The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1881-03-26

Lynch himself If free government is not
q mockery, Mr.. Lynch will be sustained by
respectable representatives of both political
parties. In spite of distractions and him
ORANGES on the part of the elective officers,
which resulted in the disfranchisement of
thousands of Republican voters, the whole
number of votes polled for member of Con-
gress was 81, 172, of which number Mr.
Lynch claims to have received between
$4,000 and 10000 In the counties of
Adams. Claiborne, Jefferson, Washington
and Wilkinson there were not less than
5000 votes counted and returned to
Chalmers that were polled for Lynch, giving
Chalmers the benefit of these frauds. The
vote of the District, as returned by the pre-
cinct inspectors to the County Commission
ers, was as follows: Lynch, 1895; Chal-
mers, 0,257. When the party managers
saw that Chalmers was defeated in spite Of
the freuds that were committed in his be-
half, they then appealed to the County Con-
missioners to throw out votes enough to re-
turn him elected any way. OF course the
appeal was not in vain. The Commissioners,
in seven counties, threw out 6,607 votes
5.522 for Lynch, and / 085 for Chalmers
Two thousand and twenty-nine Republican
and twenty Democratic votes were thrown
Jul III w dliCn OOuutJs iOi tuO dilOSC0 iOo-
son that they had printers dash on the
face of the ballot. Although the same kind
of tickets were used throughout the District
and in many other parts of the State by Re-
publicans, Democrats and Green hackers, yet
they were thrown out on account of the print
er's dash in no County but Warren. Chalmers
charges that tne dashes were put on the
tickets so as to enable the colored men whocan
not read to distinguish the Republican from
the Democratic ticket. This charge has
been completely and eiiectually disproved
by the testimony that has been taken. Even
if this charge were true, it could not have
operated to the disadvantage of Chalmers,
for the reason that every precinct
in that County and every County
in that district we're supplied with large
numbers of counterfeit tickets. The only
difference betweeE these tickets and the gen.
uine Republican tickets, was that they had
on them the name of Chalmers instead OF
Lynch. In the city of Vicksburg Chalmers
had majority of 229 votes, Ill of which
were polled for him in the First ward. The
Republican tickets polled in that ward
were all received, counted and returned as
lawful: although they were exactly like
those tickets that were declared by the same
board to be unlawful. If all of the other
wards Of the city and precincts of the
county had given large Democratic ma jOr-
tiles, no ballots would have been thrown
out In Coohoma county, the vote between
Lynch and Chalmers, as returned by the
precinct inspectors, was as follows: Lynch,
,235; Chalmers, 594. AS returned by the
county commissioners to the Secretary of
State, this same vote stood: Lynch, 352;
Chalmers, 225. This is properly the vote
of the Friars Point precinct alone. The
commissioners rejected and suppressed the
returns from all the other precincts, for the
alleged reason that the elective clerks, agree
ably to instructions, no doubt, failed to send
up with the returns list of the names of
those who voted. In Isssquena county, the
vote between Lynch and Chalmers, as re-
turned by the inspectors, was as follows:
Lynch, ,1lS; Chalmers, 173. As returned
by the commissioners to the Secretary of
State, the vote stood: Lynch. 333; Chal-
mers, So This is the vote of the Myers
Vile precinct alone. The others were
thrown out for the same reasons assigned by
the commissioners of Coahoma. In Bolivar
county. the returns from three precincts
were thrown out, 1856 for Lynch, and 1O2
for Chalmers, and the law-abiding commits
sioners seem to have found another reason
for the rejection of votes. In certifying to
the result of the election at the Bolivar
Landing precinct, for instance the election
inspectors use the following language:
"John B. Lynch received 81 votes; James
X. Chalmers received As votes" The COM
missioners decided to reject the returns
from that precinct because the inspectors
failed to state for what Office Lynch and
Chalmers were candidates. In Jefferson
4 h. IL ub fharo
was fair and honest election, the inspector
who had been selected to carry the ballot
box to Fayette, the county seat, was over
powered on the road by armed men, and
the box, with its contents, taken away from
him and destroyed. In support of the
charge of fraud, the testimony is positive
and conclusive and the Democrats, knowing
and fearing this, have commenced series
of prosecutions against the witnesses liable
to be called. The testimony from Adams
county alone covers 800 pages of legal-cap
paper Should the case go to the elections
committee for examination, General Stewart
L. Woodford, of New York, will represent
Mr.. Lynch. Colored people, as a rule, are
only troubled with their own personal griev-
ances, but this case of Mr.. Lynch is one
which is entitled to the consideration of the
race all over the United States. In spite of
the large number of colored people living
in the South, there is no colored representa-
tive in either Of the halls of Congress. The
reason of this connot more plainly be set
forth than by the case of Mr.. Lynch, and it
is of vital interest to watch and see whether
the present Congress is just enough to rec
ognize right when demanded by colored
man, and to admonish wrong in a white
man.