The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1875-03-06

ishel with those of Louisiana.
+. A. BURKE,
A. II. LEONARD,
&c. ZACHARIR. '...
Majority Report of the Commit
tee-The Returning Board
a Fraud.
The undersigned, majority of tho
committee on the state Of tho South,
respectfully report that they cannot
agree to tho report made to the COM
mitteo BY Messrs. Hear, Wheeler and
Frye. The laws inimical to the col
ored people Of Louisiana, referred to
in this report, have been repealed for
years, except during the schism Of
Governor Warmoth in 1872. The re-:
publican party have long had control
of the machinery Of the State. The
State registration shows an excess of
the colored. over the white voters;
giving SO, 76l colored to 70, 823 whites.
In the absence of any direct evidence
that the late election was not free
and fair, the assumption Of the min
ority that enough colored voters
must therefore have been prevented
from voting at the late election by
tho recollection of, the Colfax and
Ceushatta killing cases, the circum-
stances of which are disputed, and
BY other riots which occurred years
before, to have changed the result Of
the election throughout the State, is
an assumption so violent, when 1t is
| recollected that both those parishes
elected a full Kellogg ticket by an in
creased: republican majority, as not
to bo received, ifany other cause for
the vote of the State can be found.
Such causes exist, and are obvious.
Among them are: First, tho regis
tration was incorrect, and exceeded
the true colored vote. The registra-
ton was wholly in the Hands of the
Kellogg otticials, with whom a repub.
lican committee, with United States
Marshal Packard at their head CO.
operated. In only three parishes did
republican supervisors of registration
make any complaint Of unfair or i'll
sufficient registration. On tho other
hand, very great complaint was made
by the conservatives, who specified
with proof, $500 cases Of conceded
false repatriation in New Orleans
alone. and those conservatives WIKI
had been cooperating iH joint part,
committee 70 secure fair registration
gave up in despair. Tho census o
1870, the correctness of Which is no
impeached, showed 81 ,N6 whites anf
81, 9l3 colored males over twenty-on'
years of age. Al statistics and ev
idence before US indicated no chang
in this proposition in favor Of tn
colored voters, yet the registration .
colored voters exceeded by 1900 tn
total number of colored adult male
returned by the census, while the reg
istration Of white voters was 1906
less.
| 2. The whole number of voters reg
isttred was Ia, GOA /; of theso 1852
voted. This is a larger proportion .
Registered. vutprs than usually vote il
any of the Northern States. In al
agricultural State, spars6ly 9settled
where long Journeys had often to b
made to reach the polls, it is unrsa
sonable to suppose that q greater pro
portion Of registered blacks wotl'
have voluntarily turned out to sus
tain a government, under which tn
prosperity Of the State, their wage
aud value Of their shares Of pTodnc
ton, had steadily declined, than usu
ally vote at elections North and South
! 5. Eighteen hundred and seventy
four was q year Of political change, i
which tho vote throughout all State
was seriously affected against tn
republican party, . change IesultinI
largely from the financial distress q
the people, and which should there
fore, naturally have been even great
or in Louisiana than elsewhere.
4. It became the interest Of the con
servatives, At least at the last cleo
ton, not to ,nin,idats, but to acquire
by every fair means, colored, votes
Parties who were alleged to hav
: Threatened with refusal Of employ
msnt, were subjected to prompt 81
rest. It was known that pretext
) would be sought to deprive the con
ssrvatives Of tho result if they pre-
prevailed in the election. It va
therefore their interest to avoi
} giving any such pretext. Accord
ingly they determined everywher
to cooperate with and conci
late the blacks. They voted dow
the propositions OF suggestions whic
, were made in the early part Of tn
campaign for refusal to employ thos
cOlered voters who would not CO. Ope
rata. with them, and generally sought
/ by combining with colored voters, t
carry the election. LEGAL combina
: tiops against Kellogg candidates wer
made in many parishes by men Of a.
parties and colors. In several par
ishes q union ticket of colored an
conservative voters was voted for an
7 elected. An intelligent colored wit
ness testified that he desired q bel
ter government, and to that end va
willing to swallow the white man,
! thu szhiAA n,an swnno xuillinn IN a-a1