New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-12-27
The STATEMENT OF The RETURNING
BOARD.

On Thursday last the Returning Board
having completed their arduous laboss in
the canvassing and compiling Of the votes
cast at the recent election. sent in their
report, which we published on Friday
morning. It is full. elaborate and impair
tial. and the accompanying statement de-
! ,nanded by the occasion is so calm and
dispassionate tina: it rises from the value
Of mere election seport into the dignity
Of historical document As such it will
doubtless be received at the North. inter-
| ested as the people Of that section can not
Blu. be in learning the real causes OF our dis
} .urbsd political condition Here. indeed
! the results arrived at were not unexpected.
informed as we are Of the system OF ffaud'
force. intimidation and corruption by
which the we'll known Republican major
ity Of this State has been reducedto the
insignificant proportions set forth in these
returns: but there the natural surprise
which must be experienced at the anomaly
Of SO strong Republican State giving SO
small Republican majority will be les
sened by peyusal Of the facts subssan'
t;ated by this report. to which additional
weight is given by its official and impair
tisan nature. and by the high character
of the officials making it.
The chairman. ex-governor J. n. Wells.
is native of the State: before the war
was wealthy planter: was elected Lieu
tenant Governor by the Union men in
1864, and Governor by the Democratic
party in 1866; was active and persistent in
procuring the executive pardon for many
of the representatives of the party now
villifying him; and has always maintained
in this community the reputation Of a
conservative man, in the best sense OF
that much abused term. General Ander-
son is native of Virginia. and has been
a resident of this State for the last thirty
odd years. He is man of large wealth
and high standing. representing IN the
Senate one Of the wealthiest senatorial
districts in the State, to which he was
elected in 1872 as an independent candi.
date. receiving more votes than those Of
the regular Republican and the regular
Democratic candidates combined. He
is certainly. as much as . man
can be. identified in interest with
with his fellow-citizens. Messrs. Casa.
nave and Kenner are respectable repre-.
septatiyes of the colored race. natives Of
the State like the other gentlemen above
named. have NO interests opposed to
those Of the community in general. These
gentlemen having zeaiously and disinter.
estedly devoted themselves to their pa
triotis labors for more than month
labors unusually delicate and difficult.
owing to the loose manner IN which the
election was conducted--have given to
the public in the plainest and simplest
language this statement of the cause of the
delay in making their report. and OF the
Ubiquitous measures by which the vote Of
SO many OF tie polls. and in more than
ope case that OF whole parishes. was null.
lifted. For instance, they say. after speci-
tying some OF tho requirements Of the law:
In many cases no lists of voters were kept
by the commissioners. or if tier. was they
were no: forwarded 10 the Returning Board
By the supervisors, and many that were
forwarded to the Returning Board were not
sig ned or sworn TO. as the law requires. In
many cases there was no statement OF the
persons voted FOR and the number Of votes
received by them forwarded to the Return.
ing Board. for the reason that none were
furnished by the commissioners OF election
to the supervisors, and many that were re.
turned were neither signed nor sworn to,
and in many cases there were no tally sheets
forwarded TO the Returning Board to ena.
BILE them to test the accuracy Of the state. |
ment OF votes, and in some instances only
the tally sheets were returned to the Re.
turning Board without the list of voters or
the statement Of votes, and they not signed |
OF sworn to as the law requires. This be- |
ing the case, it became necessary that che
papers received from the polling places
should be carefully examined. There were
over $50 polling places in the State, and
there was long list of candidates. So 1t
became very labOriOus duty. which Occu. |
pied the board nearly month, laboring
from II A. NJ, tosP. NJ, and from : to ii |
p. NJ. every day.
And again:
Had the board deemed that anything like I
. strict mpliance with the forms of law in l
holding the election and making the re. |
turns to the supervisors would be required, |
the effect would have been that so many of /
The polls would have been thrown out that |
here would have been no election in the /
State.
On the vexed question of the White
League and the part it actually took in
influencing the election, the language of
he report is SO fair, and the subject SO
that we quote at length:
The general facts proved on this point
Establishes that about May, 1874, military
organization known as the White League
vas established in this State, which ex-
ended to every parish of the State, and
'erMeated every neighbOrhoOd; that the
Inject of this organization was to prevent
o,ored men from voting, unless they could
70 controlled to vote the Democratic ticket,
nd to prevent them from holding office;
nd further, to compel the Republicans
olding office under the present State gov
rnmant to abdicate their offices. and to
revent the Republican party in this State
rom organizing, with view of concentrat-
ng their party at the late election, and to
xpel the white Republicans from the State
Mess they would desist from organizing
he Republican party in this State and with
raw from the active support Of that party.
The means taken by this White League
rganization to accomplish the above pur.
oses are shown to have been by threats
hat if the colored voters did not vote the
IN. Oh al 1~a 11>-l
rom the plantations on which they were
armin o.. he danrived of their crOps. ho av