The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1882-09-09

~
We wonder sometimes IL intelligeIs
members OF the Republican party really
do swallow. without protest. the extraor-
binary stories which their party organs
| tell about the manner in which cleo
tions are carried in the South. If they
| do it is remarkable. They must have
| forgotten the :. outrage milln and
the facility with which it turnel out
"bogus" outrages when there was be-
licyed to be Northern demand for the
article. They pust have forgotten
Eliza Pinkston, with her imaginary
Wounds. and the Memphis coiorcd wo-
man who was so terribly outraged. and
tdrned out, when Northern sympxthy.
had been sufficiently excited. to. be q
man. Surely if they recall these and
outrage manufacturers have been COM
PEELED 60 confess that they had lied and
that their stories were pure inyentionA
they cannot accept the s'yarns" which
the New York Tribune, the Detroit Pot
land other reckless partisan papers cook
| up for them. s,ssf ii IA ~
And yet if intelligent Republicans do
not accept these yarns--as we feel surs
they do not--itis strange that the organs
keep on narrating them team only be
Laccounted 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 Trf6-
xnc. 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, terrible story Of election
frauds. The County Comm ssioncrs
met in August, instead OF October, rs
the law required, and they struck out
1923 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 81 colorcd man
who cannot read but OF hard sense and
as brave as lion," played a prominent
part. According to WitherspOon, "aft-
er the polls were closed. the Inspectors
locked themselves in and began to connt
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 Dem
ocratic clerk announced that the Demo-
Gratis had carried the precinct by hand
some majority. He caught up the bal
lot-box. with the ballots in it, backed
into corner drew q big pistol andtoid
the conspirators that there must be far
play and an honest count, They coaxed,
threatened and expostuiated, but he re-
manned firm, and there he stood all
night keeping guard over the balIot-box
and the Inspectors, who dared not at
tack him, for they knew he would shoot
to KILL es
By its dramatic intensity this nara
tive was well calculated to deceive and
perhaps did deceive some who had new
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 upimpeach-
able testimony that the Commissioners
-Seid their meeting at the precise time
required by the law; that Instead of l. 623
names being struck OF the poll-listthere
were but SOB struck Of, of whom. It's,
not s.less than thirty were Democrats
As an Offset to the declaration of With
erspoon that large number Of legal
voters were struck of, it is shown that
the registration books contained 1900
names, while the census showed 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 1t occurred, was an
nounced as Republican, 118. Democrats,
&c; and Broeksey has made and had pub
lished the following affidavit: sdt 81
PERSONALLY appeared before me. g. W. l.
| Jones, a Justice of the Peac In and for 81 d
duly sworn, says that he was Inspector at the
general election, held at Precinct No. Z, I'm No
1 vember. 1880, and that no such dIsgraceful
| scene took p!ace as was described by Rev.
| Mr.. With poon, in his Interview win aoof-
| respondent of the New YORK Tribune, Of tho
| 18th ultl n further states that he did not
sen Sand enS q bf s
| the other, nor d be plunge bis band Into the
1 fire and grabb.e out some OF tho tsssfs ballots,
! that the ssue ballots were throwi out and q
ia-i count 'A~' ORCHARD BRoCKsEY.
Sworn E to ar, and subscribed before me this
''' l' . = &c. W.. L JONES'
Justice Of the Peace
/ The utter collapse of the story is not
! at all surprising. 1t was precisely what