion of it was or
not.
Now, if my friend takes position be-
hind the literal term "onion-skin" or
''tissue ballots" l do no know wheth-
er they were used in Williamsburg
County or not. In fact do not know
just what the onion crop Of South
Carolina was in 1878, or whether
there. would have been enough to have
gone around; but the term "onion-
skin" or "tissue ballots has obtained
a generic and well defined mea ming sY-
nonomous with the "stufing' of bal
lot-boxeS. In the sense | used it
there was not only evidence to base it
upon, but to demonstrate its absolute
truth.
neH. JOHN H. Pendergast was a
witness before the Teller committee
and as to the election at Klngstree,
testifes as follows, (page 417:)
Late In the afternoon they kept say
ing what they were going to do, what
would become Of US, and that we
would "catch it" before shutdown |
told them | would discharge my duty
to the best of MY knowledge and abili-
ty, and about six o'clock. as near as l
can remember, in the evening, as the
train came mp, then We heard great
hoilering and shouting at the depot,
and | came down the court house steps
and went down on the street and saw
great crowd coming from the depot
ond there was crowd standing on the
bridge.
Question. We're they white men?
Answer. Yes, sir; apd | saw Dr..
Byrd. Some colered men were llay-
ing music on the bridge, and when
those men came up they said. NOW,
stop; not another damned word Of it
here; you have been ruling Kingstree
long enough, ard ss rule it now"
Some of tie men stopped and got
scared. Then they marched down and
came by the court house and hollered,
File left" apa they filed left. l was
in front of them. They marched up,
the steps, and as they got up there
Mr.. Hanna was sitting oh a box, and
they said, Get away from here, God
damn you; what business you got
hcre?" And this man who spoke to
Hanna looked to me and said, "You
one of the United States marshals,
eh?' said, Yes, Sir; 1 was" He
said. "God damn you, your time is
out here, +" and l was told to get down
pr. Byrd said, Damn you, get
down, "snd brought out his pistol, but
| still would not move. Then anoth-
er young man Knocked me aud struck
me, and as I turned round cooper
struck me and knocked me down the
steps. They had knocked Hanna
down the steps bodily, and by that
time they had jumped. up OH thu box
that Hanna had, and commenced tax
ing out the tickets. They run over
the box and took numbers of tickets,
and said, "God damn it. now men
vote; we put Graham's Cross Roads
through, and now we will put Kings.
tro, +b.ourb r 49, oo.x.: .Ek