Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-11-11
Is There Fraud P

VI an phc WIN VIII tlht Tue tTOUDIc
to examine them as somewhat astound-
ing and suspicious. We do not desire
to be classed among those who are
ever ready to raise the cry of fraud on
any slight pretext that may arise to
account for defeat at the polls and
without good reasons, therefore, to
suspect the perpetration of a great
outrage upon the ballot we would not
now direct attention to the remarkable
facts shown by the figures we are ask
ed to accept az the vote of the people of
that great centre Of population. We
know the Democratic party does not
wish to reach power through the com
mission Of acts of perfdy like those of
which the Republicans were guilty in
1876 in their desperate and wicked
determination to keep possession of the
Executive branch of the government
after Samuel J. Tilden had been hon
estly elected to the great Office now
wrongfully and fraudulently held by
Rutherford b. Hayes we know that
by no act of wrong or violence against
the expressed will of the majority
would the party desire to see any can
didate forced into a position of dignity
and authority; but when the defeat
of the party is based upon published
results that seem unaccountable and
impossible of attainment in any
other way than by means Of knavery
in the conduct of an election it
becomes an imperative duty to arouse
the country to sense of the danger
that surrounds our free institutions.
Shall fraud and force continue to con.
troll our elections or shall the repre-.
sentatiyes of the people in Congress be
equal to the occasion, and boldly say
that another fraudulently elected can
didate shall not fill the Presidential
office?
The fact that shows evidence of
fraud in New York city il the re-
markable and unnatural growth of
the Republican vote since 1876. 1t
cannot be accounted for by n change
of political sentiment for the reason
that there is n fair increase in the vote
cast for Gen. Hancock over that given
for Mr.. Tilden. First, at the last
Presidential election the total vote of
the city was III ,091, of which mum.
Der Tiklen received 1880 and
Hayes 5S,56l. At the recent cleo
ton the yet incomplete returns
show that about 100000 votes were
polled, divided as follows: Han.
cock, 125,000; Garfield, $4,000. 1t
will thus be observed that while Han.
cocks vote is 10000 more than Til
den's, the vote of Garfield is increased
more than 26,000 over that cast for
Hayes-the Democratic increase being
about IL per cent, while the Republi-
can increase, without q change of pol.
itical belief on the pz=t of the people,
is about 40 per cent. 1t will re quire
strong proofs to convince any thought.
full man that such result could be
honestly obtained. But to come down
to particular districts of the city the
case is still worse than this. In eight of
the districts, namely the sixth, seventh,
tenth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth,
nineteenth and twentieth, the total
Democratic vote in 1876 was 81, ,8s4 ;
Republican vote at same election,
,o4O. NOW the tables stand Demo-
cratic Al 1903; Republican, 81 ABS
the Democratic increase being 30 per
cent, while the Republican goes up to
rs per cent. In the first district Til
den's vote was 1858, Hancock's, 5,04S,
Hayes, 1886, Garfeld's, 4,695--Dem-
ocratic increase, 16 per cent Repub-
lican increase, 20 per cent. But the
most astounding specimen of the same
thing is to be found in the third dis
trict where Tilden's vote, 4,120 was
increased to 5,245 for Hancock and
Hayes vote of only 300 was forced up
to 2,737 for Garfield, showing the
Democratic increase to be only "a per
/ rent vvhilc fha pacuhitaana oo,, ,,co,,,L