The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-11-16
A REMINDER OF
1878 ELECTION
CLOSENESS OF VOTE IN HAYES.
TILDEN CONTEST RECALLED
BY LONG UNCERTAINTY
A 4 MONTH QUARREL THEN
THE CLEVELAND-BLAINE RACE,
? ALSO HISTROiC, WAS WON BY A
NARROW MARGIN IN NEW YORK.
CLOSE NATIONAL ELECTIONS
ALWAYS RECALL 1875 VOTE

| CLOSE NATIONAL ELECTIONS
! ALWAYS RECALL 1876 VOTE
The close national elections always
recall the historic contest of 1876,
when Rutherford E. Hayes, Republic
can, was declared elected president
by a margin of one electoral vote over
Samuel j. Tilden, Dcn,ocrat, almost
four months after the election. On
election night in November, 1876, Til
dcn's election was announced in the
first editions Of all the newspapers,
and at 80 O'Clock was conceded by
the Republican leaders. The New
York Times was the only newspaper
t oannounce the election of Hayes in
it's last edition of the morning after
Election Day.
The other memorable instance of
close national elections was in 1884,
when it was not known until Friday
after election day whether Grover
Cleveland or James G. Blaine had
been chosen president, and then the
contest was decided in New York
state by a margin Of | 1000 votes. 1t
was at this election that John y. Me-
Kane, the Democratic boss of Coney
Island, who later went to Sing Sing
for oyer-zealous political ac N;sS.
gave the Cleveland ticket a plurality
in Grayesend that exceeded by 1000
the total number of men, women ard
children in that town, which was only
5000.
The contest OF 1876 which brought
wholesale charges of raud, gun-piay,
intimidation and murder. some of
which we're almost proved, started on
election night when it became appar-
ont on the returns not to be doubted
Jhat Tiden had 184 electoral votes
and Hayes 165, with 20 votes doubt
ful. One hundred and eighty-five
were necessary for a choice. The 20
| doubtful votes were distributed in
| Oregon, Louisiana, Florida and South
| Carolina
By sun-up of the next morning both
Republicans and Democrats started
after those 20 votes. If the Republi-
cans got them all it meant that Hayes
would be elected by a margin of one
electoral vote.
The heat fthe contest was in the,
South, and particularly in Louisiana.
In that State the Democratic electoral
candidates received majority of the
votes cast, o nthe face of the returns,
but the Republican returning boards
alleged that the Democrats had used
shotguns to terrify negroes, who
would have voted tn eRepublican tick
ct, had practiced other irregularities,
md accordingly, to hold matters up,
they threw out enough Democratic
votes to make it apepar that the Re-
publican electors were chosen
In South Carolina, the Republicans
had the electors on the face of the
returns, but the Democrats charged
fraud and started contest. the bal
lot boxes being guarded by troops. In
Florida both sides laid claim TO vic
tory and the claims were SO bemud-
1led that it seemed impossible to
maks any decision without another
election. In Oregon, the Republicans
appeared to have carried the State,
but the Democrats claimed that mas
much as one of the eRpublican can
dates was Postmaster at the time
lpwesible eiituR aca ect Int gh
he Republican ticket was Illegal
For a month conflicting claims and
accusations flew through the con-
tested Southern States Delegations
of Republicans from the North went
| down to see fair play and received a
welcome from the Democrats that
was not cordial. Tilden was accused
of having been responsible for the
| shipment of arms and ammunition TO
| ''AN 'DSiiONi StiN pO.lbltldifS III I5DNGSi-
ana.
Congress met December /. The
Constitution said that in case Of a
contest "the President Of IN esenate
shall, in the presence of the Senate
and House of Representatives open
all certificates, and the votes shall
/
then be counted" The Senate was
Republican and many influential Re-
publicans declared that the Contsitu-
tfon gave the Republican President of
the Senate the right to count the
votes. The Democrats asserted Just ais
/ positively that no count would 90 ua-
less the House, which was Democrat
ic, participated.
Finally joint committee decided
upon a bill providing that the con-
flicting returns be submitted to an
electoral commission of fifteen, COM
! Continued on Page Four