New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-01-29
4 TURN IN THE TIDE.

As about all the witnesses who know
nothing at all about intimidation have
been examined by one congressional com.
mittee or the ether, a chance has been
afforded to some who do know something.
Governor Wells, Lieutenant Gerlach, Cap
tain Arthur w. Allyn, Lieutenant McIn-
tosh, Major Merrill, Lieutenant DeRudio,
Captain Gageby and others have supplied
the information, which for some reason or
another has been rather slow in coming
forward. 1t can not be laid to the charge
Of these honorable officers that their tes-
timony was not taken back to Congress by
Messrs. Foster, Phelps & Co. Those orna-
ments Of the Forty-second Congress really
did not have time to hear anything against
their White League-Democratic friends,
and instantly dismissed witness the mo-
ment his testimony began to bear down
upon them. They loaded themselves up
with bag full Of testimony, which was
far from the purpose of their inquiry, and
posted off to Washington in state of
complete delusion, to call it by a chart
table name, and laun ched such stump
speech upon the full committee as nearly
took their breath away.
The present committee has gone to
work in the proper manner. All the ex-
cuses for the outrages have been patiently
listened to; the enormity of Governor
Kellogg in having received salary OF
$4,000 a year been properly discounted,
and the committee has sent for some wit
nesses who are not afraid to tell the truth.
And they are testifying fearfully against
the witnesses cited by the first committee.
The right kind of witnesses have been
'ound at last. They are perfectly familiar |
with those things Of which their prede-
,essors on the witness stand professed to |
oe profoundly ignorant.
We do not know how much good evil
lence may be deemed necessary to estab-
ish fact so well known as that which
orms the object of the committees in
Iuiry. 1t is notorious that the Democrats
ave employed prescription, threats of
iolence and withdrawal of business
'atronage as potent means of intimi-
ating voters during the past six or
even years. The practice is an old one
q this State, having been brought to
reat perfection several years before the
ar, when an election without riot or
1mult in this city was about as rare as
winter without rain. Another class of
oters has been chosen as the OBJ
sct Of intimidation now, while those
no complained loudest Of the prac-
ce when directed against them are FORE
lost in applying it to the colored people.
Carpet-bagger," ''scalawag' and other
ct epithets are caught up by him who
as naturalized but yesterday, and ap-
lied to the lineal descendants of Revolu-
onary forefathers. The descendant of the
luest blooded Puritan daily has his right
} "come here" questioned by immigrants
ho have neither the necessary intelli-
snce nor manliness to entitle shem to
le highest rank Of American citizenship.
his is modern privilege, however,
hich has been extended to them since it
as found out that they are always ready
'go agin the government" and are
nstitutionally opposed to the "nagur."
it were wrong for the native Americans =
prosecute foreigners, and they did so A
ost numerically, it is equally wrong for 7
e former victims of such persecution to !
rye the negroes as they were treated in Q
cir hour of weakness. And yet'we find 5
EN- guilty of the very conduct they so q
idly complained Of fifteen or twenty "
ars ago.
Louisiana, and particularly New Or
rs, acquired bad notorie.y from 1863