The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-26
PROTECTION OF THE BALLOT.
Senator John Sherman Discusses the
Most Important Question ofthe Time.
A Democratic Revolution Accomplished by
Fraud in the SOuth-The Infamous Out
RACES in Ohio, and the Remedy.
Speech in Washington on Saturday Night.

By FAR the most important question now De-
fore the American people is how to protect the
ballot-box from fraud and corruption. 1t is
transcending in Importance, because if it is estab-
lished as a rule in our country that anywhere
the voice of the people can be overthrown by
scoundrels and rascals of any degree, and the
people be deprived of their choice, then our
boasted republicsnism ends, and the war Of the
Guelphs and the Ghibelines. riot and ruin, com
mences. do not intend to speak Of partisan
ship. You all know that / am a Republican, and
/ intend to dismiss the subject of partisanship
to give you my conception of the nature and
character of the danger that now threatens the
American people. The habit of fraud in cleo
tions has existed more or less from the beginning
of our government, and must to some extent ex-
ist everywhere that criminals abound; hut never
before 1868 was the crime of election frauds or
ganized by great bands of men, bou.d together
by ties and contracts, which, contributing to a
common purpose overthrow and thwarted the will
of the people. This was in 1868. to prevent
General Grant from receiving the electoral vote
OF New York. Fortunately for the country, it
did not effect the result
Mr.. Sherman here reviewed the Tweed frauds,
and then recited the frauds in the South in 1876.
'"The day that Garfield was elected President
of the United States the same fraud existed in
those Southern States. The same combination
existed, but fortunately, impressed with the inn
poitance of affairs, the people elected Garfield,
and he became President by a sectional vote;
but last year, however, the same Democratic
power In the cotton States CT ntrolled the cleo
tlon, and deprived one million voters of the right
of suffrage. Whereas the vote, if counted, would
have changed the result, where six million peo-
pie have been deprived Of all representation. not
only in Congress-, but in the Electoral College
last year, by this combination of fraud, Cleve-
land was elected President. If there had been a
fair vote and a fair count in the South, James
G. Blaine would this day be President. That is
a solemn fact, and no man here denies it. l
have been begging day after day, asking Gov
ernor Hoadly, and Judge Thurman, and other
distinguished men in Ohio to deny this fact, and
they dare not do it. Since | made that declara-
ton in this canvass, the Southern States, by
their representatives and leading newspapers,
have admitted that what l said was true. The
Charleston News and Courier, on the 18th of Oc-
tober, in an article ably and fairly written, said
that what the white mon of South Carolina did
was by revolution TO overthrow the order of
things. They call it a revolution. l would call
it a rebellion.e
They accomplished what they call a revolu-
tion. and they want it distinctly understood that
the negroes of the South were deprived of their
AiShtcs nv ilituS SbiIN Vic VIII, anu
then the article says that this is a white mans
government, and we intend to maintain our
power although the blacks of South Carolina
are nearly two to one. If this is lawful, if this
is right. to deprive a majority, because of supe-
rior physical power, of their rights, then all frauds
are right, and the thief, the scoundrel, the forger
and pickpocket, may lawfully go to work and rob
whom they please. There is no crime greater
than this, and it is by this crime that a revolution
was made last year In the government; and that
crime l will denounce as long as l live, and wher-
| ever l speak.
Now, let US go a little further. The example
set by successful manipulation at the ballot-box
| which was resorted to, and every kind of inter.
ballot-box that overthrows the right Of
the poor and the public among them, is
now ~practiced and will be p~racticed in
every State of the Union, unless the people
stamp upon it and put it down, if necessary, by
force. My countrymen, we had it in Ohio; we
were going on in a peaceful and a quiet canvass,
and making speeches to our fellow citizens. We
were received with kindness everywhere, and
the people listened thoughtfully to what We had
to say. Wherever a Democrat appeared, he was
treated with equal kindness and courtesy, and l
feel bound to say that our Democratic fellow
cltlzens, especially in the rural districts, re-
ceived the Republican orators with kindness
and listened to them attentively. Finally, un
der circumstances of great difficulty and dis
couragement, with the national government and
the State government and nearly all the city
governments against US. and with a whole army
OF Prohibitionists against us, who fought US
tooth and nail; with all this opposition the peo-
pie of Ohio, by a majority of 20, 600, elected a
Legislature that was Republican by thirty ma
jority on joint ballot, and Governor Foraker by
a majority of 16, 900. Then the crime COM
menced at the ballot-boxes. The Legislature
had a majority of thirty on joint ballot.
I'm CINCINNATI, where they were accustomed
to election crimes, especially q year ago, when
one lieutenant of police, without warrant, ar
rested more than one hundred lawful voters on
the night before the election and put them in
the street station. and kept them
'unbenoticed,' as Lincoln used to say, kept them
in durance vile, and after election turned them
out without accusation-that fellow was tried,
found guilty, was sentenced by the judge, after
strong reproof, and sent to Jail for one year.
Then the Governor of Ohio, the chief magis-
trate, the man who was sworn to execute the
laws of Ohio, came here and begged a pardon
for Mullen from President Cleveland, and, l be-
heve,. upon erroneous President
Cleveland granted that pardon. That was a
year ago, and Mullen was sent back and ap-
pointed lieutenant of police, and he was set to
do the work over again. and to do il ten times
worse.
why, my co~untrymen, we dare not say any
thing about frauds in the South lest we be
charsed with raising the bloody shirt, but the
frauds in my State were a good deal worse this
year than ever before. They stopped the count
in fifteen precincts in Hamilton county Just
where they could manipulate them best, and
held back all the returns for no other purpose
except fraud. They did not change these returns
to an extent more than sufficient to elect the
whole Democratic ticket in Hamilton county,
the largest county in our State. There was one
precinct in the Fourth ward, a very bad place, l
know, where there were probably five or six
hundred voters i'll the ward, according to the re-
turns made on the election for President. About
one-fourth of these were Republicans and the
rest were Democrats. / think Blaine got about
l4O votes there. They made a registration of
seven hundred. When the day of election came
they tore up the registration papers and let
every fellow vote as many times as he wanted.
One of the judges swore that he saw one man
vote seven times; they did not quit until they
got 996 votes in the ballot-box, so they said.
The Republican judge got hungry and went
away, but he took the key. While he was
gone they broke open the box, tied it up
with a rope. took it to the lieutenant of nolice