The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1876-11-22
WAITING FOR THE VERDICT.

ago auQ ye1 LhC PeoPiN Va ~
nation are anxiously, feverishly wait
ing for the verdict. There is no
question as to the result at the ballot
box, no uncertainty as to the honest
ly expressed decision rendered by
the American people. nor any denial
of the fact that Samuel, j. Tilden has
received popular majority of three
hundred thousand of the whole vote
and nearly a million of the white
vote. Including the twelve electoral
votes of Florida and Louisiana which
fairly belong to him, Tilden has 1876
votes or eleven more than is necessa-
nv to elect him. All the doubt and
uncertainty arises from the possibil-
ity of his being cheated out of his
fairly won victory by the Board of
Canvassers in Florida and the infa
nous Returning Board in Louisiana.
This does not include the vote of
South Carolina, which at this writing
seems to be in doubt and is claimed
by both parties, with the probabili-
ties in favor of the Democrats
There are faint hopes that the official
count of Oregon may yet disclose a
small majority for Tilden, which
would settle the controversy at once
and relieve the nation of its doubt
This hope is based alone on the fact
that that State has always been
Democratic and is in the face of tel
egrams conceding the State to
Hayes.
Eminent Northern Democrats are
in New Orleans to watch the count
by the Returning Board-the eyes of
the people of all the States are turn
ed to Louisiana and the count Of her
vote will at least be carefully scruti-
nized. Whether that scrutiny will
be backed by sufficiently powerful
public sentiment to compel Mat.
Wells & CO. to compile the vote as
cast at the ballot boxes is now the
all absorbing question. Our Com
mittee in New Orleans have publish
ed the exact vote cast showing ma
jority of 1867 for Nichols and 1885
for Tilden. Kellogg claims-and the
Returning Board will in all proba-
bility want to agree with him-that
the vote of five Parishes which gave
us about 1000 majority should not
only be thrown out, which would
leave us still ahead by over 5000 ma
jority, but that the 1000 should be
counted for the Radicals. This last
proposition is too monstrous to meet
with the appreciation of even any
Northern partisan, and we confess to
no little curiosity to see how else
they will try to swindle us out of our
hard earned and honestly won victo
ry. In no other Parishes of the State
was there any manner Of disturb
ance and in all other Parishes whose
vote they question Packard made a
peaceable canvass and met with no
disturbance. The disorder that did
take place was raised by the negroes
themselves and the attempt is now to
be made to make the people respon-
sible for it. Because negroes shot
into dwelling houses in Ouachita
and Dinkgrave was killed by per-
sonal enemy, and because the Repub-
lican negroes in East Feliciana ass
assinated the Democratic candidate
for Sheriff, Kellogg thinks that these
Parishes should be counted out, and
votes never cast at all should be
counted as actually having gone into
the ballot boxes.
On the same ground we could
claim that the votes of the 300 white
men in Rapides who were registered
and did not vote, should be credited
to our side and that Rapides shall be
made to give Democratic majority
of 200, electing three members of the
Legislature and our entire Parish
ticket. This was the result of our
election in 1874, and according to
Kellogg's reasoning should be again
in 1875, no matter whether the votes
were cast or not.
The Republican party North and
in the Southern States in question,
are playing big game of bluff for
tremendous stakes and if they are
permitted to do so, will, by hook or
by crook try to give Florida, South
Carolina and Louisiana to Hayes.
The people of those States are thor
oughly alive to both the importance
of the issue, and the danger of the
hour, and will do all in their power
to ,royont tho contaminated fraud