The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-12-28

| n & %
action of the Board Thos. C. Anderson was
recalled and handed statement to the com
| mlttee, saying it was the original statement
| signed by all the members of the Return
ing Board, showing the vote for Presidential
| Electors in the State. Louis Nj. Kenner
IeoloIed) also member of the Returning
Board, said there was vacancy on the
| Board which had never been filled; the four
present members are all Republicans: didn't
know the number of polls thrown out by the
board; didn't believe any were thrown out
in the Parish OF Orleans
Before the Senate Committee, on the
21st, the Republican counsel stated that they
had some forty-two more witnesses to testify
in regard to Ouachita Parish, and that the
whole number from all the parishes would
reach 800. The Democratic counsel stated
that 1T would be impossible to have their
| witnesses on hand before the 26th as they
had been misled in regard to which parish
would be taken up, and had subppnaed
their witnesses from East Baton Rouge
| first. James Gallagher testified that he
lived in Ouachita during the last elec-
| ton; knew of disturbances and in
| Limitations; those colored citizens who were
unwilling to join the Democrats were forced
TO do so, in many cases; everything was
| peaceful at the polls he attended on election
day, as it was all one-sided, Republican
tickets not being allowed to be distributed
| The rite companies were composed of white
| Democrats, who rode about at night, fully
armed, and terrOriZed the colored people |
James K. Hall and George H. Hamlet, also
OF Ouachita, testified to similar state of af-
fairs and corrOborated the evidence given by
Gallagher. A state of terrorism had existed
among the colored population, and outrages
OF various kinds had been perpetrated upon
them by white Democrats to compel them
to abandon the Republicans and join the
Democrats, or prevent their voting
EX-Gov. Wells, President of the Re-
turning Board, made a statement before the
House Committee on the 21st. He could
not tell the number of votes thrown out for |
each party without referring to the books;
did not consider what party would be af- |
fected by the votes thrown out; thought they |
threw out East or West Baton Rouge; can |
vassed no votes not received through Su |
pervisOrs; sent for the ballot-boXes in East |
Baton Rouge, but did not count these boxes |
for what was considered good and sufficient |
reason; witness said he decided par |
tisan, but would not allow politics to !
influence him to do anything unjust; thought |
the law said there should be a Democrat on |
the Board; thought it the duty of the Board |
to fill vacancies. but did not fill the vacancy
in 1876 because the Board could not agree.
Charles S. Abel, Assistant Secretary at the |
Returning Board, also made statement re-
garding the action of the Board. Frank |
johnson (colored), of Cataboula Parish voted |
the Democratic ticket; canvassed the parish;
was turned out Of church because he was a
Democrat; no intimidation was used to in
duce coIOred men to join the Democrats,
but the Republicans intimidated Democratic
speakers, and told negroes if the Democrats
succeeded they would all be put back to
slavery. The committee, in executive scs-
sion, instructed its Chairman to report the
House for contempt in refusing to produce
the records called for. d. NJ Long (colored)
testified before the subcommittee at Baton
Rouge that he had canvasSed the parish for
the Republicans; that there was no intimi
Gation of colored Republicans during the
whole time of registration or any other time,
that in no instance were troubles in the
parish during the past year attributable to
politics.
The question of requiring the Re
turning Board TO produce the original rec
ords of the vote of the State for Presidential
Electors was discussed before the Senate
Committee on the 22d, and the reso-
luton to that effect was finally de-
feated by a party vote, the Republican
members stating that they were ready to
agree. at proper time, to any motion that
would throw light on the subject, but they
thought the resolution impracticable at
Il.
amined relative to affairs in Ouachita Parish, |
the general import of their testimony as to
intimidation, etc, being similar to that OF
previous witnesses.
Sixteen witnesses were before the !
House Committee on the 22d, nearly all OF
whom testified as to the fairness of the |
election in different parishes, some of them
corroborating the evidence of former wit |
o1D hoI bna n0
and abused for having voted the Democratic !
ticket. E. A. Burke testified that he had the |
tally-sbeet of Poll 2 of the Eleventh Ward |
of his parish; saw the election off
GERS sign it at the polling g-place, and
they all signed it willingly and vol
unfairly; no pistols were drawn or any |
other intimidation, to witness certain
knowledge; witness read the vote for Presl- |
Dental Electors, showing a Democratic ma |
iorty of over 800 for the Tilden Electors;
this poll was not included in the report OF
the Returning Board to the Secretary ot
State nor bv the Assistant Supervisor
in his consolidated statement to the
Returning Board; the tally-sheet was opened
before the Returning Board, but the vote
was not included in his consolidated
statement of the Assistant Supervisor; A.
w. Kempton was Republican Commissioner
of Election, and signed the tally-sheet IN
witness presence. Witness said the protest
he Kempton) made was an absolute false
hood to his (witness) certain knowledge.
John Culpepper (colored), of Qua
chita Parish testified before the Senate Com
mittee, on the 23d, that he voted at Cuba at
the late election; the Democrats said they
were going to carry the election by Killing
the leading white Republicans, and II the
negroes didn't vote the Democratic tlcket
they would have to take the consequences;
went to the polls with lot of Republican
tickets, and met some friends who said they
wouldn't be allowed to use them-that there
were no tickets but Democratic ones thcre;
voted the Democratic ticket and lett met
some white men driving lot OF negroes,
like sheep, to the polls; was afraid not 10
vote the Democratic ticket, but took PEN
Gil and scratched as many names as posi-
BILE; witness father was killed in his cWlt-
pessD presence, