Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-11-29
Democratic Tactics in the Solid South.

Democratic Tactics in the Solid South.
The Seventh Congressional District of
South Carolina is Republican by a clear
majority of $4,000. 1t was the only
district in this part of the South which
can possibly cast a Republican majority
under the present condition of politics
in that section of the Union. The Dem
ocrats wanted even the last Republican
district in the cotton growing portion
of the South, and devised means by
which it could be obtained.
The facts in regard to the method of
canvassing the votes in that district
have been received at Washington, and
can be told in few words. 1t is we'll
known that Mr.. Robert Smalls, colored,
has represented that district in Congress
for number of years. He is man of
quite large ability, is good speaker,
thoroughly honest, very popular, and
was candidate for reelection. He re-
ceiyed large majority of the votes, but
the Democratic managers deliberately
proceeded to count him out, and they
did it in fashion, which for ingenuity,
excelled any device for working fraud
the Southern Democrats ever attempted
in the South. They did not issue tissue
ballots, nor stuff the ballot boxes tricks
which are quite familiar with Southern
Democrats. They invented something
fresh, something holder and even more
ingenious than anything ever before
known in the Southern system of cleo
ton frauds. They determined to throw
out whole precincts on the ground that
the election officers had been guilty of
irregularities. But they took good care
that the precincts that suffered in this
way were the precincts where Mr..
Smalls had his overwhelming MAORI
ties. In the precincts where Elliot, the
Democratic candidate, had majorities,
the Democratic election officers made no
mistakes, or if they did, they were
graciously overlooked. Thus in Beau
fort County, three precincts that gave
Elliot los votes and Smalls US votes,
were rejected by the Democratic judges
on the ground of irregularities by Dem
oeratic officials which they had purpose
ly permitted. In Berkeley County,
another strong Republican county, the
judges refused to count the votes of
seven precincts which gave Elliot a
total of 1872, and Smalls total of 1873
votes. As the Democratic party had all
the election officers, they were easily
able to arrange for irregularities in all
the Republican precincts, and on this
ground claimed the right to reject their
vote. BY such practices they could
wipe out Republican majority of 25,-
900 or 100000 without any trouble and
the result shows they had no compunc-
ton in doing so.
The fact has also reached Washington
that there was not single Republican
Inspector of election in all the Seventh
Congressional District of South Caro-
lima. The governor appoints three COM
missioners of election for each county
or parts of county in the Congressional
District, and they in turn appoint three
managers for each precinct in their
county. They were eighty precincts In
Mr.. Small's district, and not one Re-
publican was appointed in the entire
district.
The Democrats will no doubt consider
these very fine tactics, and indeed they
are, and for unblushing fraud The Dem
ocracy of the South or of New York
City never invented anything more
damnable. Suppose that in all the
Third District of Wisconsin, Tor in any
other district of the state, there could
not be found Democratic inspector OF
election--all appointed for partisan
purposes what would the Democracy
of Wisconsin think of such tactics? II
such outrageous frauds were too vile for
Wisconsin, are they not too vile for
Soath Carolina?
The letter of the President declining
to re-instate District Attorney Stone, of
n - T.