The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1879-07-31

on the bill to make appropriations for
the Army, speaking of the election at
Kingstree, in South Carolina, uses this
language:
"I tell you that right then and there
the United States was made to eat the
leek and to taste garlic, and from that
time On and to the wee small hours of
the morning onion skin ballots went in
unchallenged, but not uncounted"
Now, Mr.. Chairman, that was a
wholly unwarranted and unsupported
assertion, which has it's foundation
for truth only in the 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 of
election referred to, or In that of any
of the rabid partisan Republican ne
groes who were examined in reference
to the election at Kingstree or in the
entire county of williamsburg, which
justifes the statement Of the honorable
member. None Of them assert that a
single onion-skin" or tissue ballot
was cast or counted at Kingstree or
in the entire county of Williamsburgh,
and the fact is that not one was cast
or counted there or in that entire coun-
i ty. This only shows out of what
whole cloth such statements are made
and paraded before the public for po-
litical purposes by our Republican
friends on the other side OF this House
| Now, Mr.. Speaker, while that state
ment is q grave one, and, if true, ought
| to subject myself and other gentlemen
on this side the Chamber to severe CEN
sure, because if we make statements
and END them out to the country ut
terly destitute of truth, we are certain
ly demonstrating one thing, and that is
our utter unworthiness to occupy seats
Oh this floor. But it is always better
to meet such charges as these with
facts rather than with any ebullition.
of passion. Let us see the facts if we
can. The charge is that there els not
one word in the testimony" not even
of the solid Republican negroes, to JUS
ity the above statement. I did not
hear the speech of the honorable gen
tleman at the time of it's delivery, and
did not know for days afterwards that
this passage was IN it. In fact I be-
t1ieve the whole speech was not deliy
cred in the House, and / 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" / do notknow wheth
er they were used in Williamsburg
| County or not. In fact I do not know
just what the onion crop Of South Car
DINA wass 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-defned meaning synonymous
with the "stuffing of ballot boxes. In
the sense I used it, there was not only
evidence to base it upon, but to dem
onstrate it's absolute truth. d
Rev. John III. Pendergast was a wit
ness before the Teller committee, and
as to the matter at Kingstree, and tes-
titles as follows, page 417)
| Late in the afternoon they kept say
ing what they were going to do, and
what would become of us, and that we
would "catch it " before shutdown. /
told them would discharge my duty
to the best OF my ability, and about
six o'clock, as near as I can remember.
in the evening, as the train came up,
then we heard great hollering and
shouting ut the depot, and I came
down the court house steps and went
| down on the street, and saw a great
crowd coming from the depot, and
there was crowd standing on the
bridge.
| Question. Were they white men?
Answer. Yes sir; and / saw DR..
Byrd Some colored men were playing
music on the bridge, and when these
men came up, they said, snow stop;
not another damned word of it here:
you have been ruling Kingstree long
[enough, and we rule it now" Some
OF the men stopped and GOT scared