The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1875-03-05
uD0MMlTTEE'S REPORT ON LOU.
ISIANA IFFAIRS.

THAT thoy cannot agree on the report
5n1 e to the committeeby Messrs, Hoar,
Wheeler and Frye. The laws inimical
TO the colored people of Louisiana, re-
ferred tO in this report, have been re-
pealed for years. Except during 1872,
the Republican party has long had con
troll of the machinery of the State The
late registration shows an excess of the
eolored over the white voters, giving go,
78I colored to "a, s23 whites. In the ab-
sence of any direct evidence that the
late election was not free aud fair, the
assumption Of the minority that enough
eolored voters must therefore have been
prevented from voting nt the late cleo
fiOn by the recollection of the Colfax and
Coushatta killings, the causes ond cir
cumstances Of which are disputed, and
by other riots which occurred years be-
fore, 10 have changed the result of the
election throughout the State, is an as
sumption so Violent, when il is recollect-
ed that both these parishes elected the
fun Kellogg ticket by increased Repub-
lican maiorities, rs not to be received if
any other cause for the vote Of the State
can be found
Such causes exist aud are obvious.
Among them are:
First. The registration was incorrect,
and excluded the true colored vote. The
registration was wholly in the hands of
the Kellogg officials, with whom Re
publican committee, with United States
Marshal Packard at their head, cooper
ated. In only three parishes did the
Republican Supervisors Of Registration
make any complaint of unfair or insult
ficient registration. On the other hand,
very great complaint was made 10y the
Conservatives, who specified with proof
300 cases of conceded false registration
in New Orleans alone, and those Con
Bervatives, who had been cooperating
in the Joint party committee to secure
fair registration, gave up the effort in
despair. The census of 1870, the cor
rectness of which is not impeached.
showed S7,0S6 whites and sc, 13colored
males over twenty-one years of age. All
the statistics and evidence before us in
dieate no change in favor of the colored
voter, yet the registration of colored
voters exceeded by 1000 the total num-
Der of colored adult males returned by
the census, while the registration of
white votes was 10, ,000 less.
Second The whole number of white,
and colored votes registered was 167,-
604. OF these 1869 voted. This is.
n larger proportion of registered voters
than usually vote in any of the Northern
States. In an agricultural State, sparse
ly settled, where long journeys had often
to be made to reach the polls, it is un-
reasonable to suppose that a greater pro
portion of registered blacks would have
voluntarily turned out to sustain the
government under which the prosperity |
Of the State, and their wages, and the |
value of their shares of production, had
steadily declined, than usually vote at
elections North or South.
Third. The year 1874 was one of
political change, in which the vote
throughout all the States was seriously !
affected against the Republican party
a change resulting largely from the f. |
nancial distress of the people, and which /
should, therefore, naturally have been
even greater in Louisiana than else
where
Fourth. 1t became the interest of the
Conservatives at least, at the last cleo
ton, not to intimidate, but to acquire
by every fair means the colored vote.
Parties who were alleged to have threat
ened blacks even with refusal of en-
ployment were subject to prompt arrest.
II was known that pretexts would be
sought to deprive the Conservatives of
the result if they prevailed in the cleo
ton. It was, therefore, their interest
to avoid giving any such pretexts. Ac-
they determined everywhere
to cooperate with and conciliate the l
blacks. They voted down the propo- /
sitions or suggestions which were made
in the early part Of the campaign for alr
refusal to employ those colored voters /
who would not cooperate with them. II
and generally sought, by combining with /
the voters, to carry the election. Local {
against the Kellogg can
Idates We're made in many parishes by h
men of all parties and colors. In sever i
al parishes union ticket of colured and S
Conservative voters was voted for and Il
elected. An intelligent colored witness {
testified that he ''desired better govern
ment and to that end was willing to swal- |
low the white man if the white man 8
could swallow the colored." " Those I
l1lhtb anu ltt4luBS lilhbefldlAl U6lu6Q 10 I
swell the Conservative vote IN such To- II
calities as were indicated by the returns, Il
Fifth. The entire want of any direct
evidence to show any general intimida- le
iOn of colored voters. OF course, in so
arge n State it would be impossible /
hat there should be no instance of a lo
refusal to employ or of intimidation. Ii
such occur in every State. But the evi- t
lence certainly indicates no general in 7
imidation of the colored voters, and i
hat such intimidation as did exist III /
he State war was rather in the interest G
IF the Republicans than of the Conser-
7atives. United States marshals, whose |
ihief was chairman of the Republican S
State Committee, armed, in some cases, I1
with blank warrants of arrest, and aided q
BY Federal troops, made constant ar 7
'ests before the election, but not after b
wards. The oversight of the election Il
md returns were in the hands of Gov
srnor kellogg's officials. Their account q
md return did show twenty-nine ma il
Ority for members Of the lower house v
elected by the Conservatives, without L
my protest whatever, except in three j
,arishes, although it was their province t
md duty to protest in any case where C
violence and intimidation or fraud ex- u
ted. Indeed the direct evidence as to
he election of 1874, as well as the cir h
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