The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-08-14
THE ALABAMA ELECTION.
The Populists arc Defeated by a large
Majority-Chargcs ofE'raud on Both
Sides.

The election last week in Alabama
resulted in sweeping victory for the
Democrats, with majority ranging
from 25,0OO to 10000. Both sides arc
alleging fraud on the part of their OPP
ponents. Lee County was carried by
the Populists, and there is much dis
satisfaction over the result. A cores
pondent from Opelika, the county site
OF Lee County, makes the following
statement
Indignation does not express the
feelings of the respected and honored
citizens of this place. The now cleo
tion law provides that the probate
| judge, sheriff and clerk shall appoint
managers, and they to appoint markers
giving each contestant equal represen-
tation: In this county the Judge,
sheriff and clerk are all Kolbites, and
they did not appoint q single Oates
man, consequently they had any ma
Ono of the oldest, wealthiest and
most respected gentlemen of this place
remarked that he had been voting for
twenty odd years here and this was
the first election he ever saw where
| one of the candidates did not have a
single friend inside the polls. There
were nearly 1900 registered votes for
this beat, and several days ago 600
whites of these were counted sure
for Oates, which, with tho negroes
thoy would vote, they claimed would
gives Oates u majority of several hun
dred, should the ballot box be kept
fairly"
Capt. Reuben F.. Kolb, the defeated
candidate for Governor, is very much
d1sgruntled at his second failure to
reach the Office, and he makes whole
sale charges of fraud against the
Democrats. In an interview shortly
aftcr the polls were closed, when he
knew that the tide was against him,
Mr.. Kolb made statement over his
own signature of which the following
Is an extract:
The frauds OF this year are more
notorious and shameful than those of
1892. For the purpose of deceiving
the public they have, to some extent,
been shifted. The returns as reported
from Lowndes County indicate frauds
exceeding anything ever before known
in the history of this State or any
other State and the record in that
county is disgrace to our CIVILIZATION.
In Montgomery, Bullock, and Barbc ur
the frauds are hardly less aggravated.
The opposition claim Madison County
by a majority of LIB. There are
hardly dozen intelligent citizens in
that county who do not know that our
strength in Madison County this year
Is much more strongly developed than
in 1892, when we carried the county
by about 400 majority.
The Intensity of feeling prevailing
this year is much greater than in 90,
and it is ridiculous to claim that there
has been change of nearly 1000 votes
IN Madison County in favor of ballot
box suffers and machine Democracy.
Furthermore, it is known to the
disgrace of the whole State, that some
seven or eight negroes were appointed
inspectors in Madison County, several
of whom could neither read nor write.
1T is serious fact that in the city of
Montgomery at half past four p. M,
only thirty minutes before the polls
were closed, not exceeding 1910 white
voters and IA colored voters had cast
their ballots by actual count. Not
withstanding this fact, it is claimed
that the city of Montgomery gives a
majority of 1900 for Col. Oates. In
the county OF Jefferson q large number
OF votes were controlled against our
ticket by tiXers who are opposed to us.
Deputy shcriffs crowded the polling
places and treated illiterate voters,
particularly negroes, with indignity,
and insisted upon fixing their tickets.
In many precincts we had no fxer and
in one imporatant precinct in the city
of Birmingham we had only one fixer,
while there were from eight to ten
deputy sheriffs standing around the
polling places, ready, anxious and soli-
citous in fixing the tickets of voters
who declared their desire to vote the
other ticket. AT Bcssemer, moro than
four hundred of our voters were denied
an opportunity of casting their ballots
on account of opposition leaders crowd
ing the polling places and being ma
terially aided by officers of the law in
blocking the polling place to the dis
advantage of voters.
In view of this condition OF affairs,
in the absence of contest law, | can
not escape the responsibility of pre-
senting the issue, not only to the sup
porters of our ticket, but to all intelli-
gent, honorable and law abiding citi-
zens of this State.
The great majority Of our citizens
without regard to past or present party
af1iliation, favor honest elections, and
in my opinion the good people of the
State are not willing longer to submit
to the domination of machine organ
ization whose perpetuation of power is
solely contingent upon election frauds.
"The issue was made i'll 1892 and VIC
! submitted. 1t has again been made
! and it now rests with the good people
OF this State to determine whether or
not they will longer submit to policy
which sets aside the will of the people
and destroys the form of republican
| institutions in this State and which, if
persisted in, will surely end in deplora-
bic consequences.
Supported by the conservative, in
| telligent, Industrious and honest ele-
ments of this State, it has been our
sincere desire to maintain and respect
the law, and 1t will still be our policy to
advocate only those measures that will
insure the perpetuation of republican
institutions to the end that lawlessness
may not prevail. The time has arrived,
however, when the people of Alabama
must decide for themselves"
MONTGOMERY, ALA, Aug. 8-Kolb's
claim that he has been defrauded out
of his election, is considered in the
light of undisputed facts, so absolutely
baseless as to be ridiculous.
His majority in counties carried by
him amounts in the aggregate to A.
600. Oates majority in the counties
carried by him, leaving out Barbour,
Bullock, Dallas, Hale, Lowndes, Mar
engo, Madison, Montgomery and Will
cox, the only counties which Kolb chal-
lenges, amounts in the aggregate to
l2,0O0, leaving Kolb only 1000 ahead.
The white vote In the nine connties
left out OF the above calculation accord
ing to the census of 1890, amounts in the