The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1873-05-31
SENATOR CARPENTER INTERVIEWED.

| SOmmltteC or Two dunurCu k0nu IKE
cutive Committee of the Committee O
Seventy, had an interview with Scn;l
tor Carpenter, at his rooms ut the st
Louis Hotel. We do not give 4 full
report of what was said and done bu
wc believe the following will be rcat
with interest:
Senator Booth opened the interview
by stating that the object OF tho meeting
was to exchange sentiments on tn,
political troubles of Louisiana, witt
the view that tho opinions of the com
mittcc and Of Senator Carpenter might
be modified.
Mr.. Harry Wilde gave short state
ment of the trouble which had trans
pired in Grant parish, which gave rise
to 4 very long and interesting discus
sion.
! Senator Carpenter inquired why tho
Grand Jury of the United States Court
had not been informed that proof of the
facts stated by Mr.. Wilde could be pro-
! luccu.
Mr.. Wiilc-Do you know how that
Grand Jury was drawn:
| Senator Carpcntcr--lt matters not
how it was drawn, it does not affect
the testimony.
Mr.. WildC-Do you know how tho
testimony which was given before that
Grand Jury was given: 1t was utterly
untrue.
Senator Carpcntcr-Wcll,i ifyou have
got no men in Louisiana to tell the
truth, ! don't soc how YOU can hell,
| yourselves.
Mr.. Lingan-Thcrc were witnesses
brought before the Grand Jury, and
they refused to hear them.
Senator Carpcrtcr--It is 4 right that
! every freeman has to go before the
Grand Jury and make his complaint.
If affairs are in the condition you say
they are, L am not prepared to stop at
what the report of tho Senate Commit
tee recommended. 1 am prepared to
say that there is no Government here,
and that there never can be one. If
what you say is true, am in favor of
the Government at Washington taking
charge of tho State and paying expenses
of everything until you can have Il W
publican form of government. If your
courts cannot be relied upon to investi-
gate the facts of the case brought before
them, then you are not fit for sclf-goV-
crnmcnt.
Mr.. Zacharic-Unitcd States Courts
arc packed against us.
Senator Carpcntcr-Why then, do
you not have the Judge impcachcd:
Mr.. Forman-l went before the Judi
ciary Committee of the House of Repre-
sentatiVcs and asked to be hoard on
that subject.
Senator Carpentcr-If you go to
Washington with Il memorial, charging
Judge Durcll with any inipropricty,
and he is not impcuclcd by tho House,
and put on trial before The Senate, thcn
| shall have nothing more to SAY.
Mr.. EOrnlnn--ft'lt I;i1irrIiN j..
ting Il hearing.
Mr.. Cnrrcnter-'Thrrc i, no difficulty
in getting Il hearing. You act upon
this supposition. You all seem to sup
pose that the Radical party want to
keep you down. I tell you that the
interest ofthe lirpublran party tlrnanl
that they shall be honest; il is n temp
tatiOn for them to be SO. We don't
care Il curse whether you are Demo-
cratic or Republican, but we want you
to be one orthc other rightfully. There
is not mrnhcr of either House of Con-
Gr"SS that has the slightest dcSpOtiSm
10 orprcs;S you or to reverse your will
Ill the selection of your government.
Now it seems almost incredible that
when twenty tncn come up and swear
to statements in the Grant parish mat
ter, and nobody swcars to the contrary
must we not take it to be true.
Mr.. \oOrhicS-'rhis Grand Jury syS-
tenn is Il secret process, and we arc not
permitted to contradict these asScr-
tions.
Senator Carpcntcr-Whyd do YOU not
go to Judge Durcll tomorrow and tell
him that you have witnesses that YOU
wish to hc heard before til" Grand
Jury:
Mr.. NoOrlics--I will ask The Senator
who it is that carries on the invcStiga-
ton before tho Grand Jury:
Senator tarpcntcr-J'hc man who
goes there to mako his complaint.
Mr.. NoorhirS rS-ThC investigation is
conducted by tn" BiStric: Attorney and
by the Grand Jury themselves. If Il
witness comes before them, the Grand
Jury or the District Attorney can refuse
to question him, if they please not tot
do so. We arc placed in This pnsitinn.
There are seventeen members of this
Grand Jury. 1t is published i'll the
papers that they were selected by one
man in New Orleans Ga Itcpuhlican,) Il
frccholdcr, who says that he was very
careful to select three Republicans for
every Democrat; and it turned out
when the jury was drawn that every
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