The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-03-04
LOUISIANA AFFAIRS.
Reports OF the Investigating Committee
Submitted to Congress.
The Cone Iusions and Rrcommenda' ions
of the Minority and Majority of
tho Committee,

| of the Minority and Majority of
| tho Committee.
Mr. G. y. IIoar, chairman Of tho special
committee on Louisiana affairs, has made a
report to the house OF representatives. closing
with the following preambles and resolutions
| WHEREAS Both branches OF the Legislature
OF Lousiana have requested tho select com
mittee OF the house to investigate the crcum-
stances attending tho elections AMI returns
thereof in that state for the year 1874 aud,
WHEREAS, Said committee ha- unanimously
reported that he returning board OF that state.
IN canvassing and compiling said returns and
tho promulgation OF the results, wrongfullv
applied an erroneous rule Of law, by reason
whereof persons were awarded in the house of
representatives soats to which they were not
entitled, and persons entitled to seats were
deprived Of them;
| RcSOl0ed, That 1t IL recommended to the
house OF representatives of Louisiana to AXE
immediate steps to remedy such injn-tice, and
place the persons rightfnlly entitled in their
seats.
ResotUed, That Wm. p. Kellogg be recog-
ni2ed as the governor Of tho state Of Louis
lana until the end Of tho tenn OF Office fixed
by the constitution Of that state.
THE MAJORITY REPORT
Tho undersigned, majority OF the commit
tee on the state Of the south respectfully re-
port that they cannot agree to the report made
to tho committee by Messrs, Hosr, Wheeler
and Frye. Tho laws inimical to the cOored
people Of Louisiana referred to in this report
have been repealed for years. except during
| tho schism Of Coy. Warmoth in 1872 The re-
publican party has long had control OF the
machinery Of the state. The state registra-
| ton shows an excess OF the colored over the
white voters. giving 0O,78l coored to 76,S23
whites. In tho absence of any direct evidence
| that the late election waB not free and fair,
tho assumption OF the minority that enough
co'ored voters must, therefore, have been pre-
vented from voting at tie late election by the
recollection Of the Colfax and Coushatta kill
ing'. the causes and circumstances of which
are disputed, and by other riots which occur
red wears before, 10 have changed The result
OF the election throughout tho state, il an az
sumption 70 violent, when it IL recoected
that both those pqrshes elected full Kellogg
ii ket by increased republican majorties, M
not to be received, If any other cause for
the vote Of tho state eau be found, such
causes exist and are obvious; among these
arc
|. The registration was incorrect and cX-
ceedcd tue true colored vote. The registra-
ton was wholly in the hands Of tho Kellogg
officials. with whom a republican committee,
with United States Marshal Packard at their
head co-operatel. In only three parishes did
the republican supervisors of registration
make any ,Cmplaint Of unfair or insufficient
registration. On the other hand, very great
complaint was made by the conservatives, who
specified with proof 5000 cases of concede !.
false registration in New Orleans alone, and
those conservatives who hal been cooper
ting in the joint party committee to rccnro II
fair registration, gave up in despair. Inc
| census OF 1870, the correctness OF winch IL not
impeached, showed S7,076 whites and sc, 913J
sOlOred males over twenty-One years OF age.
| All the statistics and evidence before ns ind-
Gated no change in this proportion in favor o
| the colored voters, vet the registration of col.
ored voters exceeded by 1000 the total nun
Der of colored adult males returned by III
census, while tho registration of white voters
was 10000 less.
2, The whole number OF voters registered
was 1G7 Goa OF the-e liG, 500 voted. This IL
a larger proportion Of registered voters then
usually vote in any of the northern states. In
an agricultural state, sparsely settled, where
long journeys had often to bo made to reach
the polls, IL is unreasonable to suppose that a
| greater proportion OF registered blacks would
have voluntarily turned out to su-tain 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.
3. 1874 was year Of political change, in
which the vote throughout all states was seri-
ously affected against the republican party,
reeuting largely from the financial distress
OF the people, and which should therefore
naturally have been even greater i'll Louisiana
than elsewhere
4. It became tho interest of tho conserva-
tives at the last election not to intimidate, but
| to acquire by every fair means coored votes.
| Tho parties who were alleged to have threat
ened the blacks with the refusal OF employ
ment were subj jected to prompt arrest. 1t
was known that pretexts would be sought to
deprive the conservatives Of the result if they
prevailed in tho election. 1t was therefore
their interest to avoid giving any such pretext.
Accordingly, they determined everywhere to
| co operate with aud reconcile the blacks.
They voted down the propositions or sugges-
tions which we're made in the early part of the
campaign, for a refus to employ those col
| ored voters who would not cooperate with
them, and generally sought by combining with
the colored voters, to carry the election. Lo-
cal combinations against the Kellogg cahd-
dates were made in many parishes by men OF
all parties and color. In several parishes,
tickets composed Of colored and conservative
| voters were voted for and elected. An intel
ligent colcred witnes. testified that he desired
better government, and, to that end, was will
| ing to swallow the white man. il white men
| would swallow tho colored. These causes and
| feelings naturally united to swell tho conser-
vative vote in such localities as indicated by
| the relurns.
| g. The entire want Of any direct evidence to
| show any general intimidation of c)lored
voters. OF course, in 30 large state it would
| be impossible that there should be no instances
of refusal to employ or Of intimidation. Su III
| occur in every state. But the evidence GER
tainly indica' Oh no general intimidation OF col
ored voters, and tuat such intimidation as did
| exist in the state was rather in the interest
OF the republicans than OF the conservatives.
| The United Statss marshals. whose cher was
tho chairman of the republican state commit
tee, armed in some cases with blank warrants
OF arrest, and aided by federal troops made
constant arrests before the election, but not
afterwards. Tho oversight Of the election and
| returns was in the hands Of Gov Kelloggs
officials. Their account and returns did show
tsenty-nine majority of members or tho lower
house elected by the conservatives without
any pro est whatever, except i'll three parishes,
although it Was their province and duty t.
protest in any case whore violence and intlmi-
datiOn or fraud existed. Indeed, the direct
evidence as to the election of 1874, as well az
the circumstances, clearly indicate peaceable
and fair election. In fact, after tho visit o
the first committee and revisit Of the specia
committee, the Kellogg party with all thel
machinery for collecting evidence, were unable
to produce in the entire state more than hal
a dozen persons to testify to anything i'm
peaching the freedom and fairness OF the lat
elections, who were not Office. holders or con
nected with office-holders. Against such fact
il seems to us idle to assume that the disturb
ances so wildly pictured by the minority
could have kept up throughout the state sucl
, feeling Of intimidation as would justify th
assumption, that but for hat feeling, the stat
would have gone republican. All experience
shows that the result OF the election OF ioIi J,
, J,ouisiana. az returned to the returning board
was natural and to be only accounted FOR '.
the reasons we have given. ,,-,
, We hold, therefore, that in November, 1874
:. the people OF the state Of Louisiana dld fairl.
have a free, peaceable and full registration
and election, in which clear conservsuv
5 Legislature, Of which majority the conserva
, tivss we're deprived by the unjust, illegal an