The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-06-04
PRIMARY REGISTRATION.
Protest Against the System the Com
mittee Exceeded Its Powers.

Editor Democrat devotion to
the cause OF our people, and the spirit
OF fairness evidenced in the great work
you are performing, leads me to beg the
uso Of your columns, to present one
side OF question now being freely dis
cussed in the various wards OF tho city.
| refer to the resolutions recently
passed by the Parish Committee con
corning the issuing Of certificates OF
registration, and officially promulgated
In another column OF this paper.
The alleged mal-practices and dis
orders of primary elections, together
with the pretended bad class OF men
who. it is claimed, control them, are the
excuses presented for the adoption Of
these dictatorial resolutions. 1t is
claimed that this new system must be
carried out in order to protect from al
legged frauds that theoretical majority
OF voters who, from sheer neglect of their
political duties, have for years abstained
from participating In our primary cleo
tions.
In answer to these arguments, it Is
notable fact that those gentlemen who
complain the loudest belong to that
class who never condescend to attend
ward meeting, nay, who have never
gone to SEQ how one is conducted; but
whose conscience is so framed that they
take it for granted that all ward meet
ings are controlled by what they oppro-
briously call roughs, etc, and stay at
home. be the consequence to the State
what it may. The apparent object OF
these resolutions is to prevent fraud;
but a man with the least experience in
politics will at once see that they open
the door to such frauds as have charac
terized the State registration under
Radical Republican rule. LII club is
controlled by roughs, what Is to prevent
them from electing or causing to be APP
pointed such commissioners as would
issue as many registration papers as
thew want? What, then, is the necessity
OF going to the heavy expense and an
noyance OF issuing these certificates, il
this system opens the door to greater
frauds than the me-honOred Demo
cratic rule OF letting every man vote
who on the day Of election is identified.
Admitting the arguments OF the movers
or the resolutions, it is only substituting
greater for a less evil,
If many Of those good citizens would
attend one Of our meetings they would
there meet men who are their equals In
every respect, and who still, neverthe-
less manage to return to their homes
unframed. Under the old system, it
was only necessary to go and vote in
order to get good delegates. Under the
new system, man has first ST. to 60 60 and an,
register; second, to go and get MS GER
tificate and third, to go and vote. l
cannot conceive how man who here
tofore could not be prevailed upon to
make one visit to the polls will now
make three. ,
It isnot nv purpose to censure the
Parish Committee, composed, as it is.
almost entirely Of personal, friends
whom hold in high regard, and for
that reason I withhold many other for
chile arguments, which would cause me
to monopolize too much Of your valu-
able space; but / am, along with vast.
number of the true and tried friends OF
Democracy, Of the opinion that the !,
Parish Committee has overstepped us
powers in ordering the Inauguration Of
a system which must eventually prove
failure. ELEVENTH WARD.