River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1876-12-14
The Louisiana Canvass.
As Viewed by the Republican Visiting Coz
nnittan

As Viewed by the Republican Visiting Com
mittce.
President Grant has sent to Congress
the report of the committee of Repub
licans which visited New Orleans to
witness the canvass of votes in Loui
siana. The report is addressed Ito the
President of the United States" and
would make several columns of this
paper. 1t deliberately reviews the LOui-
Siana election law, cites the intimida-
ton of previous years, describes and
eulOgiZeS the members of the return
ing board, etc. The committee state
that secret circular was issued by
the Democrats, giving instruction how
to proceed to carry the election. The
report concludes with the following
statement:
There were in the State of Louisiana on the
day of election 81, 1896 white registered voters
and 1880 colored, majority OF the latter OF
223l4. II was well known that 1t lett tree to
vote uninfluenced by violence the blacks
would be almost unanimously Republican, and
that with the white Republican vote twould
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, Ior in 40 OF 81 parish
es where these were not employed, the Re
publican majority was CUUs DtL 10 Stlttb NllOoC
in which the colOred vote, as compared with
the white, would be large unless unlawiully
prevented, for in SO doing it might be expect
ed that should any majority they could thus
obtain in such parishes bereiected they would
nevertheless attain their purpose 10y the sup
preston of the large Republican vote. In
pursuance of this plan, five of the parishes Sc
lected in which the greatest violence aud in
timidatiOn were practiced were East and
West Feliciana, which border upon that por-
ton OF Mississippi in which murder and out
rage so prevailed during and preceding the
election as substantially to prevent any Re-
publican vote East Baton Rouge, which bor-
deTs on the southern portion OF East Fellclana;
MorehOuse which adiOins the State OF Arkan-
sas, and Ouachita, which adjolns and lies dl-
rectly south OF MOrehOuse.
The geographical position oil these i've par
isles was well suited to the purpose to be OBJ
tanned, for il was easy for the members OF the
clubs TO be formed therein and who usually
perpetrated their Outrages with masked iaces,
to pretend they were committed 10y border
rufhans from Mississippi and Arkansas where
like outrages had been perpetrated. The To-
cation of these five parishes was not, however,
better suited to the plan to be accomplished
than was the great disproportion existing
therein between the numbers OF whites and
cOlOred voters The former numbered but
| 5.I34; the latter 13, 244-the majority of the
latter being equal to more than one-third OF
| the entire majaity OF colOred voters in fifty
| seven parishes Of the State.
The returns OF votes actually cast in those
| five parishes suggest that the clubs to whom
was assigned the task of securing a democrat
| ic majority therein had performed the work
| of violence effectually, whilst the proof dis
| closes brief summaries OF portions of which
/ are hereto annexed that where violence and
| intimidation were inefficient, murder, multi
| alton and whipping were resorted to. Instead
! of a majority OF 900 or Z ,000 which the Re-
| publicans should have had in these parishes,
| upon iair election, there was actually re-
turned to the board a Democratic majority for
| the parishes of East and West Feliciana,
| MorehOuse and 0uachita OF ISIS; and in
| East Felicinia, where the registered cOlored
voters number 9, l27, not a Republican vote
| for electOr was cast. In East Baton Rouge,
| containing 3. 500 cOlOred registered voters and
| but / sol whites, the Democrats claim q ma
/ iority OF 6l7, which, but for the rejection OF
/ several rolls bv the commissioners and SUI
perviSOrs of election would have been re-
/ turned to the board as votes actually east.
/ Ii to the Democratic majority from the four
/ parishes as above stated we aid GIT, as claim
ed and insisted upon by the returning board,
| n Democratic majority OF 4,5S5, is the re-
suit OF the election in the five parishes, con-
| tanning ,245 colOred Republican md 6,l34
| white Democratic voters. The conclusion that
| intimidation and violence alone could have
| produced this is almost irresistible, and that
| such influence were employed and were sup
/
| necessary, is established by the proofs already
| referred.
Ii but confirms this conclusion to refer 10
the vote cast IN these FIVE parishes in 1874
| when no special motive existed for the use
OF cruel means to influence the election
The Republican majority therein was ther
S,T97.
A result so suggestive Of violence and in
timidation was obtained by means the mos
terrible and revolving. Organized clubs o
masked armed men, formed as recommended
by the democratic committee, rode through
the country at night, marking their course by
whipping, shooting, wOunding, manning, mu
tilation and murder, ofwomen and chi lren
and deienseleSs men, whose houses wer
forcibly entered whilst they slept, and a
their inmates fed through fear, the pistol ant
the rife, the knife and the rope, were EN-
ployed TO do their horrid work. Crimes hk'
these, testified to by scores of witnesses, wer'
the means employed in Louisiana to elect
President ct the United States
Such was the force Of large mass Of tn
testimony upon which the adjudication la,
been reached. The members OF tbesboard
acting under oath, were bound by the law.
convinced by the testimony that riot, tumult
acts OF violence or armed disturbance did ma