Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-07-29
"Free Ballot and Home Rule"

sands who have the right to vote are NO
permitted to. The thousands of fraud
ulent voters at the North are Democrats
the thousands of defrauded voters Soutf
are Republicans; so the two things make
lovely see-saw in the interest of the
Democratic party. Perhaps they NEAR
to excuse one with the other, just as
Charles Lamb excused himself for com
ing to his work late in the morning with
the remark: "But you must remember
that l go away very early in the after
noon" Should any one suggest to these
patriots that there was gross injustice in
their Home Rule doctrine, by which
thousands Of honest voters were de.
frauded of their irights to the ballot
they would probably answer: "Yes, but
our principle of the Free Ballot sets
that all right by permitting just as many
others to vote who have no right to-
1t is neat little arrangement under
which they sat at the South: "Well take
the turkey and you may have the crow
and at the North, you may have the
crow while we take the turkey" They
talk turkey to themselves all the time.
The meaning of the phrase Home
Rule, as they enforce it, has come to be
pretty well understood. 1t means the
rule in several Southern States of mi
nority of white Democrats, who either
by intimidation and force prevent color
ed Republicans from voting, or by
frauds in stufing the boxes or counting
the ballots practically effect the same
purpose. 1t means that the ballot
which was given the freedman for his
protection shall not be so used; that the
white Democrats shall have their own
was unopposed; that the blacks shall
continue to serve them by increasing the
number of their representatives and the
extent of their power, and that with the
so gained they shall have the
opportunity to unite with their former
allies at the North and control the Gov
ernment they failed to destroy. Home
Rule means, too, something more than
the control of their State Governments
That they have already, as they hayn't
the assurance to claim that there is the
remotest danger of their being deprived
of it. 1t is the Home Rule of minority,
and rule with a hand very little less
heavy than when they owned the bodies
and souls of the black men who are now
citizens. But they want more
than this. They want, through the in
of this peculiar sort of
Home Rule, to get possession of the
ard undo the work of the
past twenty years. That is the real
of the strange paradox, to be
witnessed throughout the South, of men
clamoring for Home Rule all the time
that they are having their own sweet
will, and shooting down or counting out
ALL who oppose them.
And does any one desire to know what
they mean by the cry for a Free Ballot?
In view of the fact, which cannot be
controverted, that there are
not score of Democratic voters in all
the North who, being honestly entitled
to vote, were ever deprived of the priv
ilege, or are in any danger of it, one
might well inquire the meaning of the
clamor about Free Ballot. The testi-
mony of Commissioner Davenport be-
the Senate Investigating Committee
now in session in this city, answers the
inquiry and throws flood of light on
the whole subject. 1t is in evidence,
and what is more has been thousand
times admitted by Democrats them
selves, nor is it denied by any intelligent
SO far as we kaow, that in
1858 frauds of the most stupendous
character were perpetrated in this city
in the issue of naturalization papers to
persons not entitled to them. 1t was by
means of these that the vote of this
State was counted for Horatio Seymour
in 1868, and John T. Hoffman was de-
clared elected Governor. Commissioner
Davenport gives the full particulars of
these frauds, by which they were COM
mitted, and their extent, and every hon
est citizen should read his testimony.
It was to defeat these frauds and pre-
vent their perpetuation that the election
avs were passed which have so excited
5he hostility of Democratic leaders, and
It was Of Mr.. Davenport's zeal and eff
,iency in carrying out their provisions,
IS Supervisor of Elections, that he has
been so roundly denounced by Demo-
cratic orators and newspapers, and been
made the subject of the present investi-
CATION by Democratic Congress.
The Free Ballot means removal of all
the safeguards against fraudulent vo-
ting. Not less than $4,000 fraudulent
certificates were issued in
GulS III 1OOO. all GllC Ou0OAy ohdo
has been raised against Mr.. Davenport
and the election laws has been on &C
count of the legitimate and proper
means taken by him to prevent the per-
petuation of these frauds. The number
Of innocent holders of these certificates
is so small as to be hardly worth men
tioning, and all of them have had fair
notice and the opportunity afforded them
to procure new ones untainted with
fraud. There is not the slightest pre-
text for complaint against the laws or
the manner of their enforcement, except
that the party in whose interest the
frauds were committed desires to take
further advantage of them. The cry for
a Free Ballot, like that for Home Rule,
is simply the clamor of men who seek