The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1895-04-04
THE EXPOSURE
OF BIG FRAUD.
A Little Ventilation Of Democratic
Meanness in The County of Cum
berland.
GLARING, STRONG, FACTS.
Opened kDiyes--Thrre Hundred Vote
Found on the Floor Tally sheets and
Poll Books Never Seen since--scoundref-
For The Taucasian-I

For The Taucasian-I
FAYETTEVILLE, y. &. March 18th 95--
Now that the long and tedious con-
test Il drawing to a close, | desire to
give brief r"$""tt, OF the testimony
a 1T l., and ha5'been sworn to by cred
liable witnesses:
| am the more impelled to do this.
for the reason that the Democratic or
gans in this section, have been rerg
b"Sq To say that there ha. been no tes-
timony III favor of Or. Cyrus Thomp-
son, the Peoples party candidate for
Congress. Indeed, Mr.. Tilly Cook, one
u Sh0T'S co't"=eI, who is known to be
the Fayetteville correspondent Of the
Wilmington Nesxe,ger, has said that
there has been 30 case at all made out
for DIR. Thompson: that very few men
had sworn they voted for him, and in
other ways belittling Dr. Thompson
and his righteous cause. This is the
same Lilly Cook, who. as ''counted in''
member of the Legislature of 1898,
voted to repeal the charter of he Farm
erS' Alliance, and as one of ShaW's law
yers, his chief business seems to be to
attack the Alliance. by asking, ARE
not the Alliance a sworn secret politi-
cal organization" and such like ques-
tlons, which.he knows have no iounda-
tlOn at all.
But to DR.. Thompson'S case againsl
shaw In Cross Creek township, Gay
ettevillc) Mr.. Shaw was "counted''
eleven hundred and twenty votes, DR..
Thompson ftt"en. 1t has been shown
that the election was held in the old,
abandoned court hOuSe-not in ward
as the election law of North Carolina
reqGires-by clerks appointed by the
Democratic registrar and two Demo-
cratic Judges, over the objection of the
Peoples Party and Republican Judges
Of election; that they We're not
sworn; that thy would not the
Democrats would nOt) allow the Judges
last named put in a ballot for the voter
at his relIeSt that these clerks had
knives half open on the ballot boxes
all day, and with their knives they
took out the ballots for DR.. Thompson
and a Republican candidate for Con-
greSS all through the day and tore
them up, or dropped them down on the
floor Credible witnesses, and more
than one, swore that they saw this.
When the polls We're closed, the boxes
were carried up stairs to make the
count. Just after this, the Repubii-
can county chairman went to where
the Congress box was held, on the col
ored side, and there on the foor he tonnd
| three h"ni,rd tickets for Peoples party
and Republican party candidates for
| Congress.
Several witnesses sWOre, and it is an
undisputed fact, that no Republican
fusion or Peoples party tickets of any
| Kind were allowed inside the polling
place. They were all outside, and none
| but Democratic tickets We're in he poll
| ing place, or at or near the boxes, or
inside the building, and none Others
| were allowed there. AS the Peoples
party judge was attempting to keep
voter from placing his ballot in the
wrong bCX, ne was ordered by one of the
clerks to 'Shut his mOuth"-bOXe.
were shifted and changed. One of the
clerks would walk bcnind the Peoples
party judge, "a the latter passed, show
| ing the voter how to vote, in what
box to place his ballot, so as not to lose
it, with large piece of pasteboard
holding it in front of him and to the
right so as to "hide" the boxes last
voted in: while Democratic Judge OF
election, when the clerk was not per
forming his part as above described
followed the Peoples party Judge anC
the voter as they passed the ballot
boxes and placed his hand on the box
and between the "slit" or opening iI
the box, and the Judge and the voter
so as to conceal, and did conceal The
opening for the reception of ballots
and left the clerk holding the ballo
boxes, to do as seemed to him best
can any o"eg"ess ~hot tbs perJormonc
,ruS tori
Despite all this, the taking out ant
putting in of ballots, when no one wa
voting, and when they supposed n.
one was looking, was going on ''otf ant
on" (mostly on) during the entire da,
of the election, November 6, 1894.
By an ingenious cOntrivance th
Peoples party and Republican iudg
were caused to go into one room of th
building about 3 O'Clock of that day
and kept there about one hour for TIN
purpose, as stated, of deciding chal
lenges of voters. There was found t.
be no grOUHd or cdHse against a singh
challenged voter, of whom ther,
We're about fifty, and most C.
whom had been regular voters for 2
or 30 years at the precinct. Fo. rha
purpose! While these judges We're so de
tained, the voting was going on in tn
polling place; the entrance door was
double one, with the half nearest tn
boxes closed; the other or open hal
was filled up with the guards VIII
crowded the same, and for the purpos
as was supposed. for certainly it wa
2 so intended, to prevent the pOsSibilit
of looking into where the ballot bOXe
= were from the outside, so they were et
+ fectualIy cut off. But several. credita
bic witnesses saw, and have sworn. tha
they did manage to look, and saw tn
boxes being STUFFED" while there wer
no Republican or Peoples party Judge
inside of the polling place. SO it will b
, seen that, during the most of the da,
4 the tickets were taken out; others ha
to go in to keep up the count, and max
y the poll-boOks and tally sheets CORES
: pond. The fusion judges did not viii
e ingly leave the boxes, but were force
n to do SO by being told that unless the
o did attend in the rooms with close
! doors) the large number of men ther,
in would not be allowed to vote. |
: vain were the bosses told that tt
L Democratic registrar and two judg.
3 were majority, and could decide cha
:. lenges, as they did decide and owe
ruled the two fusion judges, by Il
y appointment of Democratic clerks
d hold the election at the opening of tt
V polls. This did not suit. These fusiC
+ Judges must be taken from the hoxe
a Is it Necessary to state for what pu
- ! pose? Protests and objections were
" vain, and stood for naught. In val
did they ask for-they dared not d
5 mand, that places Of the fusion judg,
be supplied with Republican and Pc
" pies party men during their absen'
J from the ballot boxes and pOlliI
= places,
}, No! the Fusion judges must leave Il
lr ballot boxes, or fifty or more me
7, against whom not one single cause
O challenge had been, or could be mad
n men who had voted without challen,
or question at the same precinct f
years, would be disfranchised at Il
command of the bosses.
For phat purpose!