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working to get them to vote for the Garfield and Wheeler ticket; and that the impression was that most of the colored men were voting that ticket.

Henry Clay Jones, page 1074, testifies that he got thirty-six colored men to vote the Garfield and Wheeler ticket at Courtland box No. 2, Nov. 2, 1880, also that a great number of colored men voted that ticket that day; that this was a general impression, and that he knew it to be

true because he saw them vote it.

James Brown, page 1077, testifies that he voted a Garfield and Wheeler ticket, and got another colored man to vote the same kind of ticket, and that he was a colored man.

Quintas Jones, page 1080, testified that he got seven colored men to vote the Garfield and Wheeler ticket.

Isaac Jones, page 1088, testified that he got ten colored men, including himself, to vote the Garfield and Wheeler ticket at Courtland box No. 2, on November 2, 1880.

Shadrach Kirk, page 1090, testified that he got four colored men, including himself, to vote the Garfield and Wheeler ticket on November 2, 1880, and that most of the colored men were voting that ticket that day.

Patrick Jones, page 1092, testified that he was certain he got seven colored men, including himself, to vote the Garfield and Wheeler ticket at Courtland on November 2, 1880.

Frank Clay, page 1095, testified that he got nine colored men, including himself, to vote the Garfield and Wheeler ticket at Courtland box, No. 2.

Malachi Swope, a colored man, page 1098, testified that he voted the Garfield and Wheeler ticket.

Ben Jones, page 1108, testified that he got thirteen colored men to vote the Garfield and Wheeler ticket at Courtland box No. 2, on November 2, 1880.

Corodell Swoope, colored, page 1111, testified that he voted the Garfield and Wheeler ticket at Courtland on November 2, 1880.

The evidence of T. H. Jones, pages 1086 and 1087 of the record, is as follows:

Question. Where were you on election day, November 2, 1880-Answer. At the Courtland box.

Q. In whose interest did you work that day?-A. I was working with the colored men to induce them to vote for Joseph Wheeler.

Q. Please state how many tickets you gave out to colored men who promised to vote for Joseph Wheeler.—A. I did not count them; I suppose fifty or sixty.

Q. Are you satisfied that these fifty or sixty tickets were voted by colored men?A. I am satisfied these tickets were voted as well as a man could be satisfied with anything which happens in ordinary affairs of life. I was near the polls and gave out the tickets to colored men who promised to vote them, and saw many of them vote them at the polls; there were no ropes stretched, so we were enabled to go up close to the window where they put in the votes; those that I had doubts about I noticed that they voted the ticket I gave them; those that I had perfect confidence would vote the ticket I gave them I did not take pains to observe.

Q. Have you a ticket similar to those you gave the colored men to vote? If so, please mark your initials upon it and make it an exhibit to your deposition.-A. Í have done so.

For Electors for President
and Vice-President of

the United States:

GEORGE TURNER.

WILLARD WARNER.

LUTHER R. MARTIN.

CHARLES W. BUCKLEY.

JOHN J. MARTIN.

BENJAMIN S. TURNER.

DANIEL B. BOOTH.

WINFIELD S. BIRD.

NICHOLAS S. M’AFEE.

JAMES S. CLARKE.

For Representative in
Congress from the Eighth
Congressional District:

JOSEPH WHEELER.

Q. What were these tickets understood to be by the colored men -A. They were understood to be tickets with Garfield and Arthur electors, with the name of Joseph Wheeler on it for Congress; they all understood that in voting the ticket they were voting for Garfield and Arthur for President and Vice-President, and for Wheeler for Congress.

Q. Was it or not at box No. 2 that these tickets were voted?-A. The great bulk of them voted at box No. 2, but some few of them voted at box No. 1. I voted at box No. 1 late in the evening, when the voting was pretty much all over. I voted a Hancock ticket, with Wheeler on it for Congress.

Q. State the names of all the inspectors at box No. 2.—A. James Montgomery, John H. Harris, and J. J. Beemer.

Q State the politics.-A. Montgomery is a Greenbacker, and the others have been accustomed to vote split tickets.

Q. State the names of the inspectors at box No. 1 and their politics.-A. When they commenced the inspectors were Samuel Ashton, a Republican; A. J. Morris, a Republican; and James Galey, a Greenbacker; but they changed and put in T. A. Tatham, a Democrat, in place of A. J. Morris, Republican, who, however, remained and acted as clerk.

Q. Was there a Republican supervisor at box No. 11-A. Yes.

Q. Was there a Democratic supervisor at box No. 1?-A. No.

Q. Please state what the general impression was when it was announced on November 3, the day after the election, that Joseph Wheeler had but one hundred and eleven votes counted for him at box No. 2.-A. It was a matter of great surprise, as from the way the votes went in it was thought Wheeler votes would be two or three times as large as was counted for him.

