Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-09-08

our information goes on the question of
quantity. Charleston heads the list.
For years and years Charleston has
been under the control of political
rings, which have manipulated things
in municipal, county and state cleo
tions as they saw proper. Generally
il has been but little more trouble to
get on ticket in Charleston than else
where, and there has been no opposi-
ton to allowing any and every citizen
who so desired to cast his ballot on
election day. People who did not know
any better were left to think that they
were exercising the right to franchise
as fully and as freely as could be de-
sired; but what was done during the
voting hours was of little consequence
as compared with what followed when
the ring masters got together to
count" the votes.
The question as to who shall hold the
various offices to be voted for is inva-
riably decided long before the day of
election, and the only thing to be de-
cided after the close of the polls is how
many votes are to be assigned to the
various candidates. Even this has been
approximately arrived at as soon as
there is sufficient data upon which to
make a fairly satisfactory estimate of
the number of votes to be divided. In
the case of state elections, it is not un-
common to apportion to the favorlte
candidates more votes than have ac-
tually been cast in the city.
Just now there is on a bitter strug-
gle between the Rhett and Grace fac
tions for the control OF the situation
at the municipal election to be held on
November II, at which are to be
chosen mayor, aldermen and school
commissioners. The leading mayor
atty candidates are T. T. Hyde
Rhett having decided that he does
not care to hold the Office any
longer and John P. Grace heading his
own faction, the crowd that has all
along been opposed to Rhett. On both
sides there are men who have hereto
fore harmoniously worked together in
of course, know exactly how things
are done, and this fact of course has
intensified the present bitterness and
excitement.
Charleston's municipal election laws,
made to fit "cities of $4,000 inhabitants
and over" are different from the laws
applying to the balance of the state.
and so are the Democratic party rules.
The city Democracy has an arrange
ment under which candidates and COM
mites make up the club rolls with the
names of all who are qualified to vote
along with a great many who are not
qualified, and hand the rolls in to the
executive committee, which has the en-
tire list published. The object of this
is to facilitate the challenging of any
and all who may be improperly enroll
ed.
The club rolls this year included 9.210
names, and as it is a well known fact
that there are hardly more than 5000
white voters in the city, the people who
were taking interest were not slow
about getting busy. The executive
committee had little difficulty in dis
covering some $50 names that were
down two or three times so as to fa-
cilitate the voting in two or three
wards, and up to September l, the last
day for the filing of protests had re-
ceived challenges against long list of
unnaturaized folks and people who
were dead, etc.
There seems to be no question of the
fact that most of the protests were filed
by supporters of Major Hyde and it
was a natural inference that the people
challenged were friends of Col. Grace.
Col. Grace. it seems had also filed some
protests; but there appears to have
been no question of the fact that he had
great deal more to lose than did
Major Hyde, because more of the i'm
properly enrolled people were folks
who were expected to vote for him.
But the big sensation came on Mon
day. The rules require that the reVis-
ed rolls he turned over to the county
auditor on September 6, and after that
of course there can he no more purg-
ing On Monday Col. Grace served on
the executive committee an order sign
ed 10y Judge Memminger, restraining the
committee from any further revision
until after a hearing four days after
the service of the order. The order
was signed on September /; but as it
was not served until September 4, its
effect was to put a complete stop to the
purging of the rolls. because they
would pass out of the hands of the
committee on September 6.
There was a big Indignation meet
ing i'm Hibernian hall on Monday night,
at which speeches of denun"iation and
protest were made, and a committee
was appointed to make proper return
to Judge Memmingers order.
OF course from partisan standpoint
there is going to he whole lot of wild