Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-09-22
The Alabama Fraud.
from tho Evening Wisconsin, Milwaukee,

"AoCoAACAA'
There was an entertaininga and instruc-
tive meeting at the room of the Garfield
and Arthur club of the Fourth ward last
evening, at which speeches we're made
by Col. Goodwin, Phillip Joseph, col
ored, of Alabama, and others. Mr..
Joseph's speech was mainly devoted to
an exposition of the election frauds in
Alabama, and was all the more interest
ing because he spoke of what he had
seen and known, having lived in the
state all his life. He recounted how in
1872, when there was something like a
fair election in Alabama, the Repubi-
cans carried the state by 8,349 majority;
and how this majority, in IA, by means of
intimidation, whippings, shootings and
hangings, was wiped out, and the state
made to give a Democratic majority of
13, 1870. An incident of this election he
stated as follows:
In Mobile IN 1874 at o'clock in the forenoon,
on the day of election, the Republicans had 2
majority Of $50. After that hour the Demo-
cratic bulldoZers fired upon line Of 100 Re-
publican negroes waiting to cast their ballot
and three or four were killed. These same
Democrats then rushed out their artillery and
went from precinct to precinct terrifying Repub-
lican voters, so that in short time not a Re-
publican voter was to be seen on the streets.
He then proceeded to state how the
election laws of Alabama had been
changed so as to hamper colored men in
voting, and to facilitate fraud in the
elections. For instance, he said that
| the law requires that the ballots shall be
of uniform size and Of clean white paper,
and the Democratic inspectors would re-
iect all Republican ballots which failed
in the least to comply with the require
ments. He said that the negroes
almost to man, if left free,
will vote the Republican ticket, yet
in the last election districts where the
negroes outnumbered the whites six to
eight times, gave large Democratic ma
jorities. He gave number Of instances
of this kind as coming under his own
observation, for he has been an active
politician among his own people. AS an
instance of the terrorism that rel gns, he
said that colored preacher expressed
himself against the appearance of Dem
ocratic bulldozers in his district, and "a
hours afterwards the preacher was torn
from his family, shot to death and his
body thrown into the Mississippi river.
Others had fled from the district to es-
cape death.
His statements correspond with those
from other sources, and there is no rea-
sonable doubt of their entire truth. In
deed an Alabama Democratic paper, the
birmingham True Issue, has proven that
it's title is not altogether a misnomer by
frankly admitting that the election was
fraud, and that the election laws of the
state are disgrace. It says:
The Democratic papers realize the fact that
great damage has been done to Gen. Hancock III
joriy of $4,000. The cry of fraud has been
raised by cheated and wronged people, and is
repeated throughout the land, exaggerated
doubtless, and it is telling fearfully against him
in the North, and blighting with fear chances
that were bright up to the time the n1dnipulators
handled that inlqug that dasgrdceS the legislation
of the last sesslo'a-the ne,o election lac. Hadit
not been used as it was it would have failed,
perhaps, of it's purposes. 1t bears its face
fraud, and, of course, as 1t is intended to de-
fraud, 1t acas so used. 1t was too much, how
ever, and the $4,000 majority looks about us
ugly now as the eight to seven commission did
four years ago. Both these Democratic per-
formances are understood by the great mass of
the people, and they are not SO much surprised
at either as the press seems to be IN now at the
95, 900 ma jority. There was, IN
our opinion, no necessity fol. so gagdntlc trd~d
for any party purposes. Twenty thousand OF
25, 900 majority would have been enough to
fully secure ali The officers of the state and
tested the working capacity of the "machine y
machine that can grind out ballots and add up
majo,ities that don't enist, that disfro'chises the
people and denies them the right Of free ballot
and an honest count, the most sacred cirl right
eue, arrested from, the ecitizen. Alabama, carried
By the fraud of mean, ylllainous electlo" ta.c,
loses to the p0,1y in the United States the choice
of president, and makes, perhaps, a Radical
congress. What may the people hope from
party that so o,drages then, and their ,7ghts'
| H70thin0 but ,poe TO them and the cOu7lt,.y!"