Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-12-11


ministration in this city will be in the fu-
ture what it has been in the past Con.
gress, however, has it in its power to put
an end to one large class of frauds-those
which are connected with naturalization.
1t is absolutely necessary that jurisdiction
over this subject should be confined to the
Federal courts. 1t is a purely national
matter, and ought not to be left to any
mere State officer The provision allow
ing aliens, arriving here while under
eighteen years of age, to become citizens
without a previous declaration of inten-
tions, ought also to be repealed. AW aliens
come here in their youth, if we may be-
lieve the records of the courts at election
time. A young man of eighteen can de-
clare his intentions just as well as if he
were twenty-one. A record should be
kept at Washington of all naturalizations,
and all certificates should be countersigned
there The certificate of final naturaliZa-
tion should always contain the record OF
the previous declaration of intentions, and
should itself take effect at least a year
after its date. All this might be done with
out extending the term of residence re-
quired for a single day. There would
then remain only the risk of forgery
and this, when every certificate was
numbered in its order, and recorded at
Washington, would be an improbable con-
tingency. Congress must take hold OF
this duty with frmness and courage, or
else remove all restrictions upon naturali-
zation, and declare every man citizen
upon his arrival in the country. Under
the present system, all honest foreigners
are kept out of citizenship for five years,
while all the unscupulous ones are admit
ted forthwith.
Extracts from the address of the Re-
publican State Central Committee of
Louisiana:
The secret mimilitary organizations
of the Democratic party in this city alone
number eighteen thousand armed and
drilled men, and similar organizations ex-
ist in every parish IN the State. That
party also embraces the greater part of the
wealth and intelligence of our people, and
it has had an almost unlimited amount of
money at its command. 1t also has had
the avowed sympathy of Major Generals
Rousseau and Buchanan, and the moral
support of their association and counte-
nance. On the contrary, the Republican
party, the party which has accomplished
and adheres to Congressional reconstruc-
tion, was poor, and unarmed, and unable
to obtain arms for selfdefense. A majori-
ty of its members were not only unaccus-
toned to the duties and responsibilities of
citizenship, but were habituated to violence
and persecution, and the REIMBURSEMENT
of Individual rights.
This committee was able to expend only
about eleven thousand dollars in the late
campaign, while it is believed the Demo
cratic party expended several hundred
thousand dollars. Nevertheless, our Or
ganization was as perfect as theirs until
that party inaugurated its policy of law
lessness, violence and intimidation, which
the Republican party was unprepared and
unable to resist. During the last month
of the campaign this committee has en-
ployed nj ore than one hundred canvassers,
it has published $4,000 copies of a cam
paign paper, and various circulars and ad-
dresses it has distributed more than 300,-
900 campaign documents, it has printed
and sent throughout the State 425, 900 tick
cts, and it is satisfied that with fair elec-
tion the result would not have been doubt
ful. But the Rebel Democracy determined
that they would carry and control Louis
lana by whatever lawlessness, violence and
intimidation might be necessary to that
end and because of facts which we have
previously stated, and because United
States law forbids the organization of a
militia in this State, and because they had
the avowed sympathy of the military COM
mander of this district, they have been able
to dishonor the principles of free govern
ment, and prevent our election from being
an expression of the will of the people.
Previous to election it was evident that
the active and aggressive portion of the
Democratic party had determined that if
colored men would not vote with their
party, they should not be allowed to vote
at all !; and it was also evident that an at
tempt to cast full Republican vote in this
city, and in more than half the parishes,
would result in general rioting and mas
sacre. Under these circumstances there
was but one proper course for Republi-
cans, viz: to vote where it could be done,
and to abstain from the attempt to vote
where it would result in violence and MUIR
der. And this course has been very gen.
orally pursued. In some of the plant
ing parishes where employers greatly
needed the labor of colored men and
where there have been fewer outrages and
murders than in other localities, the full
vote has been cast. In Con-
cordia Parish, where 1,644 Republicans
registered 1864 Republicans voted; in st.
James parish where 1889 Republicans
2,161 Republicans voted; in
Iberville parish, 1850 Republicans regis
tered, 2,089 Republicans voted, and the
result has been the same in parishes equal
ly peaceble and orderly.
On the contrary, in the city of New Or
leans, of 5000 colored citizens who regis
tered but about 100 voted, and including
about 5000 white Republicans who regis
tered, the whole Republican vote in the
city was but 276. Probably more white
might have voted if they
could have condescended to accept the
protection so ostentatiously offered by
political opponents, or to recognize the
pretended and unreal peace of election day
as reality, or to exercise right denied
to the great majority of their party.
In the parish of St. Landry, where more
than two hundred negroes were killed
during October, out of registration of
probably more than 1000 Republicans,
not one Republican vote was cast. In each
of the parishes of Bossier, Morehouse and
Caddo, with each registration of about
2,000 Republican votes, one Republican
vote was cast, probably by Democrats, and
the election has similarly resulted in other
lawless parishes. The extent of the law
lessness, violence and intimidation which
have been used, and the number Of MUIR
ders which have been committed TO insure
this result, will probably never be known,
and can be imagined only by those who
know the priceless estimation in which
our colored citizens hold their newly &C
quired rights of citizenship and fran
chise. The only true accusation brought
against colored men by our opponents is
that they have sought to exercise the rights