Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1884-12-18


1t is possible that the statements here
given Of the total vote for Virginia, West
Virginia, Tennessee and Texas may
vary a little from the official returns
when published, but the variation, it is
believed, will not. be important. The
vote, it will be seen, could not have
been full in all these States, particular
ly in Tennessee and Arkansas. But it
is utterly impossible to believe that
twice as large proportion of the quail
flied voters voluntarily abstained from
voting in South Carolina as in North
Carolina, or in Georgia as in Texas
In short, no candid and reasoning per-
son can doubt that great part of the
qualified persons in the five States first
named were either by fear or force pre-
vented from voting, or failed to get their
votes counted. In the Northern States
the number of votes cast for each Rep
resentatiye is even larger than in
class. With fifteen States fully re-
ported, the aggregate vote in these is
6,344,772. They elect 185 Representa-
tives, and the average vote to each Rep
resentative is 1926. Only one of these
fifteen States falls below a ratio Of
about $4,000 for each Representative,
and in that instance the return of votes
Is unofficial and apparently incomplete.
In Rhode Island, however, from which
we have not seen full returns, the ratio
is lower because of property qualifica-
ton for voting, and that State is the
one exception at the North.
1t is to be remembered that there has
been an increase of population since the
census of 1880. The number of male
adults Is now larger than It. was when
the census was taken. But in the
Northern States there are large num-
bers of unnaturalized immigrants, at
the South scarcely any. In the five
Southern States first named the whole
number of foreign-born male adults in
voters to adult males ought to be larger
at the South than at the North; the fact
that it is much smaller is clear indi6a.
ton of the method by which Solid
South has been secured.
Nor is it to be overlooked that the in
crease of population would naturally
result in an increase of the vote. AT
the North it does; the total vote in 1880
was 6,384,897; this year it has been
about 6,888, 900. In the nine Southern
States where the election was compare
lively free the vote increases; the total
vote In 1880 was 1876, 204, and this
year It appears to be 2,016,551. But III
the five Southern States first named the
vote is smaller than it was In 1880; 1t
was then 700,097, and this year it has
fallen to 618,816. The number of vot-
ers for each Representative was 81, 298
at the North in 1880, and has increased
by the growth of population to $4,000
in 1884. In the nine Southern States
where voting is comparatively free the
five Southern States first named it was
1S,424 in 1880, and, in spite of the in
crease of population during four years,
has dropped to 16, 284 in 1884.
Finally, it is not a matter of infer
ence, but can be absolutely demon
strated, that the full vote of the five
States was not polled. In 1876 the
Democrats claimed that there were
actually cast in these five States $780,
829 votes, and the Republicans allowed
and counted nearly as many. But 240,-
600 of that vote has disappeared, not
withstanding the increase of popula-
ton. The votes claimed by Democrats
to have been cast in 1876 contrast with
the later votes as follows: