The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-06-21
Significance Of the Contested Election
"a -as Cases.


.c.sr.I 7 .e Cases.
The recent Congressional events have
important political significance. They
revive the hope that the integrity of the
ballot-box may be re-established as the
ruling principle of popular elections in
the South. Without a free vote and
fair count the Electoral system is a
sham and a delusion; intimidation has
prevented the former and fraud defeat
ed the latter in the Southern States ever
since the property and intelligence"
OF that section have practically excluded
the freedmen from the exercise of their
civil and political rights. During the
past SIX years the National House OF
Representatives has been under the con-
troll of the Democrats, whose anxiety to
maintain "Solid South as the only
ment has induced them to close their
eyes to Electoral outrages, and to admit
10 seats men who had no moral claim
thereto. The Democrats have been so
reckless in their justification of election
frauds at the South that it is surprising
the opponents of the .Bourbons have not
become entirely discouraged, and have
not abandoned contests for their rights
even in the clearest cases of fraud. 1t
was high time that the honor. and dig
nifty of Congress should be rescued from
the habit Of condoning and rewarding
fraud, and the rejection of the bull
dozers and ballot-box suffers is a notice
to the ruling faction in the South that,
however successful these dishonest
methods may be in local politics, they
need not expect henceforth that Con-
gress will become an acoomplice after
the fact by prostituting its membership
to the disfranchisement of whole dis
tricts. sa .,.,...l go .-.s.. ...... ...--..
The Democrats in Congress have
grown bold in their defense of political
dishonesty. As usual, they were ready
to go to tina very verge of revolution to
save the Bourbons Of the South. As
usual, there was plenty of buster about
.'the last ditch and s'the crack of
DOOM to indicate the Democratic de-
termination to resist a PoHtre an effort
to dislodge them from their intrench-
ment behind fraud and violence. And,
as usual, the Democrats outraged pub
lie sentiment and Justice to the last
degree of endurance. Then they
yielded to the rights of the majority,
after having once again warned the
country of the reckless and desperate
character of their struggle for su-
premacy. They proposed to prevent
the majority from administering long
delayed justice to, disfranchised masses
in Southern districts. They resorted to
filibustering, not for the purpose of
securing discussion, but in order to pre-
vent the consideration of the contested
election cases. They took the position
that minority of the House could pre-
x-apt oonct,tut;nno1 Ornrtrr11 from
transacting business; and had the Re-
publicans yielded to their bravado they
would have blocked all public business
of the year to keep men in seats who
were not entitled to them. They DEM
onstrated that party advantage, even
when secured by fraud, is dearer to
them than the public welfare. The
Northern Democrats submitted to the
lash of the Southern Bourbons as alb
jectly as they used to do in ante-Wal
times. Mr.. Burrows told the simple
truth when he said that ''the country
has yet to hear one word or syllable oi
denunciation of tissue-baIlots and other
election frauds in the South from the
Democratic minority in the House. !"
The Democrats have been united in
their championship of fraud, and their
defeat in so bad cause cannot fail to
add to the popular distrust with which
| their party is regarded wherever the
| purity of the ballot4box is maintained.
Mr. Horr, of Michigan, described the
Republican purpose properly when he
undertook the other day to tell why
these election cases have been urged
with so much energy. 1t is essential to
the existence of the Government thai
elections shall be protected against
| terrorism and cheats. Mere party adj
vantage is of minor importance by com
parison. The Republican party seeks
no recruits from Bourbons and no as.
sistance from their methods. He was
not ready, nor is the Republican party
as whole, to open its arms to such q
man as Chalmers because the latter is
disgruntled at the failure of his party
associates to keep him in a seat which
he held for several years without
shadow of claim. Mr.. Lowe has been
seated in place of General Wheeler, the
bulldozer, though Mr.. Lowe is not only
Democrat but Greenbacker, and
thus doubly arrayed against the prin-
ciples of the Republican party. The
| Republicans have been engaged in re-
| bukino fraud and depriving it of the
fruits Il has brought forth in the South.
| This is mission which is at once hon.
orable and necessary. The Southern
Bourbons must be taught that they can
not continue to exercise an undue infiu-
ence over National affairs by means OF
balIot-box stJIffing or other devices to
defeat the will Of the majority.
| THE anti-Bourbons Of the South must
be encouraged to assert their rights by
| the assurance that when they do so
| they shall be sustained by Congress.
These two lessons, once thoroughly inn
pressed upon the Southern people, will
work political revolution in their sec
ton; and hence theexpulsion of Wheel
er, Chalmers, Dibble and Finley from
| the House, to which they were never
elected, has been'of the highest signiti-
canoe with regard to the rule of ma
| jorities. = Chiedgo Tribune. 5