The Portland daily press., 1888-12-05
GUARDED the BALLOT BOX.
An Episode of the Election In MIssls-
slppI.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4.-Gen. Chalmers, Of
Mississippi, is here to arrange for the taking
of testimony preparatory to making a con-
test before the House of Representatives for
his seat In Congress. to which he was elected.
the certificate to which was given to his
Democratic opponent The story that Gen.
Chalmers tells Of that election when re-
duced to legal form. viii be startling pre-
sentation Of the methods by which white
men maintain their political supremacy in
the Southern States. Among the occurren-
ces described by Gen. Chalmers these may be
OF interest:
1t is the custom at these Southern polling
precincts for the election officers, all of
whom are almost invariably Democratic, to
take the ballot boxes to their private homes
when they dine in the middle OF the day
The private house is regarded as the castle
of these election inspectors, and it is castle
into the knavery of which the outside public
is never permitted to inquire. These ballot
boxes which are taken into these private
houses at noon filled with Republican ballots
are generally brought out from them after
dinner without the Republican ballots In
the precinct in Gen. Chalmers's district, to
on November last had quite q different ex-
perience. At that precinct Gen. Chalmers
succeeded In securing some very resOlute
white men to keep watch about the polls.
These Republicans entered in book which
they kept the name of every Republican who
voted for General Chalmers, and as each
man cast his ballot in the box his hame was
checked off. Those books have been careful
ly preserved. In one precinct where this
practice was followed the books show that
90 -
which very considerable number were
polled by white men. When the box In that
precinct was opened, however, the. election
officers returned only seven votes for Gener-
al Chalmers. One Of the features of the
contest OF General Chalmers for his seat will
be the affidavits OF the $50 Republicans who
voted at that poll, that their ballots were
placed in that ballot box at the proper time /;
that they were lawful voters duly registered
and the gentlemen who kept tally win pre-
sent their check list In proof. In that pre-
clnct, and In fact In most Of the precincts, no
Republican officers were permitted, what
ever the State law may provide to the con-
trary. But this sort Of thing did not happen
with the particular ballot box at which one
daredevil ex-Confederate soldier was Gen.
Chalmers's witness. When the hour Of noon
came the election officers started, according
to their custom, for dinner to private house
and prepared to take the box with them.
This old Confederate soldier stepped up, and
tapping the box with his hand, said: "Ihis
box dimes today at the hotel" The election
officers did not venture 10 make any obIec-
tiOn. The box was taken to the hotel, and
the x-Confederate watcher announced that
he should dine with the election officers be
side the box. The election officers proceeded
to dispose of the box by placing 1t under the
table. The ex-Confederate tapped the box
again and said This box shall have chair
at the table between u.s." The box was
placed on a choir between Gen. Chalmers S
volunteer inspector and the election officers,
and it was not lost sight of until the time
came for the count to begin, and when the
votes were counted there the result showed
that that county gave Harrison and Morton
a majority. 1t was, perhaps.the only county
in Mississippi where the electoral vote was
honestly counted. The gentleman who tele-
graphed to Gen. Harrison the announcement
that that county was for him was Gen. Chal-
mers's courageous ex-Confederate watcher.