The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-01-23

7 teuSc VI 'lutlulluaLlOu Oh the negroes.
In not one instance, after the most careful
inquiry, could the Committee discover tina
such state of things existed. The vote @
the whole parish of Rapides was reversed OF
!, the affidavit of the President of the Return
ing Board that intimidation had been prac
ticed at three of the polls, this gentleman no
having been in the parish on the day of tn,
election, and declining to give any testimon,
before the Committee. 1t further appeared
that his affidavit had been Struggled into tn,
proceedings Of the Board without the knowl
edge of the Conservative counsel, and more
over it appeared, from the investigations O.
the Committee, that his statement was entirely
false.
In one place certain petty local function
aries appointed by Kellogg, and displaced BY
McEnery, had not returned to claim theil
Offices after the suppression of the Septembe,
Instruction, merely because the offices were
not worth anything; that was called intimida-
ton and made pretext for rejecting votes.
I'm another case Federal Commissioner was
visited by a procession of citizens to offer
bail for cartain persons under arrest, and he
called that dcrision of his proceedings which
was I" calculated to intimidate the colored
voters" In another case, where there
Radical Supervisor stole his own re-
turns. In another case the Supervisor hid
himself until the time within which the re-
| turns were required to be delivered to him
had passed, and then where they showed a
Conservative majority he refused to receive
| them; but if the majority was the other way
the limit of time was not observed. No
negro could be found who protested to have
been intimidated. No white man had any
evidence that such a thing had been done.
On the contrary, the committee report that
the violence was on the other side, and the
wholesale military arrests of Conservatives for
political offenses served ''to intimidate and
sometimes even to produce stampede
"among the white voters. Otherwise they
believe the recent election to have been un-
usually free and fair Respecting the count
ing of the vote, they reach the very moderate
conclusion "that the action of the Returning
Board on the whole was arbitrary, unjust and
illegal, and that this arbitrary, unjust and
illegal action alone prevented tie return of q
majority Of Conservative, members to the
Lower House" They could not say less than
this, and if they had not possessed an envi-
able power Of self-control, they could hardly
have said so little.
thus usurps authority and perpetuates it's
usurpaton by setting aside elections? Tue
committee tells US that it is huge organiza-
ton of corrupt rings, hated and despised by
the whole people. and "only upheld by the
Federal military" The Governor Yields ga
degree of power scarcely exercised by any
sovereign in the world" His Legislature has
abolished and set up courts in order to fill the
bench with his creatures. Every kind of po-
litical control has been lodged in his hands,
The police force of New Orleans has been
turned into an armed State militia subject to
his orders.
The extraordinary election law has given
him absolute control over the registration, |
casting and counting Of votes, and made it |
almost impossible to dislodge him. Indef- |
mite appropriations of money are placed at |
his disposal, and unheard of monopolies are |
created for his benefit. Under this system of |
oppression the securities of the State have
fallen in two years from 80 to 25, and of the
city of New Orleans from 80 to 40. Business
is destroyed. All values are rapidly tumbling,
Taxes can no longer be paid. Estates are con-
tiscated. The negroes throughout the coun-
try parishes arefturning freebooters. The
public debt increases even beyond the genef-
BUS limit of the law. Kellogg and his crew
grow rich while Louisiana is ruined.
There, gentlemen Of the United States Sen
tie and House of Representative, is picture
# your dcings, drawn by three of the ablest
# your associates. Do not imagine that you
AN humbug the people by throwing the
blame of this shocking state of affairs upon
William Pitt Kellogg. He is nothing but
your creature. You allowed the President to
hrust him into the place he abuses You
lave refused to turn him out when you have
lad the power, though you have known for
more than two years what he is. You sus-
aimed him in spite of the disclosures of the
senate Committee in 1879 and you mean to
ustain him now, in spite Of the revelations
# Messrs. Foster, Phelps and Potter.
1t has been a worse crime than negligence
= servility on your part; for you have done
IL this with your eyes wide open, that you
night use Kellogg to control the vote of Lou
siana for the Administration. Go on, if you
hoose, and complete the outrage Sanction
II that the President has done. Seat Pinch
ack and thank Sheridan. The people will ,,
ettle with Kellogg and all the rest of you by
nd BY Meanwhile the report of the sub
ommittee passes into history as the most
srrible Indictment ever brought against any
Official faction by its own members, and
here are many of you who will read in it the t.,
cath warrant of the Republican party.