Q. Please state the politics of the party opposed to the Democratic party for the last nine years.-A. In 1871 and 1872 the candidates for the legislature and county officers called themselves Independents, and it was the same up to about 1877; then they assumed the name of Greenbackers. There have been no candidates for county officers for many years on square Republican principles, except Peter Walker and John Bell, who ran for the legislature in 1878. At each President's election the Republican electors have been voted for in this county.

Q. Please state what influences you understand have been and are brought to bear upon the colored people to induce them to vote for the Greenback and Independent candidates.-A. The influence of fear and intimidation, to a very great extent, is brought to be r; they are taught that if they do not vote for these Greenback and

Independent candidates, pursuant to the direction of their leaders, that the least punishment which would be inflicted upon them would be ostracization, and that they would be denounced by their colored associates as traitors to their race; they also have fear of bodily harm and harm to their property unless they vote the ticket dictated by their leaders. In 1878 Peter Walker and John Bell tried to run for the legislature on the Republican ticket, and Peter Walker particularly was so threatened and intimidated and abused that he was afraid to openly distribute his tickets. I was informed that he was so terror-stricken and alarmed that he was in great fear that his house would be burned and that he would be killed. Samuel Haynes, a very intelligent colored man, has just told me that the prevailing influence brought to bear upon the colored man to make him vote for the Greenback party, or some party opposed to the Democratic party, was the conviction and constant threats that they would be ostracized by their race unless they did so. He also said that no matter how beloved and popular a candidate might be, all his prospects would be blasted if he was in support of the Democratic party.

Q. Do colored men when they vote the Democratic ticket want it kept a secret?A. Yes.

Witness:

Jos. F. HILL.

THOS. H. JONES.

This conclusively shows that there was fraud at this box. It shows that Joseph Wheeler got at least 100 to 150 Garfield and Arthur votes. The proof also shows that Wheeler received at least 75 to 100 white Democratic votes at that box.

There can be no question but that this box must be rejected.

The proof comes from the witnesses and friends of Colonel Lowe. As some point was made regarding the politics of Mr. Harris, who constituted himself the custodian of this box, we have taken some trouble to review the subject, and we present the following summary of the evidence which bears on this subject.

Before proceeding to discuss this evidence we must remark that the proof shows that this evidence was all written down by a stenographer (who was employed by Mr. Lowe), and was afterwards written out in long-hand when there was no notary public present.

Therefore, in justification to Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Harris, we may conclude that it was not written down as it was given.

In discussing the evidence we simply discuss what Mr. Lowe's lawyers and stenographer have placed in the record.

Mr. Lowe's witness Mr. Reynolds, who the record shows to be very earnest for Lowe, who swore he lived in Courtland, which is 43 miles from Huntsville, and who went there voluntarily, passing through parts of four counties, viz, Lawrence, Morgan, Limestone, and Madison, to testify as a witness for Mr. Lowe, when the law did not require him to leave his own county to give evidence; who puts in his evidence, page 446, the disgraceful Stevenson circular; who, when he saw how important it was to Lowe to prove the integrity of the box, testified, page 444, in answer to Wheeler's first question, that the vote at that box was counted out according to law, and to the second question that he saw the count, and to the third question that it was counted as votes are generally counted.

Mr. Reynolds's own evidence shows that he knew that this statement was not correct. It shows that he knew that the vote was counted the next day in violation of law, and that the manner of counting was in violation of law.

He knew there were what were called straight Republican tickets, straight Democratic tickets, and Garfield and Wheeler tickets.

He knew that to sort them out, and count as he finally admits they did, would be an injury to Wheeler.

He evades the fourth and fifth questions, and it was not till the sixth question came that he admitted the box was carried off by Mr. Harris.

Then follows a series of answers which appeared to be efforts to prevent the development of the fact that the box was without a lock.

At bottom of page 445 he says he thought Mr. Harris was a Democrat, but the committee must remember that many witnesses who supported Colonel Lowe testify that they thought both they and Colonel Lowe were Democrats.

Richard H. Lowe swears, page 160, that he was a Democrat, and a supporter and admirer of Colonel Lowe, and anxious to see him elected; and further he says of Colonel Lowe, page 166, "I think he is a Jeffersonian Democrat," and on page 1643 he says Colonel Lowe claimed to be a Democrat of the old style-a Jeffersonian-Jacksonian Democrat. R. H. Lowe also swears, page 1731:

I have heard Colonel Lowe declare that any one who said that he was a Republican was a liar.

Q. You have heard him frequently declare that, have you not?—A. I have heard him declare that; how frequently I cannot remember.

And on pages 166 to 172 of his deposition appear the manifestoes of Colonel Lowe, which certainly show extreme opposition to the principles advocated by the Republican party.

