Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-03-03
ELECTIONS IN VIRGINIA.
A DEMOCRATIC Newspaper Exposes the
Frauds Practiced in That State.

For the enlightenment of the States
man, we clip the following from that
good Democratic paper, the Richmond
Times:
1--WE shall state what took place as
it appears in the record of the contest
ed election now pending before the
House Of Representative between
Messrs. Goode and Epps. That re-
cord shows that the election was duly
and regularly held at every precinct
in the district in 1892 and the number
of votes cast was certified by the Of
ficers who held the election to the
clerks of the different counties as the
law directs.
In the election aforesaid 26, 2os votes
were cast, of which Goode received
a majority of lily. There are ninety
eight voting precincts in the counties
of the district outside of the city of Pet
ersburg. The commissioners of cleo
ton in nine of the counties refused to
consider the votes that were cast at thir-
ty-one of the ninety-eight precincts in
those counties, all of which had given
considerable majorities to Goode ex-
cept two, and these had given ma
jority for Epps of twenty-five. After
throwing out these twenty nine pre-
cincts that had given Goode lnajorities,
they destroyed his majority in the
the district, and found majority of
sos for Epps.
''Now. this was nothing but whole
sale disfranchisement of the voters at
thirty-one of the ninety eight voting
precincts in those counties. And for
what was this done? II was done
upon the most frivolous pretexts as
in one case that the officers who con-
Quoted the election had sealed up the |
returns on the side instead of at the |
end, and in another because the pack
age had got little wet and become
partially unsealed, and on equally
frivolous pretexts as to the rest
There was no pretense that the votes
had not been certified to these COM
missioners as they were cast The re-
turns were rejected in every case for
some trifiing objection to the form in
which they came to the Board of Com
missioners.
1.-The record ofthis contested election
shows the depth to which the poi
sonous virus has sunk into our body
polite more distinctly even than
Smither's precinct. Officers of cleo
ton appointed by partisan elector-
al board will stop at no act whatever,
necessary to attain an end they have
in view. 1t cannot be pretended that
there was in this election any matter
of negro domination-there was
neither negro sheriffs, nor clerks, nor
justices of the peace, nor constables /
involl ed-but contest between two
native-born Virginians-the one
Democrat and the other Populist.
The situation is most alarming.
No one could be farther removed from
Republican or Populist doctrines than
is the Times, but we fully subscribe
to the sentiment OF that distinguished |
French statesman, the late Jules ST.
mon, who said: No people are wor-
thy of liberty who do not respect the
liberty of even their enemies Our |
doctrine is that every voter in Virgin |
ia, be he Populist Republican, Demo
crat, Prohibitionist, or what not, shall |
have the opportunity to vote as he
pleases, and then have his vote count |
ed and fairly returned as cast"
Will the Statesman say as much9