Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-08-12
THE ALABAMA ELECTION.
The Monumental Fraud of the Pres
ent Age.

R1E Ala bA a ELECl1ON.
The Monumental Fraud of the Pres
ent Age.
New YORK, Aug. 4-The Times has
the following special account of the Al
ALBANIA election:
MONTGOMERY, Aug. 3-A most infa-
nous outrage, one which is fit illustra-
tration to the hypocrisy of the Demo-
cratic platform, has been committed
upon the good people of Alabama and
especially upon those of this county. If
the readers of the Times could be made
] thoroughly conveTsant with the facts of
the so-called election in this State yes
terday, they would be satisfied beyond
all doubt, that it will not do at present to
intrust the Democratic party with power.
In the counties of the State where the
large Republican majorities lie the
county officers elected by Republicans at
former elections have been forced out of
Office by one means or another, the most
effective having been the passage of
law by the Legislature refusing to per-
NIT persons to become SuretieS on Off
! cial bonds. who reside outside of the
limits of the county where the duties of
the Office were to be performed. Then,
| by ostracising all Democrats or Repub-
licans who dared go on Republican Of
ticial bond, the displacement was COM
plete. The Importance of having DEM
Ocratic officers in these counties will be
seen when it is understood that the ap-
pointment of election inspectors and the
general control of elections in their
| hands.
When the time came to appoint in
spectors for the last election, the per-
sons elected by the Republican commit
tees to represent the Republicans at the
several polls in these counties were de-
| liberately set aside, and ignorant colored
men, who were unable to tell Republi-
can from Democratic ballot, were ar
bitrarily selected to represent the party.
To render these poor innscent instru
ments even more helpless, the Demoerat-
ic Legislature, at its last session, proyi
ded that the ballot should be on plain
white paper, ard should not be counted
if there was any device whatever on it.
The result has been that while the Re-
publicans polled larger vote at this
election than at any election for years,
they were deliberately counted out by
men occupying responsible positions in
the world, who think it no offense to
steal vote of negro or Republican.
The election in this county, which i'll
former years registered Republican ma
jorities ranging from 5000 to 1000, is a
fair sample of the conduct of the cleo
tion elsewhere. At McGhee's Switch,
in this county, the Republicans polled
about 600 votes and the Democrats fifty.
While the votes were being counted the
candle was turned over and put out and
the room left in darkness for several
minutes. When the colOred Republican
inspector put out hand to preserve the
ballot-box, he found that it was gone.
Considerable confusion ensued, and on
the candle being relighted it was Observ-
ed that the box had been filled up with
new tickets, and that the old ballots
were all over the floor. The cOlored
man protested against the fraud, and
was driven from the room with curses,
and was not permitted again to enter
and observe the count. The votes have
been returned as giving $50 Democratic |
majority. During the count at this pre- |
cinct military company and large posse
of armed citizens, under the command
of the Sheriff, appeared at the polling |
place to protect the inspectors, although |
no trouble or threats of trouble had Oc- |
CURED at the polls. They were deter
mined to force through their nefarious
scheme at all hazards, even to have
Democratic bayOnets at the polls.
The above mentioned Republican col |
ored inspectors made an affidavit to
these facts. b. t
At Kendall's Beat, where the proper
tion of Republican and Democratic votes
was the same as at McGhee's, the in
spector deliberately changed the votes
in the presence of the ignorant,
timid old celored man, who finally de-
tected the inspector with large roll of |
bogus tickets. They then tried to bull
doze him into signing the return, but he
would not do so.
/ might relate a similar experience at
each polling place in this county, be-
cause the history of one is the history
of all. But it would not add anything
to the force of the statement. Five
thousand Republican votes in this coun-
ty were deliberately counted for the
Democratic nominees, and to render the
injury irreparable, the Legislature at its
last session provided that the tickets
should no longer be numbered. Thus
all possibility of tracing the ballot of the
voter and office, showing that it has
been changed. is taken away.
The monumental fraud of the age was
the pretended election of August 2, 1880,
a fraud the Democratic papers prepared
for weeks by parading in their columns
the lie that thousands of negroes were
joining Democratic clubs. Here they
could not muster fifty colored Demo-
Gratis out of 5000 colored voters. The
only safeguard at Federal elections will
be United States Supervisors and Mar
shals.