The Portland daily press., 1890-02-17
WHIT and BLACKS IN TWO LINES.
One Went Quickly to T he Polls While
The Other Did Not.
How Petersburg Democrats Run
Elections Without shotguns.
Professor Langston's Claims to the
Seat Held by MIR. VenabIe.
Especial to the Press.

lopccidl lO Lie ITtSS.
WASHINGTON, February 15.-Among the
contested election cases to come before the
House none is more interesting THAI that of
Langston VS.. Venable, of the fourth Vir-
| ginia district. 1t will be remembered that
Langston Is one of the four contestants
classed as colored. In reality ne is half
white, his father having been a white man
and his mother negro. Langston himself
| is Caucasian in features and in many of the
| qualities of mind, besides being as accom-
| plished Intellectually as the best opportuni-
ties for education can make man naturally
| bright. His father was a peculiar man in
respect that he never would sell his own
children who happened to have black blood
in their veins, that he gave them education
in the best Northern schools, and that he had
their black mother buried by his own side in
the family cemetery in Virginia. John M.
Langston. the present contestant, graduated
at Oberlin College in 1S49, and has been for
many years a prominent public man. He
has elOquence and great influence with the
colOred people of Virginia. In 1877 Mr..
Hayes made him minister to Hayti, where
he represented this country acceptably until
the beginning of Cleveland's administration,
when he resigned. He was in Washington
today on his return from Boston, where he
has been making speech in reply to some
of the positions taken by the late Henry w.
Grady. Speaking of his contest for the seat
in the House now held by Venable, Prof.
Langston (he is called professor ON account
of having occupied chair In Howard Uni
versity for some time before he entered Con-
gress) told the PRESS correspondent most
entertaining story of the means taken by the
Democrats to defeat him. His district is
fair sample of the Southern district where
the Republican vote is nulliied by refined
methods without the use of shot guns or re-
volvers. The story of the proceedings in
Prof. Langeton's own ward in Petersburg,
the sixth ward. will illustrate the methods.
On the morning of election the Democratic
officials in charge of the election formed
two lines up to the polls, one white line for
Democratic voters, and the other black line
the white line were allowed to deposit their
ballots with no more than the usual delay;
but on the black line every vote was scrutin-
lied, questioned, challenged, and impeded in
every way possible. To such an extent was
this carried that it was matter of hours for
a colored man to vote. One prominent col
ored man, Henry Williams, Jr., pastor of the
Gilfeld Baptist church of Petersburg, was
two and half hours in getting from the mid
die of the street to the ballot box. Another
Third Baptist church, was over two and
three quarters hours in getting the same dis
tance At the end of the day 100 Republican
voters were standing in this black line wait
ing for their turn to cast their ballots. They
were shut out by the closing of the polls.
Langston's agents were ON hand, however,
and had these men write their names on their
ballots, with statement of the fact that they
were disfranchised, and these votes were
on eecops When Oere t came ne
time to count the votes In this ward the
vote was returned, Venable (Dem) 400;
Arnold, (Mahone Rep}; 1o9; Langston
lieves, though this he cannot prove, that the
judges deliberately transposed the vote, CIV
ing his vote to Venable, giving Venable's to
Arnold. and giving Arn0ld's to Langston.
His reasons for believing that this was done
that there was fraud in the count. For be-
fore election he made an arrangement which
shows how capable leader of the colOred
voters he is. He had hired two men to stand
at every polling place in Petersburg. Then
he had instructed every man in his party to
say. as he deposited his ballot "Langston"
whenever he voted for tLangston. The two
men hired for the purpose noted the vote
and took the name and address of the voter.
They checked thus 400 voters for Langston
in the sixth ward of Petersburg, and Longs
ton has since obtained the sworn statements
of these 400 voters that they cast their votes
for Langston. These affidavits are filed with
the elections committee of the House. The
similarity Of these figures to the return for
Venable gives color to the suspicion of Pro-
lessor Langston that his vote was given to
Venabe
While the white and coored lines were
hall kaxr iK,f fho esxrfh
very different scene was going on over in
the second ward of Petersburg, which is
Venable's ward. Prof. Langston says that
they had for judge there conscientious
Democrat. This judge caught his assistant
stuffiug the ballot box, and demonstrated
and finally went to the mayor and CON-
planned. The mayor refused to act, but the
assistant and his abettors had become
alarmed; and when the honest judge re-
turned they picked quarrel with him, and
in the scuffle that followed managed to
smash up the ballot box aud thus destroy the
evidences of their fraud. or course there
could be no return on the vote in this ward,
and In the returns it stands blank.
These two ward ward Of Of Pet Petersburg illustrate strait
Langston refers to them as the decent
methods" of procedure in nullifying the col
ored vote, because no throats were cut and
no men shot.
When the returns were made Venable was
credited with 1929 votes; LAM ston with
| 1867, and Arnold, the Republican, put up
| by Malone to settle an old grudge against
Langston, 3,207. Venable's plurality was
| thus only 642 after all the above mem
toned tactics had been employed: Langston
claims to be able to show conclusivey where
many more than these 642 were taken from
| him by fraud; and he can undoubtedly do so
! il signs of Democratic uneasiness over his
| contest can be taken as any sign.
When it became known that Langston in
lodi N namn0rnfc IRIS +
| tempted to corner the lawyers against him.
| IL was with the utmost difficulty that he
could get legal aid to take the dispositions for
| the contest Fears of ostracism deferred
| lawyers who would otherwise have been glad
| of the opportunity to earn fee. On the
other side, however, there was a great
abundance of legal talent. They badgered
his witnesses with cross questioning by re-
lays Of lawyers, one set taking it up when
.he other would get tired. They cross-ques-
three sets Of lawyers day that they imight
hold out. On the fifteenth day the
witness protested that they were
asking the same questions over and
they arrested him for refusing to
answer questions and took him before the
| United States Commissioner. Proceedings
against him were not pushed however, as
the only object WAS to scare other witnesses.
II Professor Langston, can prove to the
satisfaction of the elections committee
the stories that he tells in so interest.
ing manner he will probably
get his seat He has however to deal
with opponents, and rely upon class of
witnesses, that put a tnan to great disadvan-
tage in a contest Of this kind. 1t is much
easier for contestant from a state like
West Virginia where it is white man against
white man, to make out satisfactory case,
than for colored contestant from the South
who has to get his testimony under tremen-
dous Odds and from class of witnesses