River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-01-26
DEMOCRATIC FRAUDS.
A Real Reat Republican Speech Deliver
by COiored Citizen.

One of the best speeches made dur
ing the convention of Republican
clubs in New York was that of ex-
Congressman John r. Lynch, of Mis-
sissippi. Jr. Lynch is a colored man,
a native OF Louisiana. was born
slave and remained in slavery until
freed by the war. Since his childhood
he has lived in Mississippi. serving,
since the war. as justice of the peace.
member of the Legislature and two
terms in Congress. He was temper
AIRY chairman of the National Repub-
liean convention in 1884, and is well
known in political circles as a man of
decided ability Mr.. Lynch was in
vited to speak on the suppression of
the Republican vote at the South. and
his speech was a powerful plea for POI
litieal acknowledgements After apol-
ogizing to mugwumps and weak
knecd Republicans for referring
to subject that they might
term 1.-THE bloody shirt. :" he
! proceeded to speak of Democratic
methods in the South. He said he
spoke from experience, having fire.
| quently been a candidate for Office in
Mississippi What he should say was
not 'in the nature of a conjecture. a
guess. an assertion. hut absolutely
positive. personal, painful knowledge"
de assured his hearers that such 2
thing as a fair election and honest
count was unknown in Mississippi.
1--WE 20 through the form of an election
and nothing but the form" All public
officials, from Presidential electors.
| Governors and members of Congress.
to county and local officers. are named
/ by Democratic conventions. and
"when the Democratic conventions
adjourn the polls re closed. " If
Republicans, white Q. colored. think it
worth while to vote. their votes are
not counted. Every county has Dem
Ocratic returning board that super
yises the returns and fixes them to suit
emergencies. In the State of Missis-
sippi." said Mr.. Lynch. there are at
least 10000 more colored than white
voters. Fully one-third of the white
men vote the Republican ticket
when they vote at all, and less than
one-tenth of the colored men vote the
Democratic ticket Now then, You
can easily judge for yourselves, if
more than one-third of the white men
vote the Republican ticket ard less
than one-tenth of the colored men the
Democratic, there being 10000 more
black than white men in the State,
that State ought to be safely Repub-
lican. In view of this fact, the
speaker said. that with fair election
and an honest count Mr.. Cleveland
would have no more chance to carry
Mississippi than he would to carry
Vermont or Ohio. He said candid
Democrats in the South knew that was
so, and justified the suppression of the
colored vote on the ground that il was
necessary to keep white men in Office.
This is the old Democratic cry of
''white mans government" but Mr..
Lynch said it was fraud; for IF we
had perfectly free, fair and honest
ballot throughout the South to-day.
there would come up to Congress and
colored vote a majority of white men,"
Thus his plea was for the enfranchise-
ment of Southern Republicans and not
merely of colored Republicans. The
Republican vote was suppressed be-
cause of politics, not because Of color.
at is not a question of color" said
the speaker; '.it is a question
of party. They count ont not
black men because they are black,
but Republicans because they are Re
publicans. They count in Democrats.
not because they are white but because
they are Democrats, and they want
the offices. This state of things ex-
listed because public opinion at the
North tolerated il, and it would con-
tinue to exist until the Northern peo-
pie were aroused to a realization of
the situation. The election of Cleve-
land by the Mississippi plan, giving
him the electoral votes of at least
three Southern States to which he had
absolutely no claim whatever. was
construed as an Endorsement of South
ern methods and license to continue
them. He regarded this as the para
mount question before the country
to-day and beyond comparison more
important than the tariff question. As
long as the present state Of things con-
tinued neither the tariff nor any other
question could be fairly settled
what does it profit YOU he said.
''to get the judgment of the peo-
pie on the tariff question. the ddg-
ment of Pennsylvania Rhode island.
and Massachusetts. and Me-, York. if
that Judgment is to be set aside
through the suppression of the pop
ular judgment in one-half of the States
of the Union?" Again he asks: What
is the use of making tho tariff an issue
if the people are not allowed to decide
upon it? What is the use OF having
the majority of this people in favor of
protection when you allow the minor
ity to defeat that viii by appointing
men to Congress instead of electing
them?' We have given only a gem
eral outline and few of the salient
points of the speech, which was ter
rible and evidently truthful revelation
of Southern politics. 1t shows that the
solid South means nothing more nor
less than the overthrow OF Republic
an Government in several States.
Popular elections do not exist there.
Such thing as a fair election and an
honest count is unknown. II is a
reign Of force and fraud in the interest
Of Democracy. a state of things that
makes the constitution of the United
States mockery and the American
flag a Haunting lie. 1t is laying the
foundation of second rebellion BY
the destruction of popular suffrage.
and it calls for continued crusade in
the interest of a free ballot. Indian
ap0lis journal.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
BSs~ There is growing confidence that
the Republicans are bound to succeed |