Nebraska advertiser., 1880-08-26
ALABAMA FRAUDS.
The Most Disgraceful in Political History
How They Were Perpetrated-
A Southern Man on the Situation.
To the Editor ofthe Inter Ocean.

To the Editor of the Inter Ocean.
EUTAw, GREENE Co., Ala, Aug. T.
i claim descent from one and connect
ion with another of the most honorable
Union-Wlfig families of this State, all
of whom were opposed to and voted
against secession. Yet, in the break
ing out of the war, l promptly joined
the army of General Lee and served
till the close of the rebellion, receiving
desperate wounds in said service; and,
pointing to my civil and military rec
ord, challenge the respect of all South
ern men.
In 1875, after Alabama, by fraud and
the white-line race issue, was seized by
the Democratic party, my sense of
honor and justice revOlted, and | open
ly eSpOused the cause of the Republi-
can party. For this crime % am to-
day stranger and an alien among the
friends of my youth and my cOmpan-
IONS In arms. | have the honor to be
a member of the State Republican Ex-
ecutive Committee, Chairman of the
Republican Executive Committee of
the Sixth Congressional District, and
Chairman of our County Republican
Committee. had the honor to repre-
sent my county in the late State Re
publican Convention, and my district
as delegate to the late National Re
publican Convention at Chicago.
On the 10th day of July l went to
the town of Pleasant Ridge, in this
county, to make Republican speech.
Soon after began a crowd of white
Democrats, several with open knives
and large sticks in their hands, came
up and Immediately began to interrupt
me, so that could scarcely utter two
sentences without interruption. l re-
monstrated, assuring them that they
were injuring their own cause by such
a course, and distinctly announcing to
them that did not desire to array one
race against the other, but simply to
break down the white line race issue
raised by the Democratic party; and
yet, while reading a letter, published
on Aug. IA, 1879, in the Eutaw Whig
democratic paper, was stopped, for
hidden by them TO read said letter, and
cursed and abused repeatedly in the
VlleSt terms; and one of their number
declared that they were all Democrats.
and that | should not abuse the Demo-
cratic party. The accuracy of this
statement is admitted by the Eutaw
Mirror, another Democratic paper.
published here on July 90, 1880. But
this is not all. They cursed my little
7-year-Old boy, who stood dumb with
fright before them. Moreover, l was
obliged to desist in my effort to speak. |
and was assured by Mr. William Hor-
ton, an aged gentleman, that | was in |
great personal danger; and, but for |
his protection, / am fully satisfied that |
L should have sustained serious, if not |
fatal injury. The aforesaid newspa-
per, the Mirror, in commenting on the |
affair, says: THAT which seems to |
have given offenSe was a statement |
which Mr.. Bird is said to have made to |
the effect that the Democrats Law in |
the shade all the year, and then cheat
ed the negroes out of all they made"
ThereupOn the editor inditeS a long
leader, calculated to infiame the pas
sion OF men. But the charge against |
me is miserable untruth. | simply |
read from the said Eutaw Wing the |
following sentence: 1.-The effort seems |
to have been, with every recent Legis-
lature, to so perfect the laws touching
agriculture that the moneyed man
could shut his eyes and sleep the year
out, and then gobble up all the labor
erS made" This explanation was made
to said editor, who engaged to do me
Justice in his columns, but has so far
failed to do so.
On the I'd inst. we had here that
which Republicans foolishly expected
would be an election, but which proved
to be hollow count. This county, in
which the RepublicanS-are better or
ganiZed than they have been for years.
and which gave Hayes and Wheeler
1851 majority, was turned over to the
Democrats. At one box, where we had
three respectable gentlemen 1.-TWO of
whom were DemOcratS) to inspect the
tickets and see them delivered into the
hands of the managers, our 61S Repub-
hcan ballots on the final count turned
out to be only 343, the balance going to
swell the Democratic vote; so that this
box that gave Hayes and Wheeler 525
majority is now counted Democratic
by Is majority. At another box, where
five competent witnesses inspected ev-
cry ticket carefully, and where every
voter marched singly to the box with
his ticket in full view and placed it in
to the hands of the manager, our $50
votes panned out only 20. Of these
tickets, 100 were rejected, as We are in
formed, because they were not folded.
when the truth is that | folded every
one with my own hands except 135.
These are samples of this miserable
travesty upon fair elections. This is
the terrible mode in which the South
has been made solid.
Sir, we are to-day existing under a
despotism more dreadful than the Rus
sian autocracy. Here, in our native land.
the man who is devoted to the Whig
principles of his fathers dare not give
utterance to his views, for fear ofstud-
led persecution and ridiculous proScrip-
tion. No good Samaritan goes to him
to blind up his wounds, pouring in oil {
and wine" He is pilloried in the pub {
lie press. He who dares rebel against /
this cruel oligarchy writes in burning
characters over his welcome door that
terrible inscription from Dante, "Who
enters here leaves hope behind" His |
lintels and door-poSts are spattered '
with the blood of his sacrificed reputa- c
ton, and friendly feet turn away from
the fatal place in instructive dread of
the socially destructive fires that flame t
upon his hoSpitable threshold. The t
forked tongue of Slander purSues him
and his innocent family; be the hapleSS
man never so VituOus, drunken liber- v
tines, ignorant parvenueS,; and social g
by besliming him, seek and
gain a galvanized respectability, and
4 sure passport to Democratic society.
These wretched pariahs. whom our
fathers would have disdained to set to 7
watch their fiocks. have become the
;utelary saints of Southern chivalry, .,
md the especial exponents OF South :,
,rn honor To the care of such aban =
loned creatures are our priceless repu- +
ations committed, vile counterfeitS of a,