The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-02-17
"TuE GHOST OF INTIMlDAT1oN. D
Congressman Aiken Exercises Il With tfnrd
Facts.

| being under consideration, Congressman
Aiken spoke as follows:
After the admirable speeches made 10.
day by the gentleman from Connecticut
Dir. Hawley) and the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Robinson) had
hoped that this discussion might have
been continued upon that plane Of states
manship which they had inaugurated,
and that partisan prejudices would no
more be heard in this debate. But my
good friend from Indiana, (Mr. Calkins,)
whose attention now invoke, has
| thought proper to present some very per.
tinent questions, which propose directly
| 10 answer.
From The remarks of my friend and Of
somc Of those who preceded hin, on that
e.de of the House, am impressed that
If there Is any pharisaical Righteousness
on earth IL is TO be found in the Repub.
!ican party whenever questions pertain.
ing 10 the South are discussed by them.
To-day they seem to be soicitnus whether
or not large proportion of the people Of
the South are permitted to vote, and the
not the duty Of Congress to appoint o
committee Of investigation upon this
subject.
ask my friend from Indiana tAir.
CalkinH) and his colleagues why is thi. n
| latter day thought with them? Why did
they not desire to investigate this subject
when Republican rascality and extrava-
gance were running riot over the South
and none but Republican votes were
cast? hold in my hand sir, q Con.
gressional Directory for 1874, Of the first
session of the Forty third Congress. and
in turning to my own State find thot J
II. Rainey received In the First District
| 1866 votes as q Republican, "bcing all
the votes that were cast" as the Direc.
tory states. From The same source
learn that A. j. Ransicr was elected as q
Republican from another District, receiv.
ing 20,061 votes against 6,549 votes cast
for w. Gurney, independent Republican,
not single Democratic vote being cast
in the District In tho Third District,
which l have the honor to represent, r.
u. Elliott, the candidate for the Repub.
lican parts, received 2i,j27 votes, while
only 1,094 votes were cast for W. II.
McCaw, Democrat. One year later /
find l.. G. Carpenter, Republican, waA
elected to fill All unexpired term, Elliott
having resigned, and received 23,l85
votes, as is recorded in tho Directory
there being no organized opposition"
Why Is it that this party Of great moral
ideas. which ,heh controlled the execu.
tive and Legislative branches OF our Gov
crnment, did not think it incumben,
upon them to have Congressional inves.
tigatiOn of this one e.sided condition oil
things3
But let us come a little nearer to the
present time. In the Directory OF 1910
lind that at the election of 1874 Z. w
NJ. Msckey, Republican, received
1912 votes, and that C. w. Butte, also O
Republican, received ut the same time
H. ,2O4 votes; no record tc be found Of q
Democratic vote being cast in the Dis.
trlct. Is it not strange, Mr.. Speaker
that this party, whose representatives Oil
this floor are 30 clum0r0us for fair and
free elections, did mos consider it thoiI
duty to investigate at that time these
anomalous oiections7
But, sir, this same Republican party
to day 30 just, SO fair, 80 moral, at that
time go callOus, 30 insensble to the rightt
that all election districts ahall be com.
posed of contiguous counties. Sir, slIow
INC TO instance but siugle ccse o. Re.
publican gerrymandering during their
rcvelry. extravaganza and prodigality in
South Carolina. The Third Congress
ional District wns composed Of the coun.
ties of Abbeyille, Anderson, Laurens
Newberry, Oconee, Pickens aud Rich.
lind, and no portion of Richiand County
Is within perhaps fifteen miles of any
point of either of the remaining counties
which constitute the District, Lexington
County, which has Democratic majority
Of about 1000, intervening between
Richland and Newberry.
The gentleman (Mr. Calkins) must no,
mlsnnGeraland me a. saving .ha. !: :"s=ss
the number of troops that overawed
South Carolina during the six years to
which | have alluded, and during which
time 7 have ehown therc were no Demo.
cratic votes cast. We refrained from
v&.ing not because We were afraid of the
military force present, but because we
protested against that usurpa,iun vi
power that authorized the presence oil
the military ut the ballot-box. We be.
licved then, as now, that we were again
in the Union and had the right to cast a
free ballot, which could not be done in
tn, presence of the suzeranty of the
bayonet. Sir, we were subsequently
Obedient to the Federal authorities.
Gen. Ruger was then in command in
South Carolina, and had he hung UP hiu
old boots In the Capitol and written
above them. 'He who shall dare these
boots dispiaco, must meet the United
States face to face" the order would have
been implicitly obcyed by every citizen
of the State, and I'll -se cid boots would
have been as potent Ia executing the
commands of tho goyernment MS ten
times the number of soidicrs as were then
in the State. 7. "as not the power sir,
but the presence of the bayonet that
drove Democratic voters from the polls
during those ak long years of anarchy
and oppression. Sir, in 1873 / myself
told soldier at the polls, 81 will not vote
under duress; the Constitution entities
me to the privilege OF voting as free,
man. and there is no freedom under that
bayonet." For that reason, and for tina.
reason alone, sir, yefrnined from voting,
and so did the Democrats of the State.
But the Republican party claim that
the negroes of the South must OF neces
hity vote the Republican ticket. Possi.
bly, there was an ostensible reason &c.
this thought some years age; but 10 day
there exist potential causes for e reduc.
tion of the Republican negro vote at
every election. The int.,lt .tuality OF
the race Is improving, the more thrifty OF
them are acquiring property and becom.
ing taxpayers, and find Democratic IN.
o.;...:: P..as;:y .oss 1uIIuiisuuio 10 iiie lax
payers than Republican government.
and thousands of the mure Ignorant spd
timia have been rescued by their humane
employers from the oppression Of their
Union Leagues and other jesuiticai or.
- Al