The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-01-21
The 11saiitg .Are jus
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and made pretext for rejecting votes
In another case q federal commissioner
was visited by procession of citizens to
offer bail for certain persons under arrest,
and he called that derision of his pro-
ceeding which was calculated to intinIi-
date the colOred voters" In another case,
where there was Conservative majority
of 1000 Radical supervisor stole his own
returns. In another case the supervisor
hid himself until the time within which
the returns were required to be delivered
to him had passed, and then where they.
showed Conservative majority be refus-
ed to receive them !. but if the majority
was the other way the limit OF time was
not observed. No negro could be found
who professed to have been inundated. -.
No white man had any evidence that such
thing had been done. On the contrary,
the committee report that the violence
was on the other side, and the wholesale
military arrests Of Conservatives for poiit-z
ical ofenses served TO intimidate and
sometimes even to produce q stampede
among the white voters" Otherwise they
believe the recent election to have been
unusually free and fair. Respecting the
counting of the vote, they reach the very
moderate conclusion that the action of
the returning board on the whole was arbi-
trary, unjust, and Illegal, and that this ar
bltrary, unjust, and Illegal action alone
prevented the return OF majority of Con.
sentative members to the lower house. -
They could not say less than this, and If
they had not possessed an enviable power
of self control they could hardly have said
80 little - --.ls.4i.. ~ - s's.5 81 -.
. And what manner Of government is it
that thus usurps authority and perpetu-
ates its usurpation by setting aside cleo
tions? The committee tell us that it is
huge organization of corrupt rings. hated
and despised by the whole people and
only upheld by the federal military
The governor Yields "a degree of power
scarcely exercised by any sovereign In the
world. His legislature has abolished and
set up courts in order to fill the bench with
his creatures. Every kind of political con
troll has been lodged in his hands. Pho
police force OF New Orleans has been turn
ed into an armed state militia subject to
his orders. The extraordinary election
law has given him absolute control over
the registration, casting and counting of
votes, and made it almost impossible to
dislodge him. Indefinite appropria-
TONS of money are placed at his disposal,
and unheard-of monopolies are created for
his benefit Under, this system of oppres-
sion the securities of the state have fallen
10 two years from 30 to 25, and Of the city
of New Orleans from 90 to 40. Business
is destroyed All values are rapidly
tumbling. Taxes can no longer be paid.
Estates are conGscated. The negroes
throughout the country parishes are turn
ing freebooters.. The public debtincreases
even beyond the generous limit of the law.
Kellogg and his crew grow rich while Lou
isiana is ruined. Fi .' 't'*5.
There, gentlemen of the United States
senate and house of representatives, is a
picture of your doings, drawn by three of
the ablest Of your associates Do not i'm
agine that you can humbug the people by
throwing the blame of this shockil e state
of affairs upon William Pitt Kellogg. He
is nothing but your creature. You allowed
the President to thrust him into the place
he abuses. You have refused to turn him
out when you have had the power, though
you have known for more than two years
what he is. You sustained him In spite
of the disclosures of the senate committee
in 1878; and you mean to sustain him
now, in spite of the revelations of Messrs.
Foster, Phelps, and Potter. 1t has been
a worse crime than negligence or servility
on your part; for you have done all this
with your eyes wide open, that you might
use Kellogg to control the vote of Louisi-
ana for the administration. Go on, if You
choose, and complete the outrage Sane
ton all that the President has done.
Seat Pinchback and thank Sheridan. The
people will settle with Kellogg and all the
rest Of you by and by. Meanwhile the
report of the sub committee passes into
history as the most terrible Indictment
ever brought against any political faction
by its own members, and there are many
of you who will read in it the death-war.
rant of the Republican party.