The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1888-04-14
TIE SUPPRESSION or THE NEGRO
VOTE


GIIemry WulIrrsOn Ia the April FOrum.l
In order to lay his foundations for
! MS arraignmeHi oI two generations OF
! hl+ COuuirVIHCn, one Ol which at least |
/ had no part nor lot in the rebellion, ,and
| the other of which is passing rapidly |
from tho scene, it il assumed by Mr.. |
llalstead, nearly twenty-thrce years
after the firing OF the last shot in that
bloody conflict, that loyalty to the |
constitution il confined TO u single |
section OF the union, and in that section |
limited To II single party. 1t Is assum. |
cd that the $, hile people of the other |
| and forbidden section are not merely |
dIsipyaI, but dishonest and inhumane; |
| the iiirEds of assassination, partly Tor |
the love of it and partly for its advan-
| tagc as Il force i'll the elections. 1t is |
assumed that the black people of this
contrabimd section are not only quail
fled 10 vote intclligently, bat that they |
agree entirely with Mr.. Halstead, and
are, as II matter of course, one and all
red-hOt red republicans.
Ii is only fair To Mr.. Haistead TO say
that lie is, i'll this, if in nothing else,
perfectly consistent. During two
decades he ias made it the business OF
his life TO stir up sectional hate, to
bend the history of every day TO the
service of sectional strife, and to con-
tribute, as tar as [ can recall, not one
word 10 the cause of sectional good
will. Thus, with the best intentions,
rs he conscientiously believes, he has
surrounded himself, and filled the air
about him with Il troop OF political
hobSoblins, who play strange, inces-
SAINT Eranks upon his faucy. They are
none the less the phantoms OF au i'll
famed patriotism, All inperiOus and
rcslle less temper and all imagination (f
he will forgive my saying SOY not yet
, quite cured of ills original, and, for the
, matter of that, aboriginal, luridity and
fervor.
, As the readers of the Forum cannot
have failed TO observe, MIR. Halstead
lacks tor no confidence in assertion.
But he is still more confident in his
q statistics. He seems to be impressed
f by the conCeit that Figures won't Ie,'
=. all unconscious that no false witnesses
- are SO efiicacious and constituencies
:, when employed to make out case fol
a packed jury. Let us see how. i'll HE
effort to fire the northern heart agains,
the south, he employs them.
70 begin with, Mr.. Halstead take:
five AZ the ratio of population to bal
lois, ana in states thickly populated
with d population largely urban, thu
may do very well. II will not do il
states largely agricultural, in which
" cities and towns are few. The habit
10 of lie are different political excitemen
IL does not run 80 high. men do not 81
y readily congregate and thus influence
10 each other, aud 40 a tu!l vote Is neve
IS poled. Moreover, "full votes' depend
g. largely on narrow margins between
rr the opposing parties. Wnen election
}. contests are close, party manager
y resort to every means, legitimate ant
rs lilleX!timGte, TO bring out The part
1t strength, when i'll states about who's
ne position there is no doubt both partie
a are lelhargic and indifferent.
u, Compare, for moment, politics
es affairs in Ohio with the course c
III politics in Kentucky. In Kentucky II
1t one Giaiuls that the negro vote is sup
&c pressed. Aside from any moral ques
he upu involved, there Is no motive t
1t suppress it. A negro or republca
es is az free 90 vote, or to refrain iror
is voting, in Kentucky as is white ma
or democrat. There is no excite
|
>is doubt as TO the result, In 1880, fu
IL example, Hancock was exceedingl
u popular in Kentucky. and Ou
peopln were deeply anxious Tor HI
y election yet with II population ,accOrC
Dis ing to the census of 1880, ol l,6i8,6g
y the total vote cast i'll Kentucky Wa
" 26S, ,OI7, when, according TO NJ
40 Hal l-tead's ratio, il should have bee
- -)u ii nf
In 1850 Ohio's population was 3,l95
he O62, and, according to Mr.. Halstea'
no that state was entitled to 639 ,612 vote:
OF it cast 722 1925, or an excess Of 02,7l
a Ohio went republican
lis, In the two states there is Wit
nj divergence; but I is fairer and MOI
lic reasonable 10 assume fraud, ballOt-bC
ty- stutfing, false returns and wholesal
Is, corruption In order to account for Il
nts immense excess of voters north OF I'll
cr- Ohio, than ii is to account for the sma
Ieu vote in Kentucky by the theory
notification. The point | make
Ar that the population OF the southel
at states is widely scattered; it is chief
i'll rural Naturally, after the downfs
is OF the carpetbag governments, Il
imprisonment or the exile of their o
cts leaders, the negroes took less intere
see in politics than did the same pOpulatl'
;an at the north.
can Take, now, the whole population al
IN the total popular vote in 1880. Pop
ht- latiom, 80, ,1S3. The vote, accor
ict, ing to Mr.. Halstead, should have be-
nit 10, ,O3l ,l56, but it was only 9,2O4 ,42S,
e SO0,0U0 votes nuIlitied. Or, TAXI
lnd the Ohio ratio, the total should ha
been IL ,250 900 and thus over 2,OOO,C
finl votes were Dullitied.
lrty a wiser craftsmanship would 81
ave and more humane philosophy wo,
rue counsel, a surer, speedier and gent
rom solution OF the problem, because the
is perfectly simple and ready RENE
tics from every evil complained of by n
as ilalstead.
ant. The remedy is the removal OF ext
are nal pressure.