The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-08-03
Bogus "Outrages." !"

DV5uo OuehuSOss
We wonder sometimes if intelligent
members of the Republican party really
do swallow, without protest, the extraor-
dinary stories which their party organs
tell about the manner in which cleo
tions are carried il the South. If they
do it is remarkable. They must have
forgotten the :. outrage mill F" and
the facility with which it turnel out
"bogus" outrages when there was be-
ieved to be a Northern demand for the
article. They must have forgotten
Eliza Pinkston, with her imaginary
wounds, and the Memphis colored wo-
man who was SO terribly outraged, and
turned out, when Northern sympathy
had been sufficiently excited, to be
man. Surely if they recall these and
the scores OF similar cases in which the
outrage manufacturers have been com
PEELED to confess that they had lied and
that their stories We're pure inventions,
they eannot accept the :. yarns which
the New York Tribune, the Detroit Post
and other reckless partisan papers cook
up for them.
And yet if intelligent Republicans do
not accept these yarns-as we feel sure
they do not-itis is strange that the organs
keep on narrating them. 1t can only be
accounted for on one of two theories.
Either the organs have no intelligent
Republicans among their readers, or
they prefer to address themselves to the
unintelligent who can be made to swal-
low anything that has the party's stamp.
An illustration of the reckless lying
indulged in by the men who manufact-
ure these stories for the organs was fur
nished recently by the New York Trib-
une. Reporting an interview with With
erspoon, the colored contestant for the
seat of Davidson representing the Sec
ond Florida District, correspondent of
the Tribune told, on the authority of
Witherspoon, a terrible story of election
frauds. The County Comm ssioners
met in August, instead of October, as
the law required, and they struck out
1,623 names, less than thirty of which
were Democrats. But this was nothing
to the scene enacted at the count in
which the Republican Inspector, Dick
Brocksey, described as "a colored man
who cannot read but OF hard sense and
as brave as lion," played prominent
part. According to Withcrspoon, ''aft-
er the polls were closed, the Inspectors
locked themselves in and began to count
the ballots. Brocksey at once noticed
in the box large number of very thin
tissue ballots, about two inches square,
and he knew that no voter had shown
any such ballot. He therefore made up
his mind that something was wrong, and
this opinion was confirmed when the
two Democratic Inspectors and the Deni-
ocratic clerk announced that the Demo-
Gratis had carried the precinct by a hand
some majority. He caught up the bal
lot-box, with the ballots in it, backed
into corner, drew a big pistol and told
the conspirators that there must be fair
play and an honest count. They coaxed,
threatened and expostulated, but he re-
manned firm, and there he stood all
night keeping guard over the ballot-box
and the Inspectors, who dared not at
tack him, for they knew he would shoot
to KILL
+ BY its dramatic Intensity this narra-
tive was well calculated to deceive and
perhaps did deceive some who had nev-
er been caught with similar ''chaff. -
But it has been so thoroughly contra
dicted that its author, and even the New
York Tribune, must be heartily ashamed
of it. 1t has been shown by unimpeach-
able testimony that the Commissioners
held their meeting at the precise time
required by the law; that instead of 1.623
names being struck OF the poll-list there
were but 503 struck of, of whom 115,
not "less than thirty" were Democrats.
As an offset to the declaration of With
erspoon that large number of legal
voters were struck off, it is shown that
the registration books contained 4,60C
names, while the census showed a vot-
ing population of but 1900. AS to the
dramatic incident of the lion-hearted
Brocksey, it appears that the vote of the
precinct, where it occurred, was an
nounced as Republican, 11S, Democrats,
26; and Brocksey has made and had pub.
lished the following affidavit:
"Personally appeared before me. G. W. L
| Jones, Justice of the Peace in and for sa:C
county Richard Brocksey, colored who, being
duly sworn says that he was Inspector at the
general election held at Precinct No. 7, in No
vember, 1880, and that no, such disgracefu
| scene took place as was described by Rev
| Mr.. Wtherspoon, in his interview with cor
respondent of the New York Tribune, of the
| 10th ult. He further states that he did no
back himself up IN one corner of the house
with the box in one hand and big pistol il
fire and grabble out some of the tissue ballots
| as represented by Mr.. WitherspoOn, but say!
that the tissue ballots were thrown out and ,
-''-- W ''' '''''>,O ORCHARD BRoCKsEY.
"Sworn to and subscribed before me thi.
June 0, A. d. 1882.
Sc w. l. JONES,
| Justice of the Peace"
The utter collapse of the story is no
at all surprising. 1t was precisely wha
was to be expected in the light of ex
perience. And it is to be expected
also in the light of experience-that the
New York Tribune will be quite ready
tomorrow, or next day, or next week
or at any time, to accept any othel
story of the same caliber and spread i
before its readers, without caring
whether it is true OF false, so that it ha
the ring of Republican partisanship ant
seems to bolster the Republican cause
Detroit Free Press.