Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-09-24

Join him IN the count, first one excuse aud /
then another being offered for the delay |
About O'Clock military company from |
Montgomery, the Grcys" under command OF
Col. Jones, commanding the I'd Alabama Mili- !
tia, appeared upon the grounds, supported by |
nm armed posse Of about thirty citizens from
1.he cause OF the delay thon became ap.
parent Tho wretchcs who were housed in
side, contemplating tho villainy they were
about 10 porpctrate, became afraid Of the I'm
dignaton and wrath OF the large number Of
cOOrod mon who we're quietly awaiting on
the ground to henr the verdict OF the election
announced, and had sent report TO the city
that they were threatened by the cQlored mon,
and that there was danger Of collision. The
Governor of the State had thercupOn issued
ms mandate, mustered ms Gayonets' nna us
patched them with an speed 20 the assistance
OF bis threatened compHtitots. The soldiers
took up their station, and the count proceeded.
The details Of the farce enacted here have been
before published. After counting out ll6 Re.
publican and % Democratic votes, the candle
was accidentally eNttnguished, the ballot box
candle was relighted, the box was discovered
60 be full of tickets, where before it had
been only partly full by reason Of the dimin-
ution caused by those already counted,
and large numbers of Republican ballots
were scattered all over the room, where be.
fore there had been none. The colored In.
spector, inexperienced though he was could
not mistake the meaning OF all this, and,
timid ns he wus Inexperienced, he yet raised
up his voice I'm protest. This was the point to
which IL had been desired TO bring him. The
other Inspector and the Clerks pretended to
! tegltty," and resented the same with lam
guugO Of such force, accompanied by demon
| strauons of such character, that the guilty in
dividual made haste to join his friends out
/ side. After being somewhat reHssured by
| them, he attempted 20 again enter the poll
ing g.place and resume his duties as Inspector,
! but was met by the statement that rs he had
voluntarily abandoned his post, he could not
/ resume it. The Inspectors then proceeded
| to the count, and made a return, giving the
Republicans 1872 votes and the Democrats $40
votes.
| connection with the election at this point,
| which should he marked down. The first is,
] that of the first lT5 votes taken from the box
! while the Republican Inspector was there, ll6
| were Republican votes while of the 500 votes
! taken from the box after the Republican In
! spector had abandoned his duty, only 10 were
! Republican votes. The second is, how 1872
! colored men were enabled to terrorize 90
! Democrats, white and black, at that place,
and put them in such deadly fright that they
! required military company uniformed ana
| armed with bayOncts, to assist them in col
lecting the "votes OF the freemen" who voted
| there on that day.
! At KendaiIs Beat, in Montgomery County,
Rt which place II list of names of Republican
voters was kept for the same purpose as at
| McGehee's, 5A Republican votes and IS Demo
! cratic were deposited. AT this place the
| Democratic Inspectors, relying on the igno-
rance of the old colored man acting as the
Republican Inspector, who was also partially
/ blind, proceeded, with slight efforts at con
cealment, to substitute Democratic for Re-
publican ballots but were not enabled to
make as complete n revolution as in the other
beat, because the old colored man developed
an amount of intelligence and decision of
| character which prevented. The Republican
majority of 475 was reduced, however, TO l6, the
only majority allowed anywhere in the whole
couoty at this election and even this majority
was not allowed us by the board OF super
visors who compared the returns and tubu
lated the same, but was thrown out because
more votes were returned than appeared on
the poll list. The Inspectors " had got things
mixed"
At Robinson's Roads, Montgomery County,
n record of the Republican voters was kept by
Mr.. Dnlard, one OF the oldest and best citizens
of the precinct, and it showed that $50 Repub-
lican votes were polled. The Democratic
vote at the outside limits did not exceed fifty.
