Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1880-08-26

In 1875, after Alabama, by fraud an,
the white line race issue, was seized b,
the Democratic party, my sense o
honor and justice revolted, and openly
espoused the cause Of the Republican
party. For this crime (?) am to-day /:
stranger and an alien amongst tn,
friends OF my youth and my compan
ions in arms. 49,,
I have the, honor to be q member oI
thaState Republican Executive Commit
tee, Chairman of the Republican Exec
| ntive Committee of the Sixth .Congres.
Honaf District, and Chairman of ouI
| County Republican Committee. had
the honor to represent my County in
the late State Republican Convention,
and my District as delegate to the late
National Republican Convention at Chi
-cagos IS - IS - ~
On the 10th day OF July, went to
the town of Pleasant Ridge, in this
county, to make Republican speech.
Soon afker Il began, a crowd of white
Democrats, several with open knives
aud large sticksin their hands, came up
and Immediately began to Interrupt me,
so that c0nld scarcely utter two words
without Interruption. | demonstrated,
assuring them that they were injuring
their own cause. by such course, and
distinctly announcing to them that |
did not'desire to array one race against
the Other, but simply to break down the
white line race issue raised by the Dem-
Ocratic party. And yet, while reading
a letter published on the l4th of .Au-
gust, 1879, in the Eutaw Whig Demo-
cratic paper), was stopped, forbidden
by them to read said letter, and cursed
and abused repeatedly in the yilest
terms. And one of their number de-
clares that they were all democrats, and
that should not abuse the Democratic
party. The accuracy of this statement
is admittad by the Eutaw Mirror, an
other Democratic paper, published here,
on July 90, 1880. But this is not all.
They cursed my little seven-year-old
boy, who stood dumb with fright before
them. Moreover, / was obliged to de-
sist -ins my effort to speak, and was
assured by Mr.. VIM. Horton, an aged
gentleman. that | was in great personal
danger; and but for his protection, am
fully satisfied that should have sus-
tanned serious, If not fatal injury. The
aforesaid newspaper, the Mirror, in
commenting on the affair, says: "That
which seems to have given most Offense
was statement which Mr.. Bird Is said
to have made to the effect that che Dem
ocrats lay in the shade all the year, and
then cheated the negroes out of all they
made" Thereup0n the editor indites a
long leader, calculated to inffame the
passions Of men. But the charge against
me is miserable untruth. | simply
read from the Ertaw Whig the follow
ing sentence: "The effort seems to have
been, with every recent Legislature, to
SO perfect the laws touching agriculture
that the mOneyed man could shut his
eyes and sleep the year out, aud then
gobble up all the labOrers made" This
explanation was male to said editor,
who engaged to do me justice in his
columns, but has so Ear failed to do so.
On the 2i inst we had here what Re-
prblicxns fOolishly Expected would be
an election, but which proved TO be y
hollow c0lnt. This county, In which
the Republicans are better organized
than they have been for years, and
which gave Hayes and Wheeler l,63l
was turned over to the Democrats. At
one box, where we had three respeeta-
BILE gentlemen 1.-TWO of whom were
DemOcrats) to inspect the tickets and
see them delivered into the hands of the
managers, our 6lS Republican ballots
on the final count turned out to be only
343, the balance going to swell the
Democratic vote; SO that this box that
gave Hayes and Wheeler $50 majority,
is now counted Democratic by Is ma
jority. At another box, where five
competent witnesses Inspected every
ticket carefully, and where every voter
marched slngly to the box, with his
ticket i'm full view, and placed 1t into
the hands of the managers our $50 votes
panned ont only 79. OF these tickets
100 were rejected, as we are informed,
because they aoere not folded, when the
truth Is that I folded every one with
my own hands except 135. These are
samples of this miserable travesty upon
fair elections. This is the terrible mode
in which the South has been made solid.
Sir, we are to-day existing under
Russian autOcracy. Here, in our ma.
tive land, the man who is devoted to
the Wing principles of his fathers dares
not give utterance to his views for fear
Of studied persecution and ridiculous
prescription. No good Samaritan goes
to him to "bind up his wounds, pouring
in oil and wine" He is pilloried In the
public press. He who dares rebel
against this cruel oligarchy writes, In
burning characters over his welcome
door, that terrible Inscription, from
Dante, "WhO enters here leaves hope
behind" His lintels and door-posts are
spattered with the blood of his sacri-
feed reputation, and friendly feet turn
away from the fared place in instinc-
tive dread of the socially destructive
fires that flame up on his hospitable
threshold, The forked tongue of SLAM
der pursues him and his innocent
family, and be the hapless man never
so virtuOus, drunken libertines, igno-
rant parvenus and social outcasts, by
besliming him, seek and gain galvan-
lied respectability, and sure passport
to Democratic society. These wretched
Pariahs, whom our fathers would have
disdained to set to watch their fiocks,
have become the tntelary saints OF
Southern chivalry, and the especial ex-
ponents Of Southern honor. TO the
care of such abandoned creatures are
our priceless regulations committed-vile
counterfeits of noble race, who aside
from their instructive baseness, have
neither the intelligence to comprehend
high political principles nor the vir-
ttiOus courage to maintain them.
Oh, free North! Scan such things
be, and overcome us like summers
cloud, without our special wonder ?o