The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-12-02
A Representative of Illinois Republi-

In the Union Of this morning is long
account of Maj. J. Nj. Beardsley's visit to
Louisiana. The Union says he was
selected by the Illinois Republican state
committee as one Of the men to go to
Louisiana on the committee asked for by
Grant. object of which seems to be
to aid the seoundrelly returning board I'm
defrauding the people of Louisiana out cfl
voice in choosing their officers. Accord
ing to the Union's report Maj. b., says:
The Democrats had an organization called the
knights of the White Camelia, which extended
throughout the state and which perpetrated hye
horrible masacres in September, october and
November, in which over 900 colored persons
were murdered.
Does Maj. b. represent the Republican
party in such statement as the above?
1t is statement which no sensible man
can believe. The local, state, and federal
officers in Louisiana are of Maj. Boards
ley's party. with the federal army to back
them, and people with thimble full Of
brains know that it the above story is
true the perpetrators of these thousand
murders should have been brought to
punishment. Not one arrest has been
made. IF the statement of Maj. B., is
true it furnishes the best reason in the
world why there should be change of
officers in Louisiana. The Republican
Office holders in Louisiana have not done
their duty, or the story is not true.
The Unaon says:
Maj. Beardsley is convinced that the only course
to pursue is to have a strong military government,
| to be maintained until new generation shall
impart degree of civilization TO the dominant
barbarism
In other words he is in favor Of Grant,
new rebellion to break down and destroy
the states. Do Republicans endorse Maj.
BIS. idea? If so-how long will it be be-
fore some usurper will put Illinois under
military rule because the people do not
vote to suit HIM.
But here is the richest morsel from the
Republican representative as follows:
A day or two after arrival Maj. Beardsley
fell in with John L. Ray, tax collector in Ouachta
parish, who informed him about the murder of BeT
james, Deputy United States Marshal, and the
Emissions, all of whom were supposed at that time
| 10 have died. He at once urged upon the Republi
can managers that witnesses to these outrages
| should be summoned and taken before the re
| turning board, IS more convincing than any num-
Der of atidavits would be. The idea was adopter
and Ray departed at nj ght, secretly, found James
and Eliza Pinkston and others and had then
brought to New Orleans,
This piece of strategy no one will have
any difficulty in believing. Any one who
knows Maj. B. skill in finding witnesses
in any case he has in court will readily be.
lieve that he was the author of the Pinks-
ton tragic fraud before the board. II
never had occurred to the smart scoundrels
who have been running Louisiana and
robbing her people for eleven years to get
up such ga trick. They didn't care for
public opinion. They had invented a
skockingly unconstitutional act and passed
it, so that they could elect whoever they
pleased. They didn't care how people
voted, for they only counted Republican
votes. Democrats had no business to vote
at all-or at least not in sufficient num-
bers to beat carpet bag villains But Maj
B. comes home and boasts how he got w
the Pinkston business for public effect. Ii
makes no difference that the woman was
negro harlot and that she was cut in q
negro quarrel, and that politics had moth
ing to do with it. The tragic effect wa:
what Maj. B. wanted. And when the
whole facts in regard to that Pinkstor
woman's story shall be laid before the
people we rather think Maj. B. will wist
he had not claimed the authorship of thai
very thin story,
How do Republicans like the report o.
their representative?