New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-22
BUTTRESSED BY FRAUD.
THE POSITION OF SOUTHERN DEMoC
RACY.
xKIy1.Ers CHANCES IN SECTION WHERE
CHEATING IN THE COUNT is MADE SAFE AND

>.y,x,rvs ORANGES IN A SECTION WHERE
CREATING IN THE COUNT is MADE SAFE AND
EASY BY THE ELECTION LAWS.
,.,,o, In Arkansas which ordinari-
y, .o,,,a ha Of little interest, now becomes I'M
cor,ar, because II is asserted by the ir'eHus "
Mr. Rrvan that II indicates the a''i'uoc VI 's
south IN the pending National strussie' ~ 10 ~
"a see any encourage ment for the Bryan .>a''o
Comm,ttee in the reported plurality OF ''V"' aS
the result OF extraordinary chorus i"' ' -
long-svstematized fraud ,..
Arkansas IS one of cluster OF southern ''".''
whose Legislatures. tired OF violence anu
n. elections have revised their elee'o" - '
within a few years. with a view VI per 800
Tho newer OF the Democratic party. certain ie".-
~ "a. ra,sssd laws are alik, in these States
Aou,r. 4. general plan. The election macni"e's
O. now IN the control of the Bryan managers Gnu
,herefore within the States OF Tue 0Ir,
eac,,on officers without respect u ~" ,.
,nen,s Of the voters. may be depended on 10 49,
a.. ne necessary the Bryan Presidehua e'ec'oie'
The cluster consists OF MisS'ssiPi'
kansas Tennessee and Alabama . Gut,
BEFORE the revised legislation spohe" ' :, ss
caro,,na had enacted the Eight BOX raw anu
- ,ho n,opecr IN this movement as she hao
h.er the first In the Rebellion FLORIDA III 1870 oi
,s cou,b Carolina her election law being III
- nor,ic,,,ars an exact copy OF that OF Sou'h
.-arol,no North Carolina and Virginia hau s'".u'
., their own: but eventually III loo'' .>o
lima borrowed many features Oh '"e 80
,, s,s,.r The idea OF all these statu'es was
"na . tho appontment by the central
- =, O state of the election officers ana 10
eon,rol the registration OF voters "enerah' tie
.nno,ntments were made by the GoNerho'' i"o
aloction officers not only controHeo the lesi9H'
ton but decided all mooted quesuo"s a''e ~,
ing q potical campaign and on hiecto' A"' ~
,asod 81 the challenges OF voters. rms vast
mower which existed in some form III all 'ne ''"'.
- the late Confederacy, enabled the officers 10
weaken materially their adversaries py eA0'""'"e
,hair names from the voting lists. TINS was es-
pec,allv noticeable In the small vote OF oou'" |''
IT, ond Mississippi In Florida, too. the popular
vote fell of In 1892 the Republicans IN tna' "'a's
did not even put forward an electoral ucke'' anu
General Harrison did not receive q vote Inc PoS
sih,e vote In Florida that year by the census VI
,sao was sS 2l3 The actual total poll was pu' 'o'4ol
80 which Mr. Cleveland received @13. ana the re-
pootninc 1000 were divided between the fopuhs's
and Prohibitionsts The election oHcers a'so nav
control of the count and of the returns. me i'e'
of honest money at this election VIII nav an -
this powerful machinery working against thei"
,rhe ponulists in the South have heretofore mao
no,hinr 10 say as TO the appointment OF eiecuoh
officers and have been treated with the same III
dignity and injustice as the RepuDhcans' ""."
the Popuist party first raised us hedu' even :"
North Carolina the Democrats revied It's leaders
and its members: yet. now the Bryan Democrats
through State Chairman Manley. are anxious 10
fusa with the r,opulists. The Populists are APP
parently ready to fuse with anything IN sleh'' III
1894 in North Carolina this disposition aiiount'u
10 something. by an arrangement WIN uie ~
cublicans the Populists secured n footho'd' anu
Tho stat. vas wrested from Democratic control
As a result Marion Butler Popuhst' ana 'e.er =,
Prirchard Republican. were elected 10 'le Oh'eu
States Senate Besides. the old election laws were
sp.pt bodily away and in March. lss5, new ones
were enacted. under which the election Oh 1870 VIII
he conducted But OF this hereafter
To return to the Arkansas election. Inc STATE
chairman OF ,the Republican committee cries
Fraud or course, there was fraud me al
kansas election law Is fraud IN itsel' ana 50 are
all of tie election statutes of the extreme southern
s,,tes They were framed to keep Democrats In
Office Ty the provisions Of the Arkansas la" me
Governor. Auditor and Secretary OF State constr
,utc "A Board of Election Commissioners, ana these
aunoint within and for each county III the State
q County Board of Election Commissioners Inc
County commissioners. FIVE days before an cleo
ton appoint three judges of election Tor each
voting precinct IN The county. The Judges are
required 20 BE- discreet persons able TO read and
write the English language, and they shall not
all be selected from the same political party. II
competent persons Of different politics can be
found" (Soction II. Act Of 1871
The last nine words quoted above are italicized
IN the statute. If TO call attention to the pc
ouIIar language OF course the competent per
sons OF different politics" # found at all. must be
discovered by the County Commissioners whose
duty II is 10 appoint them Now Republican Chair
man Cooper declares that tho election law plain
~ directs that the judges Of election shall not he
Of the same political party" and says that in
many counties this requirement has been disre-
garded so that the Republicans have had no rep
resentation upon the election boards. Chairman
Cooper has obviously overlooked the other words
o. the statute which give wide discretion TO the
County Commissioners. who are authorized, In
cases of emergency like the present, TO become
very blind when searching for competent per
enacted TO facilitate fraud not 10 protect the
suffrage.
Similar qualifying words employed in some
words of the statute are. Whenever it is possible
10 do So the judges of election shall be APP
pointed from persons known to belong TO differ
ent political parties" But South Carolina and
Mississippi have for such nonsense and
scorn 10 make any qualification whatever. so that.
UP this time. the election officers have all be-
longed TO the Democratic party and the Republi-
and Populists have had no representation
whatever on their Boards OF Election;
1t could be shown that the recent election In Ala
bama (Which is also hailed as an 'ndicaton'o was
conducted under law one-sided any OF the
statutes spoken Of. but the particular points of
Alabama's statute may not be given, because 1t
would require much space Suffice TO say that
~ the election this year and at the one two years
ago. the negroes OF the Black Belt Of Alabama
saved the Democratic party, while the white
counties gave anti-Democratic majorities. When
the Alabama law was about 20 be enacted lin 1889
who had framed the Arkansas statute and the
latter largely drawn upon in constructing the
'Sayre' law in Alabama.
Marion Butler. after the death OF Colonel J.. L..
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