The Portland daily press., 1876-07-07
The Mississippi Inquiry
The Investigating Committee in Mississ-
ippi-What il has DiscOvered-MOrton's
Speech Justified by the Evidence-The
Election n Military Revolution.

The committee appointed by the United
States Senate to investigate the election frauds
in Mississippi were accompanied by Mr.. James
Redpath as special correspondent of the New
York Times. From his letter published in that
journal we make the following extracts Mr..
Redpath's testimony will be disputed by none
who know the man. 1t will be gathered from
from his letter that the startling picture drawn
by Senator Morton was not an exaggerated
one, and even fell short of portraying the ter
rible condition of affairs in Mississippi. Mr..
Rsdpath writes:
In the Summer and Autumn of 1875 there
was mil tary revolution in the State of Mis-
sissippi. 1t took the form of political cam
psign. 1t succeeded. The surrender was made
on the I'd of November. Excepting at two
widely distinct precincts, as conquerers and the
conquered alike attest the surrender was quite
"quiet and orderly'-"awfully quiet" said
one of the revolutionists; quiet as a funeral
ever had in Mississippi" said all of them. 1t
was as 'Orderly" as Warsaw, and as quiet
as Appomattox. Too quiet and too orderly. in
truth for that turbulent community in which,
except in few of the older settlements every
man goes armed; in which the lower classes all
know how to prime and hardly any of them
know their primmerS; in which homicides of
white men by white men are rarely punished,
and the murders of negroes by white men
never. If there had been no intimidation be-
fore the election, there would have been some
intimidation at it, The conspirators were too
cautious. Their success betrayed them.
The Republicans in Mississippi have sure
majority at a free and fair election, of from
twenty to thirty-fve thousand. This range
would cover every possible variation of vote,
at any election, owing to temporary disatfec-
tons or the rivalres of contending factions.
At the last election in November, for the State
Legislature and for Congress, the Democrats
carried the State by 10000 majority.
This result, it was alleged, was due to fraud +,
intimidation and violence on the part of the
leaders of the Democracy. To inquire into the
truth of this grave charge, the Senate of the
United States appointed committee of five of
its members, and instructed them to proceed to
Mississippi 1t consisted of Senators Bout
well, of Massachusetts; Cameron of Wiscon-
sin; Mcmillan of Minnesota, Republicans;
Senators Bayard of Delaware, and Macdonald
of Indiana, Democrats. The committee held
sessions at Jackson and Aberdeen, in Missis-
sippi. They examined about 100 witnesses.
Their sessions in Mississippi were from eight
to ten hours daily.
heard the testimony of nearly all of these
witnesses. Outside of the committee room
spoke with most of them and with scores of
others who were not examined, because their
evidence would have been merely cumulative.
More than that had personal access to doc
uments not submitted to the committee, as
well as confidential interviews with the Re-
publican leaders of both divisions of the party
on questions not included within the range Of
the Senatorial investigation. With number
also of the reputable Democrats had long con-
versations, in which their view of the present
political situation was fully and couSteously
elaborated. state these facts to show that
whether the report now begin to make shall
be acceptable or otherwise to the hot partisans
OF Mississippi, it is the result at least of study
enough and evidence enough, as well as of the
sincerest desire to find what the uuth is and
to tell 1t.
The Committee. if it limits it's report by the
instructions of the resolution appointing it,
will declare that the last election was charac.
terized by great frauds committed upon and
violence exercised toward the colored citizens
of that state and the. white citizens disposed
to support Them"
1t will show that the colored voters in all the
counties where they Outnumber the whites were
overawed by an organized system of terrorism.
1t will prove that wholesale murders and mid
night assassinations were promptly resorted
to whenever less violent methods failed to in
timdate the Republicans.
1t will establish the fact that scores of the
leaders of the colored people-main!y the ne
gro Presidents of Republican cubs-were
driven off or silenced or murdered.
1t will tell that white men were subjected to
the same terrors whenever they scorned to sue.
cumb to the social and political influences
around them.
1t will be proved that the planters, in many
parts OF the state, incorporated in their leases
the intimidating proyso that if the negro car
penter failed to vote with the landowner all
his share of the crop-all the fruits of his
years labor on the farm-should be forfeited
to the proprietor by this Independent political
action.
=. 1t will demonstrate, in one word, without
dispute. that the lachrymose Lamar, who wept
over Summers coffin lids, owed his cleo ton as
United States Senator to the overthrow OF
every civil right to secure which the great
Northern statesman lived and died,
This, briefly, is the Mississippi question and
the evidence regarding it, as far as the com.
mittee was clothed with the right to investi
gate it. This is the phase of it which Sen a.
tor Morton presented. Read by the light OF
the late investigation his famous long speech
that was deemed SO virulent, is seen to be a
mere verbal photograph of the Mississippi
election-truthful, indeed, in every outline,
but lacking the vital color and feverish heat OF
the nature of that terrible campaign.
1t Lamar obtains his seat in the United
States Senate the precedent will be established
that whenever any party, by the aid of organ.
lied military movements, secures a state
government, not bribery, fraud, and intimida-
ton only, but political murder and assassina-
ton as we'll are to be recognized by the nation
as legitimate political influence. The PROPOSE
ton is SO foul that L shall not waste time to