The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1889-02-20
THE BOURBONS BERATED
SOUTHERN ELECTION FRAUDS ARE
sCAThINGLY DENOUNCED.

Mr.. Mason, of Chicago, Electrihes the
House with Eloquent Speech - An
Expose or Democratic Election Methods
at Once Vigorous and Incisive-uis Sir
ring Appeal for Right and Justice.
MIR. Mason, of Illinois, fairly turned
the House upside down with a speech
upon the Elliott-Smalls election case,
says n Washington correspondent of
the Inter Oceaaa The passage of an
appropriation bill was under considera-
ton and Mr.. Mason took occasion to
speak upon this bill because he feared,
as he said. that the Elliott-Smalls case
would never be called up. His speech,
which was of the usual humorous
character of all his remarks in the
House, was a carefully prepared one
and went into the details of the Con-
gressional election in that district
thoroughly. Referring to the voting
precincts in Berkeley County first, Mr..
Mason said that this county was all in
the Seventh Congressional District ex-
cept the town of Mt. Pleasant, which
was in the First District. The
polling place in this precinct
had been placed at the brick
Episcopal Church, and the negroes who
desired to vote for Congressman after
casting their ballots for State and
county officers in Mt. Pleasant found
themselves obliged to go to the brick
Episcopal Church six miles distant.
This arrangement, he stated, not only
discouraged patiencs and pedestrian
ism in this colored stronghold, but had
a tendency also to prevent the negro
from indulging too frequently in the
elective franchise. The Democratic
Chairman of Federal Elections had
book ut Mt. Pleasant which showed
the names of those entitled to vote in
the whole precinct, but he would not
send copy of the poll book to the
voting place of the brick Episcopal
Church, although every one who voted
at the church was compelled to show q
certificate of registration before being
allowed to cast their ballots. In this
precinct the vote for Smalls was 267
and for Elliott 3, and all of these 267
were to be disfranchised on account of
the neglect of one of the Democratic
managers of elections.
That there was intimidation in this
had found that two wives had left their
husbands for three weeks because the
latter had voted the Democratic ticket.
There had been other intimidations
talked of by the friends of the con-
testee. Had any one ever seen po-
hceman intimidated by a bootblack
Had any one ever seen snake intimi-
dated by bird, or had they ever seen
a bloodthirsty lamb go bleating into a
herd of defenseless Ions? If they
had, then there was fair picture of o
Southern Democrat being intimidated
by Southern Republican. This talk
of intimidation was all a. shallow pre-
tense. The speaker read from an arti
Gle printed in the Columbia (S. c.
Register, pr nted within the last thirty
days. and deprecating in strong lam
guage the methods used by the leaders
OF its own party in elections. This
clipping assert I'VE have carried
this sort of thing as far as it can pos
sibly go, and the result is we are fast
getting to be set of rascals, if we
have not got there already. The
R6giSter means every word it says, and
what it wants is simply plain recog-
milton of the facts of the case and an
honest desire to meet them in q way
which will have done with the sharp
er's tricks and the political swindling
which are running the men of our own
race and lowering every standard of
proper manhood"
Taking this for text, Mr.. Mason
spent some minutes in sarcastic com
ment upon it, which had the effect to
thoroughly arouse the Democrats of
the House. He impre ised the fact up
on them that one of their own papers
had acknowledged that they were set
of rascals, and proceeded to score the
action of Southern Democrats in the
suppression Of suffrage. History teach
es us, he said, to the Democrats, that
you cannot be trusted, and | give you
notice now that if L live to take my
seat in the Fiftyfrst Congress / shall
fight for a measure that will give to
every citizen of the United States, re-
gardles' of race or color, his every
right guaranteed under the Constitu-
ton. i am in favor of enforcing that
tight if it takes regiment OF blue
coats in every county in your State and
exhausts every dollar In the Treasury
of this country.
Turning his attention again to the
case, Mr. Mason showed that the Dem
ocrats used every shallow pretense to
reject other ballot-boxes. In George
town County four precincts were re-
jected which gave the cont estant 1913
votes and the contestee eight. In one
district two Democrats refused to act
on account of business at home, yet
both testified that they were present at
the polls during the election. In sew
eral other pr cincts the Democratic
managers refused to act, and upon this
simple plea the boxes in every precinct,
although they showed maiorities for
Smalls over Elliott, were rejected.
Some of you tell us frankly shat you
claim this is white mans govern
ment, and that you don't mend that
negroes shall have any rights under
the Constitution. You tell us that
intelligence must govern. Has il
never occurred to you that intelligence
! without honesty is worse than ign france
with honesty? If it was intel igence
which allowed the holder of n certih-