The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-08-24
TUESDAY MORNING, AUGUST "a.

than the other officers and perhaps because OF
their judicial character, have been able to re-
sist Democratic efforts of displacement more
successfully than the other. 1t is singular
fact, upon any other hypothesis than that OF an
understood determination to disregard the
rights of Republican voters, that IN all cases
the voices of the Republican minority on these
boards were ignored; and although the law
by some mishap-provided that the election
managers should be taken from both political
parties, the persons who were recommended
by the Republicans were, with some inmate.
rial exceptions, ignored and passed by, and
men for whose appointment they had not
asked-and who if favorable to them, were ut
their interests. Such was the case in Mont
gomery. Autauga, Lowndes, Wilcox, Madison
and all other counties similarly situated. In
Lowndes the Democratic sheriff and clerk met
without notifying the Republican probate
judge, and made appointments to suit them
selves. After they had completed their work,
they notified the probate judge that he could
agree to it or not, as he pleased, but that it
should stand as the action of the board. This
shameless and disgraceful action of the county
officers foreshadowed very plainly what was to
follow on election day.
AT M'GEHEE's SWITCH.
At McGehee's Switch, in Montgomery coun-
ty, the Republicans polled 672 votes by actual
count, the Republican voters receiving their
tickets from one man, giving him their names
and going straight from him to the polling
place, holding their tickets in view to enable
him to see that they deposited the same ticket
they had received. These precautions were
can votes polled there on that day might be
fixed and ascertained beyond all doubt, be-
cause at the election in that precinct for men,
Der of Congress two years before their votes
had been returned as cast for the Democratic
candidate. 1t is instructive to interject tere,
klx-A 4
the Democratic inspectors at the former cleo
ton, and who is at present under indictment
in the United States circuit court for "stufing"
the ballot-box on that occasion, was one of the
persons chosen as guardian of the peoples
ballots at this box at this election. After the
election had progressed, without one threaten
ing incident, to its close, at O'Clock, the
Republican inspector, colored man, de-
manded that the votes should be Immediately
counted as the law directed, hut could not
persuade the other inspector to join him in
the count, first one excuse and then another
being offered for the delay. About o'clock a
military company from Montgomery, the
"Grays," under command of Colonel Jones,
commanding the second Alabama militia, APP
peared upon the grounds, supported by an
armed posse of about thirty. citizens from Mont
gomery. The cause of the delay then became
apparent The wretches who were housed
inside, contemplating the villany they were
about to perpetrate, became afraid of the in
dignation and wrath of the large lumber of
colored men who we've quietly waiting on the
ground TO hear the result of the election an
nounced, and had sent report to the city that
they were threatened by the colored men and
that there was danger of a collision. The
governor of the State had thereupon issu ed
his mandate, and mustered his bayonets and
and dispatched them with all speed to the as
sistance of his threatened compatriots. The
soldiers took up their station and the count
proceeded. The details of the farce enacted
here have been before published. After
counting 116 Republican and SO Democr attic
votes, the candle was accidentally extingushed,
the ballot-box disappeared from the table, re-
appeared, the candle was relighted, the box
was discovered to be full of tickets, where it
had been only partially full by reason of the
diminution caused by those already counted,
and large numbers of Republican ballots were
scattered all over the room, where before
there had been none. The colored inspector,
inexperienced though he was, could not mis-
take the meaning of all this, and timid as he
was inexperienced, he yet raised his voice in
protest. This was the point to which it had
been desired to bring him. The other inspec-
tors and the clerks pretended to be indignant
at an "imputation upon their integrity" and
resented the same with language Of such force,
accompanied Recommendations of such charac-
ter, that the guilty individual made haste to
join his friends outside. After being some.
what treasured by them, he attempted to
again enter the polling-place and resume his
duties as inspector, but was met by the state
ment that as he had voluntarily abandoned
his post he could not resume it. The inspec-
tors then proceeded to the count, and made
return giving the Republicans 1872 votes and
the Democrats $40 votes There are two
singular circumstances in connection with the
election at this point, which should be marked
down. The first is that, of the first 175 votes
taken from the box while the Republican in
spector was there, 116 were Republican votes,
while of the 500 votes taken from the box after
the Republican inspector had abandoned his
duty, only 16 were Republican votes. The
second is, how 1872 colored men were enabled to
terrorize $40 Democrats, white and black, at
that place, and put them in such deadly fright
that they required a military company, uni
formed and armed with bayonets, to assist
them in collecting the votes of the freemen
who voted there on that day.
AT KENDALL's BEAT.
At Kendall's Beat, in Montgomery county, at
which place a list of names of Republican voters
544 Republican votes and 65 Democratic votes
were deposited. At this place the Democratic
inspectors, relying on the ignorance and tim
idity of the old colored man acting as the Re-
publican inspector, who was also partially
blind, proceeded, with slight efforts at con-
cealment, to substitute Democratic for Repub-
lican ballots, but were not enabled to make as
complete revolution as in the other beat be-
cause the old colored man developed an
amount of intelligence and decision of char
acter which prevented. The Republican ma
jority of 475 was reduced, however, to 46, the
only majority allowed anywhere in the whole
county at this election, and even this majority
was not allowed by the board of supervisors
who compared the returns and tabulated the
same, but was thrown out because more votes
were returned than appeared on the poll-lists.
The inspectors had got things mixed.
AT RoBINsoN's CROSS ROADS.
At Robinson's Cross Road, Montgomery
c ounty, a record of the Republican votes were
kept by Mr. billiard, one of the Oldest AID best
citizens of that precinct, and it showed that
$50 Republican votes were polled. The Demo
cratic vote at the outside limits did not exceed
so. The only disturbance during the day oc-
Cured about o'clock, and it was between col
ored men, one OF whom was wounded by pis-
tol shot. The polls were kept open until 5
O'Clock as by law required, and voting con-
tinued until the very close. The colored man
who acted as inspector then proposed to pro-
coed with the count, but was informed by the
other inspectors that they did not propose to
count, that the disturbance at the polls at 3
o'clock had .invalidated the election. They
then closed up the polling-place, carried off the
box containing the ballots, and from that time
to this no information has been received in any
official quarter as to the votes at this box.
AT PoRTER's BEAT.
The same thing occurred at Porter's Beat.
where the vote was about 400 Republican to 30
Democratic, but at that precinct there was not
one incident of a threatening character upon
which to ground an excuse for not counting.
Why they were not counted is not known. We
only know that the inspectors, after receiving
votes all day, have utterly failed to make any
return whatever, and by their arbitrary
and unlawful omission have disfrancbised
about five hundred voters. Why the monoto-
ny was varied at this beat, and the Republican
majority only suppressed instead Of being
transposed, is perhaps accounted for by the
fact that the Republicans, remembering their
experience in former elections, when thew had
been counted out, determined to remain AZ fine
polls en- masse until their votes had been de-
olared. This fact, aided by sundry remarks
which were made during the day and night
that the republicans only wanted a fair count.
and that they would have that, appears to-
have had salutary effect upon the minds of
the inspectors, and they did not feel it safe to
close the building and go away with the ballot
box, in the presence of the crowd outside. with
out giving it pacifying assurance. The state
ment was accordingly made to them publiciv
that the votes as counted showed the Republi-
cans to have $50 majority. Neyertbeless tn "
were suppressed all the same
AT ELAN
AT cold Elan" the list of votes as liant
showed that 446 Republican votes had heapn
polled to 16 Democratic. The count nrocaeded
at this place until 200 Republican votas and
i N r0 fIa xyrta hal -