The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-12-28
A DISCOURSE ON TIE POLITICAL
SITUATION THERE.
what Is the Matter and what is the
Remedy .-some Frank Declarations
by Prominent southerners-whAt
an Obseryant Visitor Thinks
About the Prospects.
MOBILE, ALA, December %, 1850.

l
During this time I have conversed freely
with representative Southern men on the
outlook for the South politically, socially
and physically, for the purpose Of getting at
the inwardness OF the problem which now
concerns the country more than any
other, viz: How are race ieuds and sec.
tional strifes to be buried, and the entire
country to be united In the bonds of
friendship, prosperity, love and Union?
say that this is the greatest OF all the
questions for our Government, which, by
the way, is yet only an experiment in the
New World, to solve; and I mean it, for It
Is true.
The Constitution OF the United States
guarantees to each State Republican
form Of Government; and at the same
time 1t guarantees protection, in lie, lib.
srty and property, to every citizen Of
every State. Is 1t true that every State to-
day has, in reality, Republican form Of
Government and, Is 1t true that every
citizen is protected in all his rights as such,
especially the right to q free ballot and
fair count? II these things are not true,
and am prepared to show that they are
not, then what Is to be done by the Gov.
eminent? In short, what is the duty Of
the hour, and what are we to expect in
relation thereto from the incoming
National administration
There are about Ave States south OF the
Ohio river which have msjority OF ne.
gro voters and assert 1t as fact derived
from personal knowledge, that ninety.
nine-hundreths OF the negro population
in the South, II let alone and not unduly
influenced, are Republican, and at every
National election will vote the Republi.
can ticket. And yet in the face OF this
fact not one single State in the South Is in
the control OF the Republican party; and,
what is stranger than all, the results OF
the recent elections In these States show
an actual fall off in the total OF the votes
polled OF nearly 100000. No one down
here pretends to claim that these hun.
dreds OF thousands OF voters have left the
South. They are still here, but they did
not vote. Why? / answer, and answer
knowingly, they were afraid TO vote the
Republican ticket, and they would not
vote for Hancock and the Democracy. Is
this the kind oi protection which the Con-
stitution OF our fathers guarantees to each
citizen OF the Republic2 Lfnot, then how
long Is this state Of affairs to continue, and
how long Is the organic law. Of the land
10 remain imperative? l have recently
put this question squarely to prominent
Democrats, down here, and they all have
the same stereotyped answer, and it Is
this: 1--WE, the white people Of the South
the intelligence aud the owners OF the
property OF the South, mean to run the
machine. We will hold the offices, and Il
we can't do It one way, we can another"
But some one will say these people do not
talk in any such manner. Isay they do,
and il any one does not believe II let him
come down here and see for himself
Senator Hamburg Butler, Of South Car
olina, in recently published interview,
spoke for the entire South when he said:
at is no longer question Of politics with
us. We have simply one proposition
staring US in the face, and II Is well the
people OF the North should understand It.
We are resolved that the illiterate lower
classes OF our State shall not rule. We
have had all the experiments in that di.
rection that we propose to have, and we
intend to use every means, fair or other
wise, 10 prevent such rule" Here it Ia in
plain English. "We," the Bourbons OF
the South have decided that the illiterate
people down here shall not rule, and
i've" the Bourbons, are 10 be the judges
OF this "illiteracy," and so far as heard
from no man has ever been regarded as
iiterae unless he votes the Democratic
ticket.
Ihave in my mind two parishes in Lou.
isiana which l recently went through and
carefully inquired about the methods and
magnitude OF Democratic bulldozing
Either OF them has not less than 1000 Re-
publican majority, and yet every local of
fee Is filled by Democrat. asked how
this thing is done. The answer Is, sin
various ways" With such overwhelming
msjoriies 1t seems impossible that they
could be overcome. One OF the most com.
mon ways is for a gang Of bulldozers to
visit each polling place where the Repub.
lican majorities are large, and at night as
the vote Is counting, at the muEzle OF .
shotgun, demand that the box and its
contents be handed over, or course they
are handed over. / have had numerous
instances OF this kind narrated to me BY
bulldozed election officers, some Of whom
were Democrats. Another way, and now
the most common in the "black belts" OF
Louisiana and Mississippi, Is when Re-
publican is elected TO an Office which re.
quires bond, and most local Offices do,
for the Democrats to refuse to go on his
bond; and II, per chance, he makes up q
good bond, then the court, which, under
the law, approves, simply refuses in an
arbitrary manner to approve that bond,
and thus declares the Office vacant, and
tho Governor, who is Democrat, ap-
points Q Democrat to fill the vacancy.
Another way Is for armed men to
call upon an oficeholder and present their
pistols and resignation at the same time,
and ask q man to take his choice. OF
course he resigns on the spot, and then
he is sworn to keep his mouth shut under
the peril OF his life. Bot some tRstidious
reader may say this Is not true. say II
is, and have In my possession attidavita Of
at least twenty men who swore that Ave
oficeholders, all Republicans, in Louisi.
ana parish, were forced TO resign in broad
day light in the manner stated. Another
very common way TO get rid OF q Radical
officeholder, is 10 send him anonymous
notes, one after another, advising him to
resign, or some night his life would be
taken, and he would never know what
hurt him. These are some Of the ways
that Democrats manage TO get control ol
the Offices in counties which on the count
show actual Republican maiorities OF 9 0OO
and upwards.
The National Democratic Platform OF
| 1880 declared that the Democracy Of the
nation were In favor OF free ballot and a
fair count; but the local Democrats Of the
South laugh at such nonsense, and declare
boldly that they intend to rule the South
or die trying. Men up North cannot gel
the true inwArdness Of the matter. To ge'
the milk out Of the cocoa nut they mus
come down here and crack 1t. In all ny
interviews with planters and plantation
bosses, ! have never failed to elicit from
them the one universal conclusion, quietl!
, and candidly expressed, that I'VE" thl