Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1880-09-09
Census Stumng.


| forbid that should charge an innocent man
with crime, OF that should indct whole
people for fraud But the attempt to falsify
the census of any State or any section for
the purpose Of securing greater strength in
| the House of Representatives and in the f.
lectoraL Colleges than an homes, enumeration
would give is deadly stab at the very ex-
isience of Republican government. Certain
men in the South, according to all the in
formation We can get from the census bu-
reau. have been engaged in eonoocting frau
dulcnt returns whereof, a much larger popu-
laiion is enumerated than actually exists
Who these guilty men are ! know not. but
feel very SURF that the crime. whatever
may be its extent. did not originate with the
enumerators of the several subordinate dis
tricts, and ! feel equally SURE that an in
| crease-much in advance Of the actual
grow,h-could not occur in the same aver
age ratio in all the districts of State and
| all the States Of a section without concert
and conspiracy We have heard little about
the South in the past ten years from Ger
tain party except jeremiads on the ruin and
prosiration Of the whole country. People
were leaving their ancestral homes, We we're
told. No immigrants were coming IN 20 ill
their places. Stagna,ion was said TO BE-
rcigning throughout the section. and mourn
| ing and adversely formed the hard 10, of her
| people. Bat now at the end of ten wears
/ the ratio Of increase in South Carolina 10
i claimed 10 be greater than in Massachusetts.
or Pennsylvania Virginia oppressed with
deb, and discouraged, as We have been told
in every form. and hindcrcd in her progress
by thousand difficulties, has yet had such
steady and rapid growth that her ratio Of
gain runs far ahead Of Ohio or New York !:
Kentucky shows a greater increase than In
diana; Tennessee outstrips Wisconsin the
ratio IN Alabama j. beyond tina; Of Iowa /,
! while West Virginia without immigration
has kept e,cn place with the tremendous
| growth Of Minncsota stimulated as that
| has been by accession from almost eycry
| civilized country on the globe. The growth
81 the aggregate South has been. according
20 the returned figures % the census, at
more rapid rate ihan the growth Of the az
| grcgaie North. Certain Southern States
according TO these fraudulent tables have
/ grown more m the last ten wears than in the
! proceeding forty wears. and in one case TIE
reported growth Of the last decade outruns
the growth of the previous half century.
| There Is not a man Of intelligence in the
thirty shi States that believes these returns
are genuine and true. and submit that the
attempt 10 force fraudulent returns from al,
State upon the national census il a very
grave q ne.
The trainers Of the Federal constitution
ordained With apparent wisdom and fore
sight that all direct taxes shall be laid IN
proportion TO the census Of the inhabitants
thus intending 20 place a cheek upon the
! possible temptation 10 enlarge the rrpTrseu-
/ taiion BY fraudulent enumeration. II TO-DAY
one-h,ih of the national revenues. say fftv
million of dollars, were raised hy direct tax
alton and every State felt and knew that Il
would he required 10 pay one dollar per an
mum per head ON is inhabitants the tend
encl towards s~clled and padded census
l would receive q Nor. paipabls check. BE
tween the positive desire for a large repre-
sentaiioa III Congress on the one hand and
the lndispOsit.on TO Increase the direct tax
upon the State on the other the trainers Of
the constitution placed IN just equipoi.c the
two motives that would mos, powerfully
/ conduce 10 an honest and fair enumeration
I O: the inhabitants Of each State. But owing
to abandonment long since of direct
taxes BY the national government. the equi-
| poise has been destroyed and any State that
chooses now TO fraudulently enlarge her
census does so without iucurring any pen
atty whatever. Customs and excise dutie.
| present such ready and efficient modes Of
raising revenue that no party will ever favor
4 return 10 the direct tax which our fore
fathers anticipated and designed as the
counter balance in the splendid machinery
| OF government which the, organized.
! The situaiIon Is a very grave one. -Four
/ and half millions of negroes in the South
| give thirty -ti'e Representative in Congress,
| and thirty five electors Of President and
| Wee President, and yet the negroes them
selves have no voice IN choosing either Rep
resentatiye or Elector. The result is a. |
| have taken occasion elsew here 10 demon
| strate, that the vote OF a white man In the
/ South. even with an honest count, is i'm
I1ensely more influential and potential than
the vote OF white man in the North, and
| the vote Of Confederate soldier Is i'm
| nlensely more influential than the vote of a
mon soldier, even in fixing the rate Of
/ pension for the widow and the orphan. In
Georgia the white man exercises IL much
political influence as three white men in
Pennsylvania. In Mississippi four confed-
crate soldiers in n national election offset
the votes of nine Union soldiers ia New
England. To this inequality, already exist
ing, calling and uncomfortable in character as
IT is, the fraudulent census will add a still
greater and deeper and still more uncomfortable
one. The suppression of the negro vote and
the usurpation By the white man Of the rep
resentation founded ON ii is the result of
the systematic violence which has prevailed
in the South. The recent enumeration bv
which three millions OF imaginary people
are to be added 10 the South Is the most gi-
gantie achievement of fraud that was ever
attempted in the world under the forms Of
law.
The question now is how can We Of the
north and west, the great body of loyal
States, meet and destroy this daring attempt
to undermine the foundations and remove the
landmarks of honest government The first
duty in hand is 10 beat the Democratic
party. 1t is the ally and the servant of that
southern power which is to profit BY this
fraudulent enumeration of the people. The |
plain proposition is TO usurp the representa-
tive and electoral rights Of four and half |
millions Of negroes and then to add to il the |
representative and electoral strength of three |
millions Of fraudulent and fictitious names |
Of people who are in graveyards or never |
were born, and in the power Of these seven |
and half millions Of people wronyfully |
seized and added to the Democratic column |
the hope is to defeat the Republican party.
The census in its orderly development Of |
facts and truths and numbers would beat |
the Democratic party, and hence the Demo- |
cratic party seems to have made up its mind |
to beat the census.
ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF SOUTHERN SEN |
TINENT.-Mr. Speir, who acted as chairman |
of the first radical meeting of the approach
ing campaign. and his political associates-