Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1875-03-04
LOUISIANA AFFAIRS.
Majority and Minority Report of the Com
gressionai Investigating Committee.

MAJORITY REPORT.
The following are the conclusions arrived at
by the majority of the Louisiana Investigating
Committee, embraced in their report to the
House of Representatives at Washington:
The undersigned, majority of the Committee on
State of the South respectfully report that they
cannot agree to the report made to the committee by
Messrs. Hoar, Wheeler and Frye. The laws inimical
to the coored people of Louisiana referred to in their
report, have been repealed for years. Except during
the schism of Gov warmoth in 1873, the Republican
party has long had control of the machinery of the
State The late registration shows excess Of the
colored the white voters giving 90 7s1 colored
to 6s23 bite. In the absence of any direct evil
dence that the late election not free and fair
the assumption Of the minority, that enough colored
voters must therefore have been prevented from
voting at the late election by the recollection of the
Colfax and Coushatta killings (the causes and cir
cumstances of which are disputed) and by other
acts which occurred years before, to have changed
she result of the election throughout the State is
assumption so violent, when il is recollected that
both those parishes elected the full Kellogg ticket
by increased Republican majorties as not to be re
ceived if any other for the vote Of the State
can be found. Such causes exist and are obvious
Among them are:
First-The registration was incorrect, and exceed
ed the true colored vote. The registration
wholly in the hands Of the Kellogg officials, with
whom Republican committee, with United States
Marshal Packard at their head, co-operated. In only
three parishes did the Republican Supervisors of
Registration make any complaint of unfair or in
sufficient registration On the other hani, very
great complaint was made by the Conservatives, who
specified with proof, 200 Of conceded false
registration in New Orleans alone, and those Con-
servatives who had been cooperating in the joint
party committee fair registration gave up
the effort in despair The census of 1870, the cor
rectness Of which is not impeached, showed SI,O'6
whites and 80 9l3 coored males 81 years of age
All the statistics and evidence before US indicated
no change in this proportion in favor Of the colored
voters. Yet the registration of colored voters
ceeded by 1900 the total number Of adult males re-
turned by the census while the registration of white
votes was 10000 less
Seccnd-The whole number Of votes registered was
167, eO7 OF these 1859 voted. This is larger
proportion Of registered voters than usually vote in
any OF the Northern States. In agricultural STATE
scantiy settled, where lons Journeys had often to
be made to reach the polls, it is unreasonable to
suppose that greater proportion Of the registered
blacks would have turned on. to sustain the govern
ment under which the prosperity of the State and
their wages and 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
dio+r IF
the people, and which SHOULD therefore naturally
have been even greater in louisiana than elsewhere.
Fourth-It became the interest Of the Corserva-
tives at least a. the last election not to intimidate
but to acquire by every fair means the colored VOTE
Parties who alleged to have threatened the
blacks even with refusal of employment were sub
ject 70 promp. arrest. 1t was known that pretexts
would sought to deprive the Conservatives of the
result, if they prevailed in the election 1t was
therefore their interest 10 avoid giving any such pre-
texts Accordingly, they determined everywhere to
cooperate with and conciliate the blacks They
voted down the propositions or suggestions which
were made in the esry part of the campaign for a
refusal to employ those colored voters who would
not cooperate with them, and generally sought by
combining with colored voters to crazy the election.
Local combinations against the Kellogg candidates
were made in many parishes by men Of all parties
and colors. In several parishes a union ticket of
colored and Conservative votes was voted for and
elected An intelligent coored witness testified that
he desired better government and to that
end twas willing to swallow the white man if the
white men would swallow the colored." These
causes and feelings naturally united to swell the
Conservative vote in such localities as indicated by
the returns.
Flffh-The entire want of any direct evidence to
show any general intimidation of colored voters. OF
course, in large a State it would be impossible
there should be no instance of refusal to employ
of intimidation Such occur in every State but the
evidence certainly indicates general intimidation
of colored voters and that such intimidation did
exist in the State rather the interest of the Re
pu5iicans than Of the Conservatives. United States
Marshals, whose chief was the Chairman Of the Re-
publican State Committee, armed, in some cases,
with blank warrants Of arrest and aided by Federal
troops, made constant arrests before the election
but not afterward The oversight of the election and
returns in the hands of Gov KeIlogg's officials
Their account and return did show twenty-nine ma
iority of members of the lower house. elected by the
Conservatives without any protest whatever except
in three parishes, although it their province and
duty to protest in any case where violence and in
timidation, or fraud existed. Indeed, the direct
evidence to the election of 1874, as well as the
circumstances, clearly indicate peaceable and
election. In fact after the visit of the first CON-
mit.ee and revisit Of the special committee, the
Kellogg party, with all their machinery for collect
ing evidence, unable to produce in the
entire State more than half dozen persons
to testify to anything impeaching the freedom
and fairness of the late elections who were
not offceholders or connected with oficehold-
ers. Against such facts it to US idle to as
sumo that the disturbances wildly pictured by
the minority could have kept up throughout the
State such feeling Of intimidation would justify
the assumption that but for that feeling the State
would have gone Republican. AL experience shows
that the result of the election of 1874 in Louisiana,
as returned to the Returning Board, was natural
and to be easily accounted for by the reasons we
have given We hold, therefore, that in November,
1874 the people of the S.atepf Louisiana did fairly
have a free, peaceable. and full registration and
election, in which a clear Conservative majority was
elected TO the lower house Of the Legislature, OF
which majority the Conss rvatives deprived by
the unjust, illegal, and arbitrary action Re-
turning Board.