Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-26
NOT LIKELY TO INVESTIGATE.


ing an investigation into the vote of the
middle western states for the purpose
of ascertaining to what extent money
was used and if possible explaining the
enormously large vote returned in the
states of Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and In
diana, has evidently set at rest the re-
publican talk of Investigations into the
vote in some of the southern states.
Since the final returns have been. received
a good deal of calculating and compar-
ing of figures has been going on and
ii can safely be relied upon that the pres
ent nor the next congress will not APP
point any committees charged with the
duty of inquiring into the methods used
in bringing out the heavy vote which the
returns indicate was polled in the CEN
trail western states last November.
Mr.. Morton Frewen a member of the
British house of commons, and an ardent
advocate of bimetallism, it will be re-
membered by newspaper readers, spent
some time in the United States during
the recent campaign and made his head
quarters in Chicago. Since his return
home Mr.. Frewen has been calling at
tention through the press to the appar-
ent crookedness practiced in The central
western states. OF course this has
brought down upon his head the bitter
COMBINATIONS of large portion of the
republican press in this country.
Mr.. Frewen, however. comes back at
them by calling attention to the vote of
Indiana in connection with the census
figures on that state. The census of 1890
accredited to the state Of Indiana 5o5,066
male citizens over the age of q years.
OF this number 5,1S7 We're aliens and
not entitled to vote, which left remain
ing only 1889 males over the age of q,
including criminals, paupers, insane, and
all others who, in one way or another,
were deprived of the right of suffrage.
The vote as returned in Indiana at the
last election was 637, 2S4, showing that
13T405 more votes We're polled than there
were males of the voting age including all
the disfranchised except aliens, in that
state in 1890. The increase in the popu-
lation of the state of Indiana from 1880
| to 1890 was only $4,000 and increase of
| its voting strength of about IS, 900, yet If
| the vote as returned in the recent cleo
| tion was actually polled it shows that
! during the last six years the population
| of the state has increased many times
over it's increase during the preceding
| ten years.
These figures arrested the attention of
| the Springfield, (Mass.,) Republican, a
| strong republican Journal Upon exam
ming into them the Republican says:
The total vote shows an increase of
population 'in violence to all the prob
abilities of the case And to legitimatize
| the Indiana vote it must further be
| maintained not only that population has
| increased to an ineXplicable extent since
| 1880, but that practically every citizen of
/ voting age went to the polls-which last
! is result never yet attained in any
American commonwealth, and never like
! ~ to be-"
The Springfield CNIass) Republican Is
| not the only republican organ that
| has been staggered by the figures from
! Indiana. The Boston Herald another
strong republican journal after figuring
| for time on the Indiana returns, re-
| marks as follows:
1--WE referred, some time since, to the
| extraordinary size of the vote Of the
| state OF Ohio. That of Indiana is now
| attracting notice, and an inspection Of it
| brings still more amazing results. More
| ton FreWen has been lately calling atten-
| tion to 1t in England 1t appears that
| there were, according to the census of
| Indiana in 1890, 505,066 males over the
| age of q in that state. OF these 5,1S7
| We're aliens who had not the right to
vote, which left 99,S79 possible legal Vot-
| ers. The vote cast at the late election
| amounted to 637, 2S4. The state has in
| creased in population since that time,
| but, assuming that every man in it ELI
gible to the suffrage voted it seems al
| most incredible that the vote could reach
this amount. Yet, If we place the Vot-
! ing in the state OF Illinois and Ohio in
I,comparison with the census of 1890, the
| result seems less strange, unless we as
| sumo fraudulent voting in all these
| states The excess of the vote of Illinois
| over the census of those of voting age
| and other qualifications in 1890 was o.
| 1853 that in Ohio, 81, 664. Take the case of
/ Massachusetts, now, where, of course, the
| contest was nothing like so hot, but i'll
| which most of us remember pretty lively
| voting. Here the number of voters who
| voted, compared with those who were
| apparently authorized to vote by the
| census of 1890, was less TO the amount of
| 100 567 There are curious features in the
| late election, indeed"
| The following table shows in which
| states the voting was considerably out
| of proportion to the census figures. A
| careful examination of the list of states
and the figures will convince any one
! that Mr.. Allen will hardly succeed in Sc
| curing the appointment of any commit
tees charged with the duty of inquiry into
the methods used in the central western
states in the recent election, either by
| the Fifty-fourth or Fifty-flfth congress:
Males over
81 years OF which Total.
| of age alien vote
| 1890. 1890 1896.
Indiana. :. .... 505,C66 5,1S7 637,2S4
| illinois,. :. :. ..1072,66S 95,729 1,077009
Ohio. . .1,016A64 3S,672 1,011, $40
| Michigan. =. =. 6l7,445 5S,895 544,27S