R. H. Lowe also exhibits Colonel Lowe's manifesto of September 20, 1880, in which he appeals for support to Greenbackers, Democrats, and Independents, and does not even ask Republicans to vote for him.

William C. Summers, a supporter of Lowe, a witness for Lowe, and an inspector of election, testifies, page 13533, that he is a Jackson Democrat, and Colonel Lowe claimed to be a Democrat, and that he had read some speeches of Colonel Lowe in which he claimed to be a Democrat, and heard his supporters talk so; and on page 1349 O. H. P. Williams, a witness for Colonel Lowe, testified twice that Lowe in his speech abused the Republican party.

Mr. Milton also swears, page 320, he was a Democrat, and yet he was a worker for and voted for Colonel Lowe. He also swears that Deputy Marshal Stockton was a Democrat, but he also voted for Lowe, and he and two other Lowe men were appointed as United States marshals to control the election at Hunt's Store.

Even Hertzler tried to pass himself off as a supporter of Wheeler, in the hope it would help out his false testimony about Lanier's, and help to throw out that box.

He swears, page 1843, in answer to the inquiry if he did not vote for Lowe: "No; I always vote the Democratic ticket." He afterwards was compelled to admit that he voted for Lowe, but said he always considered Lowe as a Democrat.

This character of evidence, which runs through the record, shows that Lowe's lawyers tried to make it appear that all the election officers who called themselves Democrats were supporters of Wheeler, when the fact was frequently the contrary.

Such evidence as this shows what was meant by their Democracy. There is not a particle of positive proof that Mr. Harris supported or voted for Wheeler.

It must be borne in mind that this evidence of Mr. Reynolds was written down in short-hand by Mr. Buell, the friend of Colonel Lowe; yet even with this, Mr. Reynolds informs us of his opinion of the character of the man who became the box custodian.

He says of him, bottom of page 445: "He might say he voted for one man, and then not do it."

Mr. Reynolds also says, page 445:

The general opinion was that he (Wheeler) was getting over the Democratic vote there.

The question, and what purports to be an answer to the question, found on bottom of page 447, is easily explained. Every lawyer who has examined witnesses knows that frequently when asked a question they repeat the question in an interrogative manner to be certain they understood the question correctly.

This is particularly the case with reluctant witnesses who are trying to make the best show possible for the party in whose interest they are being examined. This was eminently the case here. Mr. Reynolds repeated the question verbatim, and Mr. Lowe's friend, the stenographer, writes down Mr. Reynolds's question, omitting the interrogation mark, and thus makes it appear that it was his answer.

This could not be corrected, because no one but the stenographer could read the short-hand notes; and therefore no one but the stenographer could know with any certainty what was meant by his shorthand marks.

Mr. Simmons, a Republican and a Lowe man, and supervisor, and witness for Colonel Lowe, was more willing to admit that the box was carried off by one of the inspectors, and also says, page 4533, that the next day they sorted out the tickets into three piles-Republican tickets to themselves, Greenback tickets to themselves, and Hancock tickets to themselves.

This certainly impaired Wheeler's chances to get the Garfield tickets with his name on them counted for him.

When Wheeler heard this he felt it so keenly that he sent in his sworn protest against the counting of said box, which is found on bottom of page 1062.

Had the contestee known of the other irregularity would he not have included that in his protest?

Simmons mentions, page 4553, three different elections where he states it as his opinion that Harris voted against the Democratic party.

On page 453 he states that he said two or three times during the day that Wheeler was getting a larger vote than he did get, and that he thought so too.

Now, Mr. Beemer swears positively, page 1128, that Harris was an Independent voter; and Mr. Jones swears, page 1087, that Mr. Harris was accustomed to vote split tickets. Also T. A. Tatham swears, page 1106, that John H. Harris, who acted as inspector at Courtland box No. 2, claimed to be an Independent voter.

He also says that Harris supported Sam Houston and W. B. McDonald and Alex. Heflin in opposition to the Democratic party; and it will be observed that this same Heflin swears, page 460, that he too was a Democrat, but admits that at the last election (namely Nov. 2, 1880) he voted the Greenback ticket; he also admits he was elected sheriff on the Greenback ticket in August, 1880. (See pp. 4601, 461.)

Now, this man Heflin, after giving testimony against Wheeler which shows falsity on its face, tries to bolster it up by trying to create an inference that he was a Democrat. He was just as much a Democrat as men who supported him three months before, when he ran as a Greenbacker for sheriff. This shows the object of Lowe's witnesses in calling the inspector a Democrat. They wished to create an impression that the Courtland box was not manipulated to the detriment of Wheeler. Had Mr. Harris been put on the stand we cannot say what his evidence would have been. Mr. Reynolds says, "He might say he voted for one man and then not do it." Contestee could not have been expected to make Mr. Harris a witness.

The fact that the box was carried off in violation of law impeached it,

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