American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-09-11

!, party which to maintain Itself in power ca
3 of Il noble ancestry, seek to cover up its cor
I ruDt1ons and crimes by the halo which sur
rounds I.,i, those from whom it claim. descent
the Republican party. 1 propose to-day T.
bury it so deep 10y facts and figures that on
by it. The Democratic State of Missouri alone
, in which Mr.. Lincoln received but IL .G2s vote
in 1850, furnished l09,1ll men to the Uuio
, A11ny-a greater number than was furnishc,
by all the Republican States of Vermont
Ithoue Island, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kan
. sas put together. Neither Michigan wiscon
sin or Iowa furnished rs mnny troops to tn
Union Army AZ Missouri.
DESPERATE SCHEMES TO RETAIN CONTROL Ol
THE GOVERNMENT.
During the war the National Government
necessarily exercised extraordinary power
Tor the suppression of the rebellion; power
winch IN peaceful times properly belong to the
states, and thus the party having control o.
the National Government gradually accus
toned itself to assume more and more
stacle to its exercise of supreme control its
stalwart leaders undertook to impeach and
remove from Office the President of the United
states for alleged political offences. Forum
ately this unconstitutional attempt, by mad
dened pnrtisans. to usurp the executive am-
thoifty of the Nation was defcared. Had il
succeeded, the next step would have been to
'npeach and remove from office such Judges
| OF the supreme Court as stood in the way OF
its exercise of supreme authority, and our
| Government would at once have been CON
verified into IL central despotism controlled by
| the partisan leaders of the party in power.
| Since then the party has sought, by various
thus far succeeded against the declared will
of the people. If this charge is true and can
lieves in government by the people can
longer sustain it. Why should a freeman of
any party go to the polls if effect is not given
| to his vote? Is not an election mOckcry
! when the party in power has adopted ma
| chinery for conducting it and counting the
macy regardless of how the votes are east?
What has the Republican party done unfairly
TO perpetuate Its controls. Until 1870 1T was
control of the National Government to
by the people of the respective states. Is was
then that the Republican party, distressing
their elections undertook by an act of Con
gress to provide for their supervision and con
troll by Federal officials. This done under
pretense of regulating the mode of electing
Representatives to Congress, but they are
elected ut the same time as Electors of Presi-
dent and Vice President nnd state officers in
nearly all the States, these Federal officials in
TACT supervise nearly all the State elections:
SO far rs they interfere with the election of
Electors of President and Vice President their
acts arc clearly unconstitutional, for that in
strument In terms provides that Electors of
President and Vice President shall be appoint
ed in such manner as the Legislature thereof
Federal officials must therefore be without
fere All will agree that such interference
should be fair and Just and not ones sided or
fair minded man viii assent, what Is the law
which the Republican Congress enacted? 1t
provides that the Judge Of the United states
Circuit Court, on being applied to prior to any
election at which "A Representative in Con
gress is TO be elected, shall appoint two citi-
zens of different political parties for each
election precinct in the district, who to be
present Mt the registration of voters, TO scru
tinize the same, and cause such names to be
proper: They are also Teauirea '' to
aiiy voter whose legal qualifications they may |
doubt, and personally to- scrutinize and count |
each ballot cast in their respective precincts.
Tnis provision of the statute, If the National /
Government is to interfere at all, is apparent.
different political parties. But what shall be
said of the other provisions of the act of Con
gress which authorize the United States Mar
ahy n violent PARTISAN to appoint is many
1spniiss as he pleases, an of liis own political
sn ofdar n fher pees
and at the polls, to prevent fraudulent regis
tration, fraudulent voting or fraudulent con-
p' WITHOUT % proees ",G nT per s
who Commits or attempts or offers to commit
any act prohibited by the laws of the United
States? These Deputy Marshals, vested with
this extraordinary power to be exercised at
their discretion. are to serve ten days and be
readily how such power this may be
used to control elections in the hands of an
shals employed at Government expense may |
all be active partisahs of the party that ap
points them, and use their authority to arrest
and drive their opponents from the polls.
What party once in power could not perpetu-
ate Itself with such at ITS ulspDSal?
Under the pFetcnse of prcVt jiting fraud it
has the means of perpetrating the grossest of
frauds.
The speaker then proceeded to show the
number and character of some of the Deputy
Marshals appointed in 1878 to SUPERVISE the
elections i'll New York City and PHILADELPHIA
many of them being notorious thugs and con
ricts. III New York. some thirteen hundred
Of these officials were appointed; in Phiadel.
phin there were seven hundred and seventy
.hree-all Republican partZans, and appoint
I'd and controlled for the sole purpose Of fur
ht.rin Ispn m int lint n.Iid five ,
iollars per day each out of the Federal Treas
Try: In New York City, under the infamous
% the election of 1879. twenty six hun
lred naturalized voters were suInniarfly
papers were Illegal, because
he Clerks of the Courts by whom they were
'ecord of them. just prior to the election of
SIS. this process was repeated by Davenport, ,
md their naturalization papers taken away !
rom them by this man Davenport, WHO hid I
,larc the naturalization papers they issued
fraudulent than had one of you. But few of &
he persons arrested on the charge of having ,
papers were ever bi ought 10 trial, .
md all who were were discharged, their ma
papers being held valid, the {
lad been made by the clerks. and if it had J
lot it was no fault of the citizen who had be-
ONE naturaiizcd and that he could not be |;
deprived of his rights by reason of the failure ,,
f n clerk to do his duty. Davenport. how /
vcr, accomplished his object, and by his arbi- f
rary and lille gal acts prevented and deferred :.
of lawful voters from cnsting their I
Otes......
Call you an election conducted under such I
uspices free, fair or honest1 And to pay ail !
hese Marshas and Supervisors and for these q
nlawful arrests the peoples money Is used. L
me hundred and eighteen thousand nine I
undred and eighty nine dollars and thirty
tx cents was thus used in the City of New
ork alone in connection with the election of :,
$40. Some of this money went to pay for the :,
ent of rooms, carriage hire and like pur-
oses- What think you, fellow citizens of II
cling taxed to pay the vasabonds, thieves Il
nd penitentiary cOnvicts employed by Fed
raj authority to see that your elections are i
Onestly conducted? You may be surprised
nat such acts committed by Daven- -
ort and his Deputies in New York should j
ave been submitted to by n free people, but
ou must not forget that, by an order from r
lie War Department,
THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
nder Gen. Mcdowell, was placed at the dis
osal of Davenport and the United States s
arshals. n
THE GREAT FRAUD OF 1876. n
I next call your attention 10 the Presidential I,
lection of 1876, when the people, by a false 8
nd fraudulent count of the votes cast were II
eprived of their choice for President. S
Notwithstanding the interference with the l,
eeuom of the election by United States SUI II
ervisors and Marshals, backed up by the II
rIny, all under the control of the Republican II
arty, the people in their majesty elected
lmuel j. Tildcn President, not only by ma u
rity of more than quarter of million of Ii
he popular vote but by clear majority of n
lie Electors appointed by the States respect
ely. TO overcome this majority and continue u
self in power, required the commission of q
crime without n parallel in the history of .
ee government. No sooner was it known Il
lat the States of South Carolina, Florida and 81
Ouisiana bad cast their votes for Mr.. Tilden, q
len conspiracy WAS set on foot by the lead
3 of the Republican party to count them for IL
+. Hayes, without every one of which his ST
ectfon was impossible. The machinery Tor a.
aking the false count was all in their own u
inds and they resolved to use it. With this G.
gu m GS q ri tn