The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1872-08-28

Second to General Barber, both color
ed men; they have recognized you
rights in their platform as amply and al
positively as they have ever been re
cognized in the Republican party. tt
put up ticket therefore to trade will
those gentlemen would simply be a,
insult. TO sum up this subject; t,
put ont straight ticket, if done in sin.
cerity, would simply be stupidity il
done to trade on, would be simply {
fraud ; and then you have left but one
of two courses, either to endorse the
Customhouse ticket and Grant anl
Wilson, or to ally yourselves with the
Liberal party and endorse Greeley and
Brown, and ratify the Liberal State
ticket, headed by d. B. Penn. But
can you vote for the Customhouse tick.
ct? You voted this morning, threw uT
your hats and shouted and yelled as il
mad when the proposition was made
by your Conference Committee to re-
ject the propositions of the Custom
house party, and to put out a straight
ticket. BY doing this you declared
your determination not to vote fol-
Kellogg. You would hardly listen to
any one who would propose that
And now, do you mean to go right
back on all your words and all your en-
thusiasm and indorse the very man
and the very ticket you have just
shouted down with jeers of derision
But let me talk to you.more seriously.
An alliance with the white people of
the State is the best and surest guaran-
tee of your rights. 1t is not only the
best way to perpetuate them, and
make them permanent, but it is the
only safe path, the only possible way.
If this Convention were to-day unani-
mously to endorse the Customhouse
ticket, the two wings of the Radical
party united cannot win in this con-
test. The fight would tLcn be black
against white, as it was in 1868, with
this difference, that then military law
was supreme, and now civil law reigns,
and that then the white people staid
away from the polls, and now your
people will stay away. Largo num-
bers of representative and honest Re-
publicans will not vote for Kellogg un-
der any circumstances. He is not q
Republican now, and never has been.
He absented himself from his seat in
the Senate of the United States when
Summers bill protecting your civil
rights was voted upon. ] would a
thousand times over rather trust in the
sympathies, power and justice of Mr..
Penn to protect your rights than to
those of Mr.. Kellogg.
But let me show you further, why
such ticket cannot be elected. By
the census there are 1854, 600 black peo-
pie, and 362, 900 white people in this
State. With the ordinary ratio Of five
to one, there is voting population of
1880 blacks, and Y, 400 whites. The
strongest Republican vote ever polled
in this State was in 1870, 65,OOO-of
this about 10000 was white, leaving
$4,000 colored Republicans voting, as
the highest ever polled by you in this
State thus showing that at least 20, 900
colored people at each election have
either absentcd themselves from the
polls or voted the Democratic ticket.
which is the truth. You may put down
safely $4,000 votes as the utmost limit
Of your voting power in this State, as a
black race voting all together. Now,
If you persist in refusing this alliance
offered to you by the white people
through their representatives in the
Liberal Convention, what will be the
effect? Discouraged at the defeat of
the hopes which they themselves had
entertained, and the promises held out
TO them by your friends among MS
lisgusted by your want of courtesy
md lack of appreciation Of the crisis in
your own condition, and of the kindi-
ness of feeling and sincerity of purpose
which has actuated them, and impelled
~ the strong contrary pressure which
las all the time been exerted upon
hem, they will take from the ticket
our representatives and unite with
he white people of the State in form
ng solid white party. The Kellogg
icket will then combine simply the
lack vote of the State. with 5000 or
600 white carpet-baggers and Gus
omhonse and Post Office employees
The white vote will, this time, be fully
'olled. Making the proper allowance1
or absence from The polls, from any
ause, and there will at least be Is, 600
Fhite votes polled. This, against your
5000 white and black votes, will de-
eat you by $4,000 or 2O,OoO majority.
let me give you another reason why
on will be defeated. l have not hith-
rto taken into account the effect o
he State patronage and the control If
he election, which is invested in Com
Missioner of Election and Registrars,
7hich will this time be in the hands of
l