The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1894-09-20

-... -LyCASIEN ASKS FOR TAE FACTS
,.. atTS THEM OVER Mr.. WHAT
LEYS SIGNATURE
ruf DINOCEATIC MACHINE COULD
rf tItI SHED If THERE WAS SOTA
,DIOItED VOTER IN THE STATE.

ri tI;I SHED II THERE WAS SOTA
,oIOKED VOTER IN THE STATE.
vr.r, I>ulb Lad Control he Gave Oat.,
r. nrr-rntatiou in the Hoods EIcctinm--
l.,.-i- no Charge of Fraud in IIi,,e
t.lutir>--Ihe Democrats Admit Tuat
t.Ib.- Wen Acted Fair--Wherc Oates
f..ut.oIIrd. Fraud il Rampant aud iscn
lr..o,rat- Admit It--IIow it Wa, DDn.--
what the Result VIII BE.
Idaho, Ala. Sept. 10, '9l.
r. he Editor Of The CAUCASIAN:
Yours Of Sept. I'd asking for
Statement Of the situation in Ala
aamI tud for the causes of failure
IL, .ur late election received. We
a.. not fail, but am not SURPRISED
at ,our question.
" ncn come to think Of it, | am
no' .urpriSed that our friends in the
W.T. and throughout the country
do not understand our repeated fail
u.. 10 carry A labama for the reform
mo,rmcnt, as we have no great dai-
b press to give the facts to the
aor.d, and are continually misrcpre-
-.nr,d by the opposition press. |
"I. state the facts in brief so that
yoa and YOUR readers may see Just
what is the matter.
In the first place, the election laws
Of the State are, and were framed
for the express purpose of suppress
sing the popular will of the people.
II was, and is now claimed, this is
f.".ssary in order to maintain the
,.~ Of the white people of the state.
Its true that advantage was taken
If he law for this purpose only so
long As the white people were prac-
0oaliv unit, but now it is used to
suppress the will of Il majority of
the white and black voters of the
state The law providing for the
appointment of election inspection is
"Ihe probate Judge, Sheriff and
Circuit Clerk of each county, shall
appoint three inspectors of election
for each polling place Of the county,
t@o OF whom shall be of opposing
political parties when practical .
This seems fair on first reading, and
W. do have fair elections under it in
thu white counties, but when | give
YOU the practices under it, you will
readily see its object There is no
requirement here that these inspec-
tors shall be competent men, and Il
the black belt counties the county
officers generally appoint two intelli-
gent white democrats. and utterly
ignorant and incompetent colored re-
pUbIcans to represent the opposition.
hese inspectors appoint the clerks
# election and the "tixers' for the
jIIiterate voter. Thus it is clear
hat the democrats have every adyan-
ta-e secured to them by the law it
self. Under this law and practice,
Il drmoralized and entirely perverted
public sentiment in the black coun-
ties has been forming for years, un-
I'll to-day if you raise your voice
III favor Of honest elections, you are
at once read out of the democratic
party. | quote from Il prominent
democratic lawyer of the city OF
Montgomery in the Evening Journal
Il democratic newspaper, of the 18th
Of August last, in which he boldly
exposes the practices Of that county
and appeals for honest methods. Col
d. ). Troy says;
The frauds in this county, while not st
extensive. were more tagrant than ever be
ore The law of the land intended 10 pro
jcyt the rights of the opposition, Was detI
autIy tramped under foot in several pre-
,lurts and the Will of partisan democratic
politicians substituted in its place.
"Col II. c. ThOmpkins, as chairman O
the state demoCratice executive committee
charged III campaign circular puhlShe'
August md that | was trying to dIscoFe
frauds In this country, with the assistance
OF kebite politicians, and that we had only
found c' iencc of fraud i'll precinct y, an,
that the alleged fraud i'll that precinct wa
sufficiently r'tuted by the denial of the reg
lstrIr charged with it. At the election or
August 9TH, III precinct I, where Col. Ihomp
sins himself voted, John Washington, Al
Iiiitcrate degraded old negro, who ekeS out
precarIou> living by white-washlng fence
and doing odd Jobs, was appointed and serV
ed rs the inspector representing the Jetter
~3nlans and at other polling places in tn
county, the same thing was done. NeSroe
without Intelligence, character or educ'
ton. were appointed and served as inspeC
tors representing the opposition. The Law
secured to the opposition the right to haY
one Of their men. competent to act as in
~Ycctor, appointed for each polling place
and the only possible object in appointing
I.Lterate and incompetent inspectors to rep
resent the opposition is to furnish the OF
p1rtlnity to falsely certify the result of tn
loIi At the places where they served as il
>Erctors
@ 5 TfsG by GF t[cr P'Sf ren9b1an f "Ita eide o
snow not which. the negroes in this coun
y We're very seneraiy. i1 un1wlllns to regstG
Tie election. and When time in e " was As disco, dii