The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1875-01-21
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
President Grant Sends to the
senate u Special Message ON
Louisiana Affairs.
A Calm, Deliberate, Temperate
and Exhaustive Statement or
the Case.

A Calm, Deliberate, Temperate
and Exhaustive statement or
the Case.
The following is the full text of
the special message sent to the SEN
ate by the President on Wednesday,
18th inst, in reply to the resolution
Of inquiry:
oMe Senate Of the United States.
|. have the honor to make the fol-
lowing answer to a Senate resolution
of the Sth inst, asking for informa-
tion as to any interference by . mil
itary officer or any part of the army
of the United States with the organ
ization or proceeding of the General
Assembly of the State of Louisiana,
or either branch thereof, and also in
quiring in regard to the existence Of
armed organizations in that State
hostile to the government thereof,
and intent on overturning such gov
ernment by force.
To say that lawlessness, turbulence
and b!oodshed, have characterized
the affairs of that State since the or
ganization under the reconstruction
acts, is only to repeat what has be-
come well known as a part Of its un-
happy history; but it may be proper
here to refer to the election Of 1868,
by which the Republican vote of the
State, through fraud and violence, was
reduced to few thousand, and the
bloody riots OF 1866 and 1868 to show
disordsE.~ These arc not due to xny
recent causes or TO any late action of
the Federal authorities. Preparatory
to the election of 1872 a shameful
and undisguised conspiracy was form
ed to carry that election against the
Republicans, without regard to law
or right, and to that end the most
glaring frauds and forgeries were
committed in the returns, after many
colored citizeEs had been denied reg
istraton and others deferred by fear
from casting their ballots. When the
time came for final canvass of the
votes, in view of the foregoing facts,
William P. Kellogg, the Republican
candidate for governor, brought suit
upon the equity side of the United
States Circuit Court for Louisiana,
and against Warmoth and others who
had obtained possession of the re-
turns Of the election, representing
that several thousand voters of the
State had been deprived Of the elec-
tive franchise on account of their col
or, and praying that steps might be
taken to have their votes counted and
for general relief. To enable the
Court to inquire as to the truth Of
these allegations, q temporary re-
straining order was issued against the
defendants, which was at once wholly
disregarded and treated with con-
tempt by those 10 whom it was dir
ccted.
These proceedings have been wide
ly denounced IS an unwarrantabls in
reference BY the Federal judiciary
with the election of State officers, but
IL is to be remembered that, by the
fifteenth amendment to the Constitu-
tion Of the United States the political
equality OF colored citizens is secured,
and under the second section Of that
amendment, providing that Congress
shall have power to enforce its provi-
sions by appropriate legislation, an
act was passed on the 3lst of May,
1870, and amended in 1871, the OBJ
ject of which was to prevent the de-
NAL or abridgement of the suffrage of
citizens on account Of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude, and
it has been held by all the Federal
Judges before whom the question has
arisen, including Justice Strong. of
the Supreme Court, that the protec-
ton afforded by these amendments
and these acts extended TO State as
well as other elections.
That it is the duty Of the Federal
Courts to enforce the provisions of the
Constitution of the United States, and
the laws passed in pursuance thereof
is too clear for controversy. Section
fifteen of said act, after numerous
provisions therein to prevent an eva
sion of the Fifteenth amendment, pro-
vides that the jurisdiction of the Cir
cult Court of the United States shall
extend to all cases of law or equity
arising under the provisions of said
act and of the act amendatory there.
OF. Congress seems to have taken
prompt and equitable as we'll as lega
proceedings to prevent the denia! oi
suffrage to the colored citizens, and
it may be safely asserted that if Mr.
Kellogg's bill in tho above named
case does not present q case for The
equitable interposition Of the court
that no such case can arise under the
act. That the Courts Of the United
States have the right to interfere il
various ways with the State elections
20 ~ to maintain political equalit,
and rights therein, irrespective o
race or color, is comparatively new
and to some it seems to be St artlin,
idea; but it results as clearly from
the Fifteenth amendment of the Con
stitution and the acts that have bee
passed to enforce that amendment, a
the abrogation OF State Laws uphold
ing slavery results from the Thil
teenth amendment Of the Constitution
While the jurisdiction of the court i
the case Of Kellogg W. Warmoth an