The only disturbance during the day occurred
about O'Clock, and was between two colorcd
men, one of whom was wounded by pistol
shot. The polls were kept open till O'Clock,
as by law required, and voting continued un-
til the very close. The cOlOrcd man who
acted as Inspector then proposed to proceed
with the count, but was informed by the other
Inspector sthut they did not propose to count,
that the disturbance at the polls ut o'clock
had invalidated the election. They then
closed up the polling place carried on the box
| containing the ballots, and from that time to
this no information has been received in any
Official quarters ns to the vote ut this box
The same thing occurred Mt Porter's Beat,
where the vote was about 400 Republican to
fifty Democratic, but at that precinctthere wits
not one incident of IA 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 omissions have
| disfranchised about 500 voters. Why the mo-
notony was varied at this beat and the Re-
publican majority only suppressed, instead
of being transposed, is perhaps accounted for
! by the fact that the Republicans, remember
| ing their experience in former elections, when
they had been counted out, determined to re-
| main at the polls en- masse until their vote
had been declared. This fact, aided by sun
! dry remarks, which were made during the
day and night, that the Republicans only
! 81 gOnnt- and that WOulU have
, that, appears to have had a salutaTy effect on
the minds of the inspectors, and they did not
, feel 1t safe to close the building and go away
with the ballot-boX in the presence of the
crowd outside, without giving 1t paciiying
assurance. The statement was accordingly
made to them that the vote as counted show
ed the Republicans to have $50 majority, new
; ertheless they were suppressed all the same.
At Old ElRin the list of votes showed that 44G
Republican votes had been polled to l6 Dem
ocTatic. The count proceeded at this place
until 2aO Republican votes and five Demo
cratic votes had been counted out. At this
| iuncture the candle expired, and 1t appeared
thatnO other light could be procured. II was
accordingly proposed to Charles Pope, the
| colored Inspector, who had been selected for
! | the position because of his ignorance and
stupidity, that all the votes be placed togeth'
er and sent 10 town, in lieu of a return, which
proposition Pope accepted. This proceeding
vitinted every thing, because under this law
/ the Inspectors are required to make the count
Immediately, and IL is upon their return, and
not by Il count of the votes, that the Board OF
| Supervisors declare the result. To make the
p ! tl1nE SAFE, however, ana TO mike llG INJURY
, resulting from their action irreparable, the
vote Rs cast and all the loose papers and
trash in the room, with several hundred bal.
! lots of both parties which had not been voted
( were dumped indiscrinlinately into bag and
sent to the Sherii's office as the return from
/. Elam.
; At Union Academy and DOOley, where the
Z Republican votes exceed the Democratic, the
I. latter have been returned as having MAORI
, ties The TEXTURES at the count of those beats
do not differ materially from those related at
to the other beats, except that the Inspectors
instead of transposing the Republican and
Democratic votes, as was done elsewhere, ap'
. pear to have attempted to extend the Demo
' cratic vote beyond the Republican vote with
out diminishing the latter They did MOI
Y bear in mind the late census returns, howey
. er, and have returned more votes from theil
. precinct than those returns show there art
5 male citizens over twenty one years of age.
4 |. In the city of Montgomery, where IL was not
supposed any attempt would be made to fal
~ sify the count, the precautions TO ascertain
our vote We're not taken as in the country
precincts, and the Republican majority o
400 in 1876, and of about the same number In
; 1878, was this time transpOsed into Demo
1 cratic majority of about 800. There are stll
Y some indicia eXtant. The intelligent white
Republicans, who had been offered by the lie
D publicans ns Inspectors at the city boxes, haC
. | been rejected for colored men, who could no
write nor read, or who, IL was supposed woult
be plignt in the hands of their associates
, The Democrats became aware before election
! day that mistake had been made as to ont
! | Of the appOintees, who was IA smart and resO
! lutte colOred man. On the morning OF election
! the latter presented himself at the vOttnl
I place to assume his duties half an hour be
, lore the time fixed by law for opening th'
, polls. He was refused entrance into th'
! room on the pretext that ne arrived TOO late
organized and hlled his place. The hepublt
i cans of the city had no candidates for justice
! OF the peace and constable. Many Of then
. picked out some name no one else would b'
iiirpiy IN think Of and voted IL for one o.