The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-08-31
Voters Disfranchised by the Hundred. and
BalIot-BOxes Boldly Stuffed to Send DEM
ocratic Candidate to Congress.
Measures Taken by the Postmaster-Gen-
eral to Stop Frequent Nail Robberies.
The Reward Increased to 81 ,000-C Chinese in
British Columbis-Presidential Pardons-
Miscellaneous Capital News.
INFAMOUS ELECTION FRAUDS.
High-Handed Manner in Which the Seventh
South Carolina District Is Run.

High h-Handed Manner in Which the Seventh
South Carolina District Is Run.
Special TO the Indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30.-Thomas III. Miller.
who is contesting seat in Congress from
the Seventh South Carolina district, fur
nishes in his brief very interesting and
instructive account of tho manner in which
the election frauds are still practiced in
South Carolina. AS every one knows who
knows anything at all of the situation. the
Seventh is the district which was cut ont
especially for the colored population. 1t
has a preponderance of blacks ever whites
of more than ten to one, and is so shaped
that it JOINS up TO almost every other dis
trict in the State. No attempt whatever
was m ade when the State was gerryman-
dered to comply with the terms of law
which required contiguity of territory.
The sole aim was TO incorporate as many
of the black Republican votes as possible
in this one district, in order that the rest of
the State night be manipulated more easily.
The scheme, in short. was to give six white
Democratic Congressman TO one colored
Republican from the State of South Caro-
lima in the national House of Representa-
tives. Right after the gerrymander Smalls
was elected. He should have been per-
mitted to take his seat at the first session
of the Fofty-seventh Congress, but he was
deprived of that seat until Just before the
closing days of the session. in July, 1852.
No very brazen attempt was made 10 de-
prive him of his election to tho Forty ghtk
or Forty y-ninth congresses, but after the
F1ftleth Congress was elected 1t was given
out that Smalls would not again come as
o representative from the great State of
South Carolina, and he didn't He was
elected by something like twenty thousand
majority, and yet the seat was given to
Elliot The Democratic majority in the
House refused to consider the case in the
last Congress, and. therefore. Smalls was
never allowed to occupy his seat, to which
he was justly entitled.
In 1888 Smalls did not run, and Miller,
with Elliott, was counted out. as usual.
Mr.. Miller shows that in many of the pre-
cincts in the strongly Republican counties
the Democratic managers of the election alb
s0lutely refused to attend to business. and
therefore there were no polls open. In one
place there were 265 men who. went pre-
pared to cast their ballots for Miller, and
in another 80. They had all been regis
tered and all the election laws complied
with. as far as they were concerned. But
not one of the 575 was permitted to drop his
ballot into the box. In another county 265
Republican voters found their ballots ar
bItrarily rejected by the Democratic man
ayers on various himsy pretexts.
The same olds tory of stufling a ballot-box
full of Democratic ballots where there
was originally almost solid Re-
publican vote cast. and then mixing
them up and drawing out the ex-
cess, thereby depriving hundreds of
Republicans of their suffrages, was resorted
to in no less than eight precincts in three
counties. The brief says that Millers vote.
instead of zoos, as returned by the State
vote. instead of s.35s. was not to exceed
1856, even after all the frauds were allowed
for There is little doubt that Mr. Miller
will be permitted TO occupy the seat. and
some interesting discussions In regard to
are expected.