The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-03-11
LOUISIANA AFFAIRS.
Reports of the Investigating Committee
Submitted to C0ngress.
The Conclusions and Recommendation
OF the minority and slaJertty OF
the Committee.

WHEREAS, Both branches OF the legislator,
OF Louisiana have requested the select com
mittee OF the house to investigate the circum
stances attending the elections and returns
thereof in that state for the year 1874 and,
WHEREAs, Said oofEmittee has unanimOusll
reported that he returning board Of that state
IN caRYassing and compGiug said returns Sng
the PRONUNCIATION of the results, wrongfuu'
applied an erroneous rule OF law, by reason
whereof persons were awarded IL the house o
representatives seats to which they were no
entitled, and persons entitled to seats were
deprived OF them .--s
ReSOlUed; That il l. recommended to tbs
house Of representatives of Louisiana. to take
immediate steps TO REMEDY sach injustice, sui
place the persons rightfuily entitled in then
Resolved, That VIM. P. Kellogg be reeog.
nized as the governor of the state of Louis
lana uhtil the end of the term of ofhee fixed
by the constitution Of that state
THE MAJORITY REPORT
The undersigned, majority Of the commit
tee The state Of the south, respectfully re-
port that they cannot agree to the report made
to the committee by Messrs. Hoar, Wheeler
and Frye The laws inimical to the colored
people Of Louisiana referred to In this report
have been repealed for years, except during
the schism Of Gov. Warmoth in 1872. The re-
publican party has long had control OF the
machinery of the state. The gsate reeistra-
ton shows an excess OF the colored over the
white voters. giving 90, 781 colored to ,S23
whites. In the absence Of any direct evidence
that the late election was not free and fair.
the assumption of the minority that enough
colored voters must, therefore, have been pre-
vented from voting at the late election by the
recollection Of the Colfax and Cousbatta kill
iDgs. the causes and circumstances OF which
are disputed, and by other riots which occur
red wears before, TO have changed the result
OF the election throughout the state, is an as
sumption 80 violent, when 1t is recollected d
that both those parishes elected full Kellogg
ticket by increased reDublican maiorities, as
not to be received. II any other csuse for
the vote Of the state can be found. such
causes exist and are obvious among these
are
1. The registration was incorrect and ex-
ceeded the true colored vote. The registra-
tion was wholly in the hands of the Kellogg
with United States Marshal Packard at their
head, co-operated. In only three parishes did
the republican supervisors of registration
make any CCmplaint of unfair or insufficient
registration. On the other hand, very great
complaint was made by the conservatives, who
specified with proof 5, 200 cases of conceded
false registration in New Orleans alone, and
those conservatives who had been cooper
ting in the joint party committee to secure a
fair registration, gave up IN despair. The
census OF 1870, the correctness OF which is not
impeached, showed 81, 076 whites and sc, ,9i3J
coored msles over twenty-One years OF age
All the statistics and evidence before MS indi
Gated no changa IN this proportion in favor O.
the colored voters. yet the registration of col
ored voters exceeded by 4, 900 the total num-
Der of colored adult males returned by the
census. while the registration of white voters
was 10. 600 less.
2. The whole number of voters registered
was 167, 604 of these 146, 500 voted. This is
a larger proportion of registered voters than
usually vote in any OF the northern states In
an agricultural state, sparsely settled, where
long Journeys had often to be made to reach
the polls, it is unreasonable to suppose that
greater proportion 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.
5. 1874 was a year of political change, in
which the vote throughout all states was seTl-
ously affected against the republican party,
resulting largely from the financial distress
OF the people, and which should therefore
naturally have been even greater IN Louisiana
than elsewhere.
l. It became the interest of the conserva-
tives at the'last election not to intimidate, but
to acquire by every fair means cOlored votes
The parties who were alleged to have threat
ened the blacks with the refusal of employ
ment we're subjected to prompt arrest 1t
was known that preteXts would be sought to
deprive the conservatives Of the result IL they
in the election. It 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 were made in the early part of the
campaign, for 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 candi-
dates we're made in many parishes by men Of
all parties aud color. In several parishes,
tickets composed OF cOlOred aud conservative
voters were voted for and elected. An intel
ligent coered witness testified that he desired
better government and. to that end, was will
ing to swallow the white man, IL white men
would swallow the cOlOred. These causes and
feelings naturally united to swell the conser-
vative vote in such localities, IS indicated by
the returns
5. The entire wait OF any direct evidence to
show any general intimidation Of colored
voters. OF course, in so large state it would
be impossible that there should be no instances
Of refusal to employ or OF intimidation. Such
occur in every state. But the evidence GER
tainly indicates no general intimidation OF col
ored voters, and tnat such intimidation as did
exist in the state, was rather in the interest
OF the republicans than OF the conservatives.
The United States marshals. whose chief was
the 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
The oversight Of the election and
returns was in the hands OF Gov. Kelloggs
officials. Their account and returns did show
xeuty-nine g majority Of members OF the lower
house elected by the conservatives without
any protest whatever, except in three parishes,
although il was their province and duty to
protest in any case where violence and intimi- /
datiOn or fraud existed. Indeed, the direct
evidence as to the election Of 1874. as well a.
the circumstance, clearly indicate peace able
and fair election. In fact. after the visit Of
the fret committee, and revisit OF the special
committee, the Kellogg party with all their
for collecting evidence, were unable
to produce in the entire state more than half
a dozen persons to testify to anything inn
peaching the freedom and fairness Of the late
who were not Office holders or con-
nected uith Offico-holders. Against such facts
il seems to US idle to assume that the disturb
ances SO vividly pictured by the minority,
could have kept up throughout the state eueh
a feeling of intimidation as WOuld justify the
assumption that but for hat feeling The state
would have gone republican. All experience
shows that the result Of the election OF 1874 IN
Louisiana, returned to the returning board,
was natural and TO be only accounted for l'y
the reasons we have given
We hold. therefore. that in November, 1874,
the people Of the state Of Louisiana did fairly
have a free, psaceable and full registration
and election, in which a clear conservative
majority was elected TO the lower house OF the
OF which majority the conserve
tives were deprived by the unjust, Illegal and
actioE Of the returning board.
To the resolutions reported TO tho house
from the committee. IS to the action OF the
hoard, We ara all agreed. We un-
derstand the committee to be unanimous iu
finding she fact that the action OF the return
ing board has defeated the viii OF the people
as expressed bv them at the polls on the Sd OF
November. 1874 Tho people then elected to
the lower hOGse Of their legislature majority
Of couservsiize members. A portion Of the
members thus elected we're re-
fused their certificates. This is an act Of
great fniusffoe to the individuals, and of gray
sst danger to the state and free government,
and ought TO be Immediately eorrec1ed By any
power competent 20 correct it.
The resolution recommending the recog-
nition OF Gov. Kellogg il based upon the gen
sfal impression ard NOS upon evidence On
his roiut o testimony was dke1- eltdeE by
the committee or any part OF u. Kellogg may
Dr. may not have been elected IN 1872, but
here Il no evidence so chow the fact. or r
.here BE. It has been neither sought nor found
Dg this committee.
Messrs Poster aud Phelps think that the
popular belief taking both conservative snG /
radical circles ia vew on tff whole, Justify |
EeIiogg's and Penn's claims, and that, e. kel- |
ogg Is and has been acting governor OF Lon
siana for the past two ears. to deny his right /
md nstai another in his place after this lapse /
1f time. might involve incaieuiable mischief i
o the legal and political interests of the sfste,
70 avoid the raiscaief ard confaeiou ~
,ha1te. nsjoFity Of TIRE citizens of Douis 1
ana seem wiling TO adopt as . eonprpElise. T
zeiloggH recognition and reators'fon tolthe 4
conservatives of the contrI Of the lover /
- n 80.