The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1873-03-12
About Rapides.

Governor Warmoth, in a letter to tia
N. Y. Herald, has reviewed mildly I'll.
testimony of some ofthe Louisiana. Dn.
rell witnesses. We extract the follow.
ing sitting of the Rapides .slebanc:s
In relation to the evidence establish
ing the manner in which the four q,
Ave thousand cross-mark affidayit.
were manufactured, pretending tn
show that at least that number Of W.
tiers had been deprived Of registration
or the right to vote, it is only necessa.
ry to quote the language of the report
which is as follows: .s@.
They also counted a large number Of af
fidavits purp0rting to be sworn to +,
voters who had been wrongfmlly denied
registration or the right to vote, manV ~
which affidavts they must have known -
be forgeries. 1t was testified by one Wit.
ness that he forged over a Thousand aff1d..
Wits, and delivered them to the Lynch
board while III session. 1t is quite nnns.
cessary to waste time in considering mi.
part of the case; for no person can exam.
iue the testimony ever so curiously with.
ont seeing that this pretended cauva,.
had no sembance of integrity.
Aside from these affidavits, ,nen
bald forgeries. what have wei Five At.
tidavits from Rapides parish, four n
which contains this statement, chars.
ing fraud, to wit:
"That he (the affiant) attended varion,
places appointed for the registration of va
tiers in said parish, IN the months of Sen
TENDER aid October, 1872. and knows, from
his own knowledge and from information
received from many sources, that he verilv
believes true, that the registrars of votem
of said parish refused, and knowinplv
omitted, to register large number of coI.
ored persons legally qualified to registe,
and vote in said parish, to-wit fifteen
hundred"
One of these last mentiond affidavit.
containing said statement, is signed by
George Y. Kelso. a candidate for thu
State Senate on the Republican ticket
and defeated; another by Joseph Con.
oughton, and another by Joseph B
Lott, both of whom were candidates On
the Republican ticket for the house Of
Representatives., and defeated; and tia
remaining one of the four by Harry
Lott, the Republican candidate IA,
Congress, now here contesting the seat
of Mr. Boarman.
The fifth of these affidavits is signed
by r. A. Hunter, United States Sinner. L
visor for the parisl, of Rapids. He
states in this affidavit that he belong,
to that political party known as "lsst
ditch Democrats" and that he voted
"the Charles O'Conor electoral ticket
He further states that two hundred and
upwards "f citizens were refused the I
right to vote at one precinct where he +
was present, because they had no reg.
istration papers; that the Registrar re. 4
fused to allow him to he present at the &
counting of any of the votes excepta Z
the box he attended on the day OF tho h
election, and that being so refused he B
left the premises, and cannot therefor B
report how the canvassing of the votes &
polled in that parish was cOndnciea /
He estimates that "fully one third IT h
the Republican vote of the parish wal 4
lost by the unfair conduct Of the State 3
officers"
In these affidavits, it will be obRry. s
ed, no fact is stated; nothing is stated
except belief founded on information
received, and as fonr out Of five ofths
atlantis were defeated candidates, It'll
quite possible that their confidence may
have been more readily given to theh
alleged information from ''many sour.
ces," as they state it, because Of Their
cl.agrin at the result as it personally
affected them.
A very little examination will su6a I
to snow that the pretence that "fully B
one. third" Of the Republican voted
the parish was lost 10y the conducEdN
the State officers, has nothing to sus
tain it; that ifany part Of that vote VA
not polled, the pretended estih,ateb s
SO far beyond the possibility Of trutl. <
as not to amount to a respectable con.
lecture.
The total population of Rapides par 4
ISL, as returned in the census Of lae IL
is $1,000. Allowing the proportion
voters to population to be as oneb
five, the total number Of voters wop1
be $500. The vote actually cast attn
November election was 1929. Fonrd
these affidavit. makers claim not lH
than $500 Republican votes were na
polled. If SO, then there would be, ID
ding those to the number actually plIH
ed. in round numbers, 45O0 vOtenh