Speech #460010264

MeCuna and Cardoza. which these ingenious and corrupt manipulators could invent to overcome all opposition. thwart the constitutionally expressed will of the people. and corruptly carry the State for Seymour and Hoffman against Grant and Griswold. The evidence taken before a congressional committee established the fact. beyond cavil or question. of a deliberately planned gigantic conspiracy. on the part of the democratic party in New York. to perpetrate these frauds. and stamps with deepest infamy the conduct of that party during the whole campaign. Prior to the year 1868. naturalizations were effected in that city only in the court of common pleas and the superior court. the average number naturalized annually. in both courts. from 1856 to 1867. being ninetytwo hundred and seven. In October. 1868. the supreme court. at the instigation of democratic politicians. commenced the work of naturalization. and in that month that court. presided over by Judge Barnard. naturalized 10.070 men. while the superior court. presided over by Judge McCnun. in the same period of time naturalized 27.897. Why. sir. to such a perfect system was this business of making democratic votes reduced by these scoundrels that Judge Barnard naturalized 2.109 men in a single day. while Judge McCuann. who was equally corrupt but not quite as nimble. got through only 955 at a single siting ! The naturalization laws of the United States provide that when a minor comes to reside here before he is eighteen years of age. he may be naturalized without having first made declaration in court two years before admission to citizenship of his intention to become a citizen. This is the shortest route for the foreigner to citizenship. requires less swearing and waiting. and consequently in New York City less perjury. and brings quicker votes. Under the provisions of this law out of 10.093 applications. filed for naturalization in Judge Barnards court in October. 1868. 9.711 of them were minors applications. and in Judge McCunus court during the same mouth. out of 17.572 applications 13.54t of them were of the same character. In addition to the facilities furnished by the courts of Judges Barnard and MeCunn. naturalization offices were established by the democrats in different parts of the city. where the necessary papers were filled out and the forms of naturalization gone through with. so that. according to the best estimate. at least from sixty to seventy thousand persons were naturalized in that city in the year 1868. either in court or at the branch offices already referred to. In the case of minors who come to reside here before they are eighteen. only two witnesses are required to swear to that fact and to their good character to complete the whole job of naturalization and put them in possession of the final papers which entitle them at once to all the rights. privileges. and responsibilities of an American citizen. For the accommodation of such applicants the democracy of Tammany Hall kindly furnished nine standing witnesses. with an officer to command them. and these nine witnesses made affidavit in behalf of nearly seven thousand applicants. one witness swearing in nine hundred and eightysix cases. not a dozen of the applicants he or they had in all human probability ever seen or heard of before. In Judge Barnards court. twentyone witnesses swore that they knew the fact that nine thousand seven hundred and eleven men who APIL 24. applied for minors certificates of naturalization came to reside in this country before they were eighteen. an average of four hundred and sixtytwo to a witness . while in Judge McCanns court thirtyseven witnesses swore to 13.541. an average of three hundred and ninetytbrceoto each witness. a thingfalse upon its face andabsolutely impossible. and the judges of course knew it. As auxiliary to all this democratic villainy and wickedness. bands of picked men. on the days of registration and election. traversed the whole city. registering and voting at all the different voting places on assumed or fictitious names. These scoundrels were called repeaters." and in one instance "nine of them registered in three hundred different places and voted in nearly every one of them." Men voted from twice to forty times upon false registration . more than five hundred were registered from localities where but fifteen residents could be found. and one vacant lot had registered from it one hundred and eighteen democratic voters. And these villains were all promised at the time protection from prosecution and immunity from their crimes by the democratic leaders. and from that day to this no one of them has ever been tried or punished. The result of all these frauds and crimes against suffrage and a fair ballot. by the democrats of New York City in 1868. was that not less than sixtyeight thousand fraudulent naturalization certificates were issued. and from fifty to sixty thousand fraudulent votes were cast. which carried the State for Seymour against Grant. and made Hoffman governor. as against Griswold. by ten thousand majority. As Judge Lawrence in his report says: These appalling and startling frauds were the result of a systematic plan of gigantic proportions. stealthily prearranged and boldly executed. not merely by bands of degraded desperadoes. bat with the direct sanction. approval. or aid of many prominent officials and citizens of New York. with the shrewdly conealed connivance of others. and almost without an effort to discourage or prevent them by any of those in whose interest and political party associations they were sue. cessfully executed. who could not fail to have cognizanceof them. and whose duty it was to expose. defeat. and punish them. They were aided by an immense corrspt and corrupting official patronage and power. which not only encouraged but shielded and protected the guilty principals and their aiders and ahotters.