Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-06-12
asrlntn,tt Chronicle.
THURSDAY, JUNE II, 1890.
THE ALABAMA METHOD.

The system employed in conducting
congressional election, or any other KIND
of an election, in the South, is as may
and mysterious as it is possible to con-
ceive anything to be. 1t is well known
that the elections are fraudulent, cor
rupt and farcical, but to what extent
these methods are pursued 1t is hard Tor
a Northerner, born and reared under the
influence of a wholesome regard for law
and accustomed to obey its mandates,
to fully realize. The disclosures made
by the House Committee on Elections in
the contested election case of McDufie
CRep.) against Turpin (Dem.) in the
Fourth Alabama district, exceed in actu-
al grossness and lawlessness anything
the veriest pessimist ever beheld in his
most sordid visions. That men should
hold law and justice in such scorn and
disdain, and should wholly disregard
honor in dealing with their fellows and
still have the brazen impudence to at
tempt to justify the act, seems almost
beyond the pale of reason and belief.
Yet such is the case. and further, the
fact is acknowledged by the leaders and
representatives of the party to which
these men hold allegiance. In 1880 the
Census showed a white population in
the Fourth Alabama district of 32,S24,
and colored population of 1855 On
the assumption that one-fifth of this
number are voters, the whites would
cast in round numbers $500 votes and
the colored, $4,000 votes. Since that
time there has been no relative change,
and the population still maintains about
the same proportion of whites and blacks.
From this district the Republicans have
at all times returned representative in
Congress when any degree of fairness
prevailed, and this fact served to keep
alive vigorous political spirit. The
Republicans were known to be largely
in the majority, and always had out a
full vote. After the election in 1888 Tur-
pin came to Congress with an alleged
majority of 1853. Under ordinary
circumstances this majority would have
precluded even thought of contest,
but such majority in Republican dis
trict was silent evidence of intimida-
tion and ballot box manipulation. The
committee presents full and minute re-
port, entering largely into the details of
the case, and discloses the manifest in
tention of the election board to rob the
people of their privileges. The Repub-
licans were prepared for any emergency
which might arise, since they were allow
ed no intelligent representation on the
election board, and kept a tally of the
voters, and in many instances also their
names, and owing to this were able to
render valuable assistance to the COM
mittee. But little intimidation was
INDUCED in, but when the votes were
counted the Democrats came in on the
home stretch with large majority. All
probability was in favor of the election
of McDuffie, the Republican candidate,
and only an unheard-of chain of cir
cumstances could have circumvented
his election, had honesty been known
to the Democratic board. As sample
of the manner in which the returns
were made up, below is found the re-
turns from fourteen precincts as made
by the board, and as found by the
committee: