Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1882-11-24
Frauds in the Fourth District.

THE following article To which editorial notice was
called yesterday, was inadvertently omitted.
The following extract speaks for itself.
1t was written to 4 friend in this city by
Captain II. I. Owen, of Green Bay Post
office, late q rcadjuster clerk in the Second
Auditors office, and q man of high charac-
ter. 1t was not intended for publication,
but it is none the less valuable on that
| account:
II want to tell you of mcof the frauds
| practiced here at the election, and when the
time comes to use the information for Mr..
Massey we will bring it all out"
The Auditor appointed H. r. Hoopcriour
county clcrll) collector Of delinquent taxes
for Prince Edward county, and Hooper
assumed the authority to appoint nine
assistant collectors, whose names were
printed on n public notice and posted con-
splcuously at each voting place in the
county,"
My name was one Of the nine, and I re-
celved the notice and a lot of 45 blank tax
receipts by mail without any letter or in
structions how to proceed My first in
pulse was to refuse to act ut all, but the
election day was just 4 week oil, and if
! refused to act some one else would act for
them and give the tickets out without re-
ceiving any money. So went about my
business quietly, and merely said if any
delinquent wanted to pay his tax | would
received it for Hooper and pass it over to
him. Only two men offered to pay, and
gave each one receipt signing my name
for Hooper. Saturday preceding the election
Champlin wrote me not to sign nv name
to the tax receipts as for Hooper, as there
might be some trouble about it if | did SO,
but to sign FL r. Hooper's name This Of
course opened my eyes, and closed collcc-
tons here with, rs / thought, the game
blocked on them. But Monday night Champ
In anu Bliss came over TO Green Bay and
distributed about one hundred taX-rc-
celpts to delinquents and to all others
who wanted them, and did not re-
cclve dollar. Now came my advantage
again. l refused to give any tickets to
ChampHn or anybody without the money,
and asked Champlin if he had the money to
pay for these parties, and he said no; but
he would sign Hoopcr's name, and that Ben
Hooper, the Congressional candidate, as
sumed the payment Of all the delinquent
taxes of Prince Edward. | informed the
judges of election ofthis, and asked them to
throw out every ticket signed by Hooper
unless they could recognize or prove his
handwriting; but they concluded to take
them, and thus one hundred men voted here
on fraudulent tax-reccipts; and the worst
of it all is, after the parties mad voted these
receipts were collected in some instances
perhaps in ALL and carried back to Farm
vile to Hooper. Some negroes tell us they
returned their tickets as soon as they were
used for voting to a negro named Baglcy.
who walked about the ground with carpet
bag collecting up the tax receipts as soon as
negro voted.
Some men whose taxes had been paid BY
employers, who still held the receipts were
supplied with these tax-tickets to vote.
Their names notbeing on the delinquent list,
it seems, made no difference. When we
got the papers next day, and saw the qucs
ton raised in Richmond about the Smelling
receipts: we then knew that l had no right
to act at all for Hooper, nor could the Audi
tor himself appoint more than one collector
for any county, city, or town in the State"
Zone precinct in Lunenburg county closed
the polls at A p. m. before the people were
done coming. At another the voters were
not required to show taX-leceipts till citi
zen protested, and it was thereafter done J;
Yours. truly, II. S. OWEN.
p. ST. am satisfied there were about GOO
fraudulent votes allowed in our county,
Mr. Massey has been cheated hy false
counting and fraud out Of not less than
10000 votes.
As so many voted without paying any tax.
don't you think | ought to give the two dol
lars back to the two men | collected from ? !
Who has right to the money, these two
two men, or the State Auditor ?'-Richmond
Dispdtch