Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-12-15

issued from the rooms Of the Democratic |
Conservative State Central Committee at
Now Orleans. marked CONFIDENTIAL" and I
signed by J. W. Patton, President, and (
j. p. Sullivan, Secretary, intended for circu-
lstion in each parish and recon recommending Tsn.g
circulars urged that "in conversation no
gloomy forebodings should be INDUCED In, |
and that the result OF the election should be
spoken OF as a foregone conclusion, as VIC
have the means Of carrying the election, and
intend 10 do so; but be careful 70 say and
do nothing that can be construed into q
threat or Intimidation Of any character"
The circular also recommended that there
should be frequent meetings OF all the clubs
TO be formed, and that they occasionally
form at their several places OF meeting and
proceed thence on horseback TO the Genital
rendezvous, stating that proceedings OF
this character would impress the negro with
a sense of your united strength; and IL fur
ther recommended that on the day of cleo
| tion at each polling place there should be
afIldavlts" prepared to the effect that
there had been no intimidation and no dis
| turbance on account Of any efforts by the
Democratic Conservative party to prevent
anyone from voting on account Of race, color
or previous condition OF seryitude." Thus
carefully guided from the central Demo
cratic authority by this secret and confiden.
tial circular, urged to Impress on timid
blacks, by horseback professions, sense of
and warned to prepare blank afiidavits In
advance that no terrorism had been exer-
cised, the next and not least important part
of the scheme of these leaders was to select
parishes where having the means TO carry
the election, and intending to use them,
| stated in the circular, they could do so with
the most effect.
There were in the State OF Louisiana on
the day of the election 92,996 white regis
| tered voters, and 115 $40 colored, majority
OF the latter of 22,3l4 1t was well known
| that IL left free to vote, uninhuenced by vio-
lence or intimidation, the blacks would be
almost unanimously Republican, and that
with the white Republican votes the ma
| jority would be about equal TO that above
| indicated. The plan appears to have been
to select for the purposes of intimidation
and violence as few parishes as possible, for
| in forty OF fifty-seveu parishes where these
were not employed the Republican majority
was 600, but to select those in which the
| cOlored vote, as compared with the white,
would be large unless unlawfully prevented,
| for in so doing IL might be expected that
| should any ma ority they could thus obtain
| in such parishes be rejected, they would,
nevertheless, attain their purpose by the
suppression of a large Republican vote. In
| pursuance Of this plan, five of the parishes
selected, In which the greatest violence
and intimidation was practiced, were East
and West Feliciana, which border upon that
portion of Mississippi in which murder and
outrages so prevailed during and preceding
| the election as substantially to prevent any
Republican vote; East Baton Rouge, which
| borders on the southern portion Of East
Feliciana; Morehouse, which adjoins the
State of Arkansas, and Ouachita, which ad-
| joins and lies directly south of Morehouse
| The geographical position of these five
parishes was well suited to the purpose to
| be attained, for 1t was easy for members of
clubs to be formed therein, and who usually
perpetrated their outrages with masked
| faces, TO pretend that they were committed
by border ruffians from Mississippi and
Arkansas, where like outrages had been
| perpetrated. The location of these five
parishes was not, however, better suited to
the plan to be accomplished than was the
| great disproportion existing therein between
the number Of white and colored voters. The
former numbered 5,134, the latter 1924; a
majority of the latter equal to more than
| one-third OF the entire majority of colored
votes in ffty-seven parishes Of the State.
| The returns of votes actually cast in these
five parishes suggests that clubs, to whom
was assigned the task of securing Demo-
cratic majorites therein, had performed
their work of violence and intimidation eff
fectually, whilst proof discloses, brief sum
maries of portions of which are hereto an
nexed, that, where violence and intimidation
were insufficient, murder, manning, mutila-
ton and whipping were resorted to. In
stead of a majority of 5000 or 1000, which
parishes upon fair election, there was
actually returned to the Returning Board q
Democratic majority for the parishes of East
T and West Feliciana, Morehouse and Ouachi-
tn, of 3,S7S, and in East Feliciana, where the
. registered colored voters number 2, 1877, not
. Republican vote for clcctor was cast. In
5 East Baton Rouge, containing 1852 colored
3 registered voters and ,801 whites, the Dem
ocrats claim majority of 617, which, but for
! the rejection of several polls by the Com
ntaain
D would have been returned to the Returning
Board as votes actually cast. II to the Dem
ocratic majority from the four parishes, as
! above stated, we add the 617 thus claimed
! and insisted upon before the Returning
I Board, a Democratic majority of 4, 495 is the
result OF an election in five parishes contain
ing 1924 colored Republicans and 5,l34
white Democratic voters.
! The conclusion that intimidation and vio.
lence alone could have produced this is al
most irresistible, and that such influences
were employed and were supplemented by
! murder, when that was thought necessary,
is established by the proofs already referred
to. ltbut confirms this conclusion to refer
to the vote cast in these five parishes in 1874
when, no special motive existing for the use
OF cruel means to influence the election
! the Republican majority therein was 1878
The result Is also suggestive of violence and
intimidation obtained by means most terri
bic and revolving. Organized clubs of armed
men, formed rs recommended by the Central
Democratic Committee, rode through the
: country at night marking their course by
: whipping, shooting, wounding, manning
mutilation and murder of women, children
, and defenseless men, whose houses were
! ! forcibly entered whilst they slept, and their
' inmates Aed through fear; the pistol and the
rife, the knife and the rope, were employed
to do their horrid work. Crimes like these,
! testified to by scores of witnesses, were the
! means employed in Louisiana to elect q
/, President of the United States.
BY force of large mass of testimony up.
on which that adjudication has been reached,
l members of the board, acting under oath
were bound by law, If convinced by testimo.
ny that riot, tumult, acts of violence oil
armed disturbance did materially interfere
, with the purity and freedom of the election
at any poll or voting place, or did materially
change the result OF the election thereat, to
reject the votes thus cast and exclude them
from their final return. OF the effect of such
testimony the board was the sole and ANAL
judge; and II in reaching a conclusion it eX-
ercised good faith, and was guided by an
honest desire to do justice, its determination
should be respected, even II upon like proof
! different conclusion might have been
reached by other tribunals or persons. To
guard the purity of the ballot to protect the
citizen in the free and peaceful exercise of
his right to vote, to secure him against vio-
lence, intimidation, outrage, and especially
) murder, when he attempts to perform this
duty, should be the desire of all men and
the aim OF every representative government.
III political success shall be attained by
such violent and terrible means as was re-
sorted TO In many parishes of Louisiana,
complaint should not be made IL votes thus
obtained are denounced by judicial tribunals
and all honest men as illegal and void.
JOHN SHERMAN, Ohio,
e. w SToUGHToN, New York,
j. II. VAN ALLEN, New York,
EUGENE HALE, Maine,
j. A. GARFIELD, Ohio,
CORTLAND PARKER, New Jersey,
W. d. KELLEY, Pennsylvania,