The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-02-10
A Big Political Scheme.
South Carolina's Electoral
Vote to Be Challenged.

South CarOllua,S EISCtOTdI
Vote to Be Challenged.
WASHINGTON, Feb 5 South Caro-
lima is prepared to spring sensation
at the counting Of the electoral vote
in the House Of Representatives next
Wednesday The counting Of the
vote of that State for Bryan and Sc
wall will be protested Representa-
tive Murray has just returned from
South Carolina. where he was in con-
su1tatiou with the leading Republi-
cans Of the Palmetto State lie is
armed with monster petition, sign
ed BY thousands Of Republicans of
that State, protesting against the
counting Of the electoral vote, and
asking for an investigation of the
election laws and the State Constitu-
ton. The claim is made that the
election laws and the State Constitu
tion upon which they are based are
not 10 accord with the Federal Con-
stitution.
The petition set forth is in three
sections, the first and third of which
read as follows {:
1. A vast majority of the legally
qualified voters of this State was pre-
vented from expressing their choice
for Presidential electors by the en-
forcement on the part of managers of
election of illegal and uuconstitution.
al barriers
3 Your memoriaists further de-
clare that republican form of gov
ernment does not exist in South Caro-
lima +; that the will of the people has
been overthrown that a military
despotism is in control of the State
Government, and that the people of
South Carolina appeal to Congress for
the ful6lment to the State Of South
Carolina of the United States consti-
tutional guarantee of a republican
form of government. Your petition
ers aver that the late election, in
which more than hundred thousand
electors were denied their right to
express their choice at the ballot
box. while in all less than sixty thou
sand votes were counted, was lille
galy and fraudulently conducted
The second paragraph of the peti-
tion deals exclusively with the al
legged unconstitutionality Of the State
Constitution, and the charge is made
that the Convention which framed the
Constitution refused to take the oath
to support the Constitution of the
United States that vast majority
of the electors of the State were de.
prived of participation in the cleo.
ton of delegates to the Convention,
and that the clauses of the Consti;u
tion are framed with the purpose Of
disfranchising large majority of the
electors of the State The entire pc
tition is drawn with much care and
formality.
Representative Murray is now con-
suIting with leading Republicans
here as to tue course of procedure
There are two methods by which this
petition may be presented to the
Joint session of both houses Of Con-
gress while engaged in counting the
electoral vote 1t may be forwarded
to the Vice President to be delivered
to the tellers when South Carolina is
reached or the call of States. or Rep
resentstive Murray may. rise in his
place in the House and enter yer
bal protest and then submit the pc
tition
While the dispute over the vote of
South Carolina cannot in any way af
feet the result, it may give rise to
complications of a serious nature.
The best authorities agree that the
petition cannot be ignored, and the
investigation the precedents shows
that when such a protest is entered
the count must Immediately stop
until the question is settled.
Nearly all of the South Carolina
Congressional elections for the next
Congress are to be contested on the
very grounds set forth in the petition,
so that if the House should decide
that the protest against the electoral
vote has no foundation it will pre-
cude the next Republican House
from unseating the Democratic Con-
gressmen who hold the prima facie
certificates of election The debate,
therefore, is likely to be prolonged
aud exciting. and of an intensely
partisan nature. Not only will this
be true of the House, but in the
Senate Senator Tillman may take
occasion to use his pitchtork upon
home materials. At any rate some