The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1880-08-26
THE "soLID SOUTH
ALABAMA, FOR INSTANCE.
HOW "ELECTIONS" $50 CALL
ED ARE HELD IN THAT
STATE. r-r
LET HONEST MEN READ AND
REFLECT.
cleveland Leader.I

REFLECT.
ICleveland Leader.l
WASHINGTON, August I2.-The fol
lowing are extracts from private let
tiers written by responsible men in
Alabama. They show the frauds at
/ the recent election to have been al
most universal:
CAN'T BE UNDERSTOOD BY THE NE
GROES,
MONTGOMERY, August 9.
There is tremendous excitement
here over the election. The COIored
people have quit work and come to
town to know how it is they are de-
feated. You never saw such intelligent
zeal A prominent Democrat told
me this week that an election could
never be held hereafter under our
present law as it stands without war
and bloOdshed. They counted out
Independents as quickly as Repubi-
cans.
THE BALLOT BOXES CARRIED.
HAYNEvILLE, LANDEs Co., ALA
August 8, 1880.
Well, the election is over and the
boxes all in except one, and the Dem
ocrats figure their majority at 1895.
A more barefaced swindle was never
done. There was handed into the
box yesterday for McDufie not one
vote less than 1880, Owen and his
crowd not polling but 325. Still the
boxes come in with 1895 majority
for them, at least 1000 more than
they pOlled. At GOrdonville we kept
tally outside, every man voting
our ticket giving his name and show
ing his ballot. Well, we got 442 and
the Democrats only IS, yet when the
box came in to-day they have ao6
majority.
At Whitehall there were zoI votes
cast I have the names of 276 who
voted for McDuhie, but when the
box came in the Democrats had a
majority of $50.
At Prairie Hill, where only four
white men live (and one Of them
voted with us), have the names of
I64 who voted for McDufie, and in
the total vote Of I67 they bring in
IS majority.
Only two beats in the county were
counted honestly, this place and
Bragg's store. We got 27o majority
here, and 4 at Bragg's. The Demo
Gratis have always carried Bragg's be-
fore. / never saw the COlored men
more united and turn out better.
HOW IT WAS DONE.
CAMDEN, WILCOX Co., Ala,
August 4, 1880.
We had an election in this county
on Monday, and the Democrats have
carried it by 1000 or more. What
an exceedingly active but pleasant
canvass it was The Democratic
speakers with scarcely any exception
spoke in the highest terms Of Judge
Henderson, who headed the ticket,
and of all other candidates on our
ticket, but they insisted that we must
be beaten. Col. Shelly has spent the
past two weeks in this county advis-
ing and directing, and only left here
on election day.
I will take up each beat and show
you how it was done. At Camden,
where we have a majority Of about
200, and a total vote Of 100, the Dem
ocrats commenced challenging every
voter, their own as well as ours-and
insisted that the oath should be read
in full to each voter, the result Of
which was that we only Polled 388
votes altogether, and they beat US
90.
= In Bonham, Gees, Bend, and Can
ton, where we supposed we had the
inspectors all right, at the last mo-
ment they refused to act and others
took their place, and they gave US
about One-hfth of the votes and took
the balance themselves.
In Allentown, SnOwhill, Pineapple,
Foxwells and Minis beats, where we
knew we could not have a fair cleo
ton, we advised our party not to
vote, and to keep a strict account of
every colored man who did vote. At
Snowhill seven colored men voted,
at Pineapple 10, at Allentown IS.
This became known to the Demo-
Gratis the Saturday before the cleo
ton and on the night before the
election Shelly and one of the law
yers here rode all night The result
was that in three beats they took the
registration list and voted it all Dem
ocratic, each beat having as many or
nearly as many Democratic votes as
it had voters, black and white.
At Boiling Springs beat, where
Judge Henderson attended in person,
everything went on all right until
nearly all the votes were polled, and
the inspectors shut up to 60 to din
ner. During their absence some one
who had been secreted in there was
seen to jump out Of the window and
run. He could not be Overtaken,
but dropped the votes he had stolen.
The result was we had but about one
fifth of the votes at that place.
Eighty-fve to ninety per cent. Of
the white citizens were actively and
openly encouraging and advising
fraud. Church members, old and
young, were all in it.