Daily Kennebec journal., 1880-12-18
Democratic Frauds In South
Carolina.

DOHuOCE0tlC EH0uuo - oVnsn
Carolina.
The South Carolina democrats in the
late election reduced the practice of cheat
ing at the polls to science. The man.
ner Of performance with the statement Of
the result is shown by an address just is
sued to the people of the United States by
the chairman OF the republican State COM
mittee. Some of the methods pursued we
may briefly notice.
In the first place the democrats had full
control of all the election machinery Of
the State. They used this in such way
as to refuse the republicans representa-
ton at the polls. At all the voting places
excepting only in the county Of Beaufort,
all the officers having unquestioned super
vision of the ballot-boxes were either
avowed democrats or democrats who
called themselves republicans. The Unit
ed States Supervisors who attempted to
serve were either driven away from the
polls or so obstructed in the performance
of their duties that they could accomplish
nothing towards having fair election,
and so reported.
Thus having secured the absolute con-
troll of all the voting places. the demo-
cratic agents employed to stuff the ballot
boxes had full opportunity to do that job.
This was so faithfully done that at the close
Of the election it was found that the num-
Der of ballots in the boxes al the polling
places generally throughout the State
were largely in excess Of the number OF
names on the poll list. The use OF
tissue ballots was the favorite method of
stuffing the boxes, but other modes
were also employed. 1t has been posi-
lively ascertained that the excess of bal
lots over votes in such boxes as could be
watched was 1888. while the number Of
republican ballots Withdrawn from the
same boxes and not counted was 1,O73.
The law of the State requires that where
there is an excess of ballots in the boxes
that is, more votes in the box than
names on the check list-the ballots shall
be returned to the box and enough of them
drawn out TO correspond to the excess.
This task was so neatly done that the re-
pub,icans lost and the democrats gained
in all cases. The secret was that
the men who withdrew the ballots
could either see or by pre-arranged de-
vices could distinguish republican from
democratic tickets. At twenty-one polls
containing an aggregate excess of 593
ballots, not single democratic ticket was
drawn, although from one box rs many as
l35 tickets were taken and from another
73. So it ran generally throughout the
State. In this manner it is known that
10000 votes cast for Garfield and Arthur
were transformed into 10000 votes for
Hancock and English.
Another method of swelling the demo-
cratic vote was. placing fictitious names
on the poll lists and allowing bogus dem
ocratic tickets to be counted against them.
Rcp0itius WIS uStu III HituN Ditcts Will
effect. BY such frauds the vote alleged
to have been cast largely exceeds. in
many places. the entire voting popula-
ton.
In Newberry, i65 more votes are said to
have been cast than there are voters in the
county. In Aiken County the vote return
ed is s23 more than the voting population,
and this despite the tact that by violence
and intimidation at least | 900 colcred
men are known to have heen prevented
from going near the polls. Again, in
Kershaw County the vote said to have
been cast is 96s in excess of the voting
population.
The significance of these figures will be
all the more apparent when it is remember
ed that not only in Aiken, but in many OF
the other districts of the State. the demo-
cratic violence was So great that no re-
publican dared risk his life by voting.
In this connection the io''',wing table of
returns from strong republican precincts
e.