Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-04-06

Then suffer not In silence,
To me thy grief impart,
And learn how true the devotion
OF n loving, faithful heart
GARFIELD AND EQUAL SUE
FRAGE.
The FREQ enjoy ment of equal suffrage I, still in
question, and frank statement Of the issue may
aid solution. II is alleged that In many eommu-
mites negro citizens are practically denied the
freedom Of the ballot bad local
government is certainly great evil which ought
to be prevented, but to violate the freedom and
sanotily Of the suilrageis more THAI an eyil-t Is
a crime, which II persisted In will destroy the
government ITSELF GaIfsld's Inaugural
That negroes are anywhere in the
land prevented from the free exercise
OF the ballot we do not believe. The
statement of the outgoing and the in.
coming President that they arc inter
iered with does not make it 80. The
statements of both these men, and thoy
were both ioisted upon tho people by
fraud, assume without reason that the
negroes of the South are not permitted
to use freely their right of suffrage.
Tho only instance we have of inter.
ference with the free exercise Of suf.
frage is where this James A. Garfield
himself, consorting and conspiring with
plundering carpet baggers, returning
board thieves and ignorant negroes,
male and female, disfranchiscd ten
thousand men in Louisiana, and thus
thwarted the will of eight millions of
freemen, emphatically expressed thro'
the ballot. If then, as Mr.. Garfield
says in the same paragraph, "in other
lands lit be high treason to compass
the life OF tho King, it should be no
less crime here to strangle our SOY.
ereign power and stihe ITS voice. he
should have been tried, convicted, and
hung for high treason in 1877 for he
strangled our sovereign power and
not only stifed but entirely drowned
its voice. 1t is rough on the nation
that our present and last Chief Magis.
trate cannot speak of the violation of
law, or refer to the punishment of
crime, without passing sentence upon
themselves.
1t is also assumed that the free ex.
ercise of suffrage is alone interfered
with in the South. What of the North &?
What rights were violated to make
Garfield President? Wherein was the
freedom and sanctity of tho ballot and
the power Of the popular voice stihed ?
Let us for a moment inquire. Through
violence alone to the ballot Indiana,
conceded Democratic State, was car.
ried by the Republicans. For the i'm.
plements used let the records answer.
Scott Ray, Esq, being sworn says
SUNDAY evening, January 25th, 1880,
in Shelbyville city, had converse.
ton with Henry s, Byers, in which he
said There is no Disgusting the fact,
Ray, the exodus movement of colored
men to Indiana is political movement
of the Republican party, as | know it
to be fact. We intend to carry In.
diana with the aid Of the negro vote.
We intend to bring eight thousand of
them into the State in time for to vote
this Fall, and place them in the close
Congressional districts and into the
close counties of Indiana That he
was in position to know that it was
an organized effort on the part of the
Republican managers to bring negroes
into the State for political purposes,
and he had contributed all the money
he was able to give to bring negroes
into Indiana" Mr. Byers is a lead
ing Republican of Shelby county.
Again, Thomas p. Mills, an eminent
Republican Of Indianapolis, engaged
in the real estate and railroad business
Question, Yoa have been In favor Of emigra.
tioni Answer. Yes, sir very much In favor Of
II. l told the boys when they first came that we
wanted 20 200 "bucks"-buck hggers, In Indiana
this year
O. You mean to say you wanted 20, 600 men ?
A. Yes, siri wo had no special use for women
and children.
Q. You had no idea Of labor connected with
this matterl A. No, sir l had no idea Of la
Dor 1 was looking for votes.
Q. You wanted the 20, 900 bucks to yoto2 A.
wanted them to vote, Of course.
Q. Are you Republican, A. Yes, sir,
am, and thought II we could get 10000 "buoks"
We could get away with you evcrlastingly.
This was the beginning of the loss of
Indiana. The conclusion was that the
employees in the manufactures and
workshops of Indiana were threatened
with discharge if they refused to vote
the Republican ticket, Negro sui.
frage, legal or illegal, according to
Republican morals, is all right, provid.
ing the negro votes for Hayes or Gar
field.
But this is not all. Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, New York and New
Hampshire were carried for this same
Mr.. Garfield by means the most vic.
lent ana despicablo ever brought to
bear upon people about to enjoy their
sufirages. The power of the National
Banks, the power Of the National
Treasury, and the wealth Of the pri.
vate citizens, were used to intimidate
and frighten business and business
men. Business men and business were
used to coerce, bully, threaten and
brow.beat the white laboring men of
these great Commonwealths into the
support Of ticket they loathed as
plague, and into voting for a man
whose character they despised. 1t is
patent to every man that by these
means alone Garfield was made Presi-
dent. That he was cognizant of and
aided and abetted in these great crimes
is equally clear.
To "violate the freedom and sanctity
OF the ballot is a crime which. II