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4. POLITICAL METHODS OF RECONSTRUCTION 1

Negro Voting System

Ku Klux Report, Alabama testimony, p. 381. Statement of General, now Senator, E. W. Pettus.

[1871]

THE system is to make a door, either by men, or rails, or palings, through which all the voters are required to go. . . A crowd stands usually at the paling fence, on both sides, and the voters, white and black, have to pass, because generally there is but one place of entrance. . . Any white man is allowed to pass through without question, whether he belongs to one party or the other. The colored man, when he comes to this point of entrance, hands his vote, or it is taken, and it is inspected by another colored man stationed there for that purpose. He inspects the vote, and the man passes on, or he changes the ticket. That is the general system of voting in Alabama in reference to the colored people. If the negro has a democratic ticket, it is objected to by the man in command of the entrance; and sometimes I have seen controversies on the subject, but never any difficulty. . . But the vote is inspected, and so far as my observation goes, there is always an effort to change it, if it does not suit the man in charge of the gate. Sometimes it is changed, and sometimes it is not.

Registration and Election Laws

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Nordhoff, Cotton States in 1875, pp. 66, 85. In Louisiana and Alabama. [1875]

In the greater number of parishes the registration lists of 1874 show that the colored registered voters are more numerous, compared with the colored population, than the white regis tered, compared with the white population, taking the census of 1870 as a basis. For instance, in Plaquemines parish the registry lists show one white name for every seven and one-fifth

1 For methods employed by the whites in overthrowing Reconstruction see chapters XII and XIII.

of the total white population; but one black name for every three and one-eighth of the total colored population. But while I was in Plaquemines, out of a panel of 48 names drawn for jurors, from the registry lists of 1874, only twelve could be found. The other thirty-six were non-existent that is to say, they were fraudulently registered names. In St. Charles the whites registered are one in three and a half, the blacks one in two and a half of the respective populations. In St. James, the white registry was one in four and a half, the black, one in two and a half, of their population. In St. Landry, where it was pretended that there was intimidation, white and black both registered one in four and a half of their population. In Carroll, the whites registered [one in] five and one-third, and the blacks [one in] three and seven-tenths, of their population. In Terre Bonne, the registered voters stood white, [one in] four and seven-eighths; black, [one in] three and two-thirds, and so on. In many parishes the proportions were reversed; but in the greater number the colored men registered a larger proportion to their population than the whites to theirs...

The Alabama Registration and Election laws, made in 1868'69, and unchanged until last winter [1874-5], formed one of the most perfect machines for political fraud that I have ever heard of... A complete registration of the State was made in 1868-'69. The lists then made were, by law, then placed in charge of the probate judges in the counties, and these were obliged thenceforth to place every one's name in the registry who applied for the purpose, and took oath that he was a citizen of the State and county, and had the requisite qualifications; and such application might be made at any time.

No provision was made for any revision of these registration lists to strike off the names of the voters who died or removed; new names were added from year to year, or rather from day to day, for there was no set time for registration; it was possible even for a man to register under several different names. Moreover, lest any voter should neglect registration, it was provided that an inspector of election must register him, if required, on the day of election; and the names so registered

were afterwards sent to the probate judge. It is easy enough to see that the registration lists so prepared, and never revised, were mere instruments to conceal fraud. That is to say they would have been the cloak for frauds at election if they had

ever been used.

For fear that they might, under some conceivable circumstance, be used to detect fraudulent voting, an amendment to the Registration Act, passed by the Legislature, March 3, 1870, enacts this astounding provision: "That it is the intent and meaning of this act (namely the Registration Act) that no registration lists shall be used by any inspector, or any other officer of election, on the day of election for the purpose of determining who may or may not vote; and any person attempting to interfere in any manner with any other person who may desire to vote, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished in the same manner as now provided for in the election laws."

Bacon and Hams in Politics

(1) House Report no. 262, 43 Cong., 2 Sess., p. 1299. Report of Captain W. T. Gentry, 19th Infantry, U. S. A. (2) Nordhoff, Cotton States in 1875, p. 88. Under pretense of relieving destitution caused by floods in Alabama the radical members of Congress from that State secured an appropriation from Congress. The appropriation was made in the spring, but the bacon was held until the fall elections and distributed mainly in districts never flooded. The War Department investigated and took back much of the bacon. [1874]

[1] THESE reports are by no means as complete as they should be, but by reference to them it will be seen that in the first congressional district, M. G. Candee issued in Wilcox and Monroe Counties 24,902 pounds; G. V. Boynton, in Dallas County, 19,021 pounds. . . In the second congressional district, Holland Thompson and J. C. Hendrix issued at Montgomery, for various localities, 14,151 pounds, and forwarded to Lowndes County, 8,283 pounds; Butler County, 4,235 pounds; Dale County, 2,482 pounds; Barbour County, 4,527 pounds; Bullock County, 5,169 pounds; Pike County, 2,066 pounds; Henry County, 1,036 pounds. Of this, 5,248 pounds sent to Eufaula, for Barbour and Henry Counties, and 1,991 pounds sent to

Pike County have been reclaimed by the government. In the third congressional district G. W. Braxall reports that he transferred 3,000 pounds to Clay County, 2,000 pounds to Randolph County, 3,000 pounds to Coosa County, 3,500 pounds to Elmore County, and 1,000 pounds to G. P. Plowman, by order of Hon. Charles Pelham, and issued 7,500 pounds in Talladega County. The receipts, however, transmitted with this report, only account for 6,500 pounds. . . W. H. Betts, of this district, has made no report; but of the amount consigned to him by Governor Lewis's agent, 9,792 pounds at Opelika, and 2,390 pounds at Seale Station, have been reclaimed by the Government.

In the fourth congressional district, J. W. Dereen reports having issued 8,606 pounds in Marengo County, and forwarded to Autauga County, 4,915 pounds; Bibb County, 1,000 pounds; Choctaw County, 3,568 pounds; Greene County, 6,000 pounds; Hale County, 6,500 pounds; Perry County, 1,000 pounds; Pickens County, 4,628 pounds; Sanford County, 4,000 pounds; Shelby County, 1,000 pounds; Sumter County, 6,000 pounds; Tuscaloosa County, 4,918 pounds. In the fifth congressional district, J. H. Austin reports having forwarded to Walker County, 2, 178 pounds, and having issued the balance, 29, 100 pounds.

[2] As to the use made of government bacon, Perrin [deputy U. S. Marshal] testified: "I issued the bacon for Monroe County. Previous to doing so, a report was circulated among the negroes that in order for them to obtain bacon they would have to vote the straight Republican ticket; and if they received bacon, and afterwards refused or neglected to vote the said Republican ticket, they would forfeit their rights in law. As I was a candidate for the Legislature upon said ticket, I did not consider it necessary to correct this report. .. It was extensively circulated through Monroe, Conecuh, Clark, and Wilcox Counties that a barbecue would be held at Monroeville on election day, and that all negroes who would attend and vote the Republican ticket would receive bacon enough to last them a year. This induced many to come from adjoining counties

to Monroeville and vote on said day. The barbecue was held and largely attended. . . At least five hundred illegal votes were cast there for the Republican ticket."

Voting Early and Often

Wallace, Carpet Bag Rule in Florida, p. 338. Wallace took part on the Republican side, in the campaign described. [1876] THE colored brothers, now following the instructions given them by Stearns through Saunders, began to vote early and often. From the Georgia line to the Capitol was a distance of twenty-miles, with three or four precincts between those points. They started early in the morning and voted at every precinct on that line of march to the capital, and each time the same man would vote under an assumed name. It can be fairly estimated that at least five hundred votes were secured in Leon county alone by this method. How much of this repeating was done in other parts of the State we shall not attempt to say; but this was a general order to be observed. throughout the State, when it could be done without detection. The counties were not then divided into precincts as they are now, and therefore the voter could cast his ballot anywhere in the county. At one of the Lake Jackson polls, where Stearns had worked up considerable influence through his Government land information, the handy Superintendent, Joseph Bowes, had camped all night, carrying with him a cart-load of rifles. He had notified the colored people to meet him out there, which was done. He informed them that Governor Stearns had sent the rifles out there for their protection. On the contrary, the guns were carried out for his protection in case the whites should detect him in his contemplated frauds. Bowes had prepared in the office of the Tallahassee Sentinel, the official organ of the Government, several hundred tickets with the names of the Republican candidates printed in very small type. The tickets were about an inch and a half long by an inch wide. He opened the polls on the morning of election, before the hour designated, and before the whites arrived, and deposited in the

1. Governor M. L. Stearns, candidate for re-election.

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