Richmond planet., 1890-05-31
FRAUD JACKSON WARD.
Ballot Box StuiIlng - Schemes Which
We're Frustrated-HOw ii Failed.

Ballot Box StuiIing - Schemes Which
We're Frustrated-HOw 1t Failed.
No daily paper published a line
relative to the great fraud in Jack
son Ward The fight began by a
cry against James Bahen, the Re
publican leader who has virtually
controlled politics in the Ward. /
A revolt against his management
was in progress. The Democrats,
never 10th to embrace an oDDortuni-
fy to secure party advantage
determined to spring full Demo
s;raUic ticket on the morning of the
election, the 22d. Only four OF the
names of the men regularly nomina-
ted were omitted from the Indepen-
dent Republican ticket. They were
James Bahen, Mordicai Page, (both
white) Henry Layne and +. j. Cook.
The cry was that most of the
regular ticket must necessarily be
elected as the names of the candi-
dates appeared on both tickets.
Subsequent developments brought
out the fact that a deeper as well as
more far-reaching scheme was on
foot, the full import of which very
few of the Independent Republicans
were aware. 1t was to poll enough
Independent Republican votes to
give the Democrats an excuse to
announce to the country that a split
was in progress among the Republi-
cans themselves and they, taking
advantage of it by disgusted Repub-
licans remaining away from the polls
had carried the Ward. "They did not
get all they expected remarked an
Independent Republican with
A SIGNIFICANT SMILE.
Theide was to stuff the ballot
boxes in the LIST, 2nd, and 4th pre-
cincts. The scheme miscarried. The
attempt was made in the I'd precinct
TO deny the Regular Republican
ticket representation at the count,
as was done in the 1st precinct, but
all of the judges OF election would
not engage in the scheme. In the
LIST Precinct, the judges and those
who were opposed to the Regular
Republican ticket waited long and
late. The returns from the other
three. precincts had come in. 1t was
found that the Independent Republi-
can ticket had not polled more than
about $50 votes in the entire ward
the scheme had miscarried in the
Other precincts and although the
lHHotsb box bad beer stuffed, making
'HSf4 bahol>s whc,t se Notebooks
called for only 3SS, it was impossible
to wipe out sthe heavy Republican
majority. In fact it would have
taken more votes than men who had
voted In the Precinct, including both
black and white. So after viewing
the inanimate corpse of Democracy
in that Ward they
THEY GAVE UP THE JOB.
Before II o'clock that day, it was
evident that to beat any man on the
regular ticket would be to elect a
Democrat in his stead and this was
openly admitted by the leaders on
the other side Said one of the can
didates on the Independent Republi-
can ticket:
GA prominent Democrat said that
they would give us Tom Jeter.
told that | would not agree to have
John Mitchell beaten. The Colored
people of the Ward would never for
give us. After that about 4 p. NJ
/ did not handle another ticket "
The editor had some true friends
among the opposition. The attempt
to smuggle batch of tickets in the
room at the ID Precinct, Jackson
Ward, caused the widest excitement
Never has Henry Layne's vocal
organs been put to a severer strain.
He went through the streets like one
"crying in the Wilderness" He it
was who discovered it He charged
thievery, attempt to stuff the ballot
box, and when the attempt was
made to deny his side recognition,
he was simply furious Never in the
history of the Ward has such con-
dition of affairs obtained 1T was
A DISGRACE
to Christian civilization and a sad
reflection upon the fair name of the
Ward
May it never be that such methods
viii be resorted to in order to carry
Democratic a Ward which is over
wheImingly Republican, United, we
have almost nothing to fear Divid.
ed, we become the prey of men who
work our eternal injury