New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-12-25

first, the list of votes kept by the commits
siOners Of election; second, the statement o.
the porsOns voted for aa1 the number o1
votes received BY each; and third. the tally
sheets; all Of which the commissioners OF
| election are required to furnish the eupeY
visors. and they to forward to the returning
| officers.
In many cases no lists of voters were kept
by the commissioners. or if there was they
! were not forwarded to the Returning Board
by tho supervisors, and many that were
/ forwarded to the Returning Board were not
signed 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 we're neither signed nor sworn to,
and in many cases there were NO tally shet Is
forwarded to the Returning Board to en-
able them to test the accuracy of the state
neht OF votes, and in some instances only
| TIE tally sneets were returned to the Return
ing Board without the list of voters or the
statement of votes, and they not signed or
| sworn to as the law REQUIRES. This being
! the case, it became necessary that the pa
! pers received from the polling places should
be carefully examined. There were over
60 polling places in the State, and there
was long list of candidates. SO it became
a very laborious duty, which occupied tho
board nearly month, laboring from IL A..
M. to 7. NJ, and from to II p. II. every
day.
| The law requires, "That in such canvass
and compilation the returning officers shall
observe the following order: They shall
compile first the statements from all polls
| or voting places at which there shall have
| been fair, free and peaceable registration
aud election. Whenever from any poll or
! voting place there has been any riot, tu-
multi, acts Of violence, intimid atieD, armed
disturbance, bribery or corrupt influences
which prevented or tended to prevent a
| fair. free aud peaceable vote Of all qualified
electors entitled to vote at such poll or
| voting place, such returning officers shall
not canvass, count or compile the statement
| Of votes from such poll or voting place
| until the statements from all other polls or
| and complied. The returning officers shall
then proceed to investigate the statements
of riot tumult, acts of violence. intimida-
dati0n, armed distur bance, bribery Or cor
rupt influences at any such poll and voting
place.
The board has followed tbis requirement
OF the law, as it was their imperative duty
to do, and iu examining the proceedings Of
the commissioners OF election forwarded to
it by the supervisors, when either Of the
counsel appointed by the political parties
objected to the count of auy poll and laid
before the board any evidence to sustain
such objections, such polls were passed
over and not canvassed until the board had
compiled the vote from all polls not object
ed to. n
In the progress of the exal Dhation a large
number Of polls were objected to, including
some in twenty seven OF the parishes, and
all in some. The grounds of objection to
some Of the polls were the failure of sub
stantial compliance with the law in con.
ducting the election and making returns to
the supervisors; to some that the returns
OF the commissioners had been changed
after they had been made to the super vis0rs;
and to the tar greater number, that the
voters had been intimidated, SO that they
did not register or vote, or were compelled
to vote differently from what they desired.
Had the board decided that anything like
strict compliance with the forms Of law in
holding the election and making the returns
to the supervisor would be required, the
effect would have been that so many Of the
polls would have been thrown out that there
would have been no election in the State |
The board then adopted the rule that when
the supervisor had returned any evidence |
showing an election was held, although it |
be only tally sheet unsigned or sworn to, |
that In the absence of any evidence Of fraud |
or intimidaticn, it would compile the vote |
as shawn by such evidence or document. |
Ii it may be called evidence, this decision |
disposed OF a good many protests to the re- |
ception Of polls, but when the substantial |
forms of law had not been observed, and |
evidence of fraud or intimidation was pro-
duced, the failure Of the substantial COM
pliance with the forms Of law was consd. |
cred a badge of fraud, aud the poll was
rejected. We believed this to be a just and |
reasonable rule, aud the board strictly |
adhered to it.
In the cases of Carroll ST. Helena and st. |
ames parishes. where it was charged and
proved the returns made by the commits
siOners to the supervisors had been changed
sfte they came into the hands Of the super.
ylsors, the board took evidence to ascertain
tie true state of the vote, and made the
accordingly.
The question raised against the greater
nnmber of polls was the charge of intimi.
tation to prevent voters from voting and
forcing them to vote against their wishes.
To establish this charge a great mass of
attidavits was taken-sOme applicable to
whole parishes and some to particular polls, |
and mass of counter afiidavits was also |
iled.
The general facts proved on this point
Establishes that about May, 1874. military
organization known as the White Leauge
vas established in this State, which ex. |
ended to every parish of the State, and
every neighborhood; that the
'bject of this organization was to prevent
0lOred men from voting, unless they could
'e controlled to vote the Democratic ticket,
md to prevent them from holding office;
nd further, to compel the Republicans
olding Office under the present State gov
to abdicate their offices, and to
reyent the Republican party in this State
rom organizing, with a 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
rganizati0n to accomplish the above pur-
oses are shown to havelbeen BY threats that
the colored voters did not vote the Dem
cratic ticket they should be expelled from
10 plantations on which they were farm s
lg: be deprived of their crops; be excluded | 8
om renting lands hereafter, or of being
nplOyed, and deprived of rstiOns or credit I
} obtain them; and the leading colOred I
en- were threatened with death if they n
,rsisted in organizing the Republican
srty, and white Republicans were threat
led with personal violence, prescription in
lsiness and socially of themselves and 4
miles, and with hanging. if they persisted q
organizing the party with view to the 4
te elections.
This organization, in armed bands. in .
any parishes IN the State carried their
reats of personal violence into effect by Il
ling some Republicans, whipping and i'll 81
sating others, and compelled the parish
icers holding Office under the present :.
ate government t. abdicate their offices. IL
lis was particularly the case in all the 7
Il oh of nHa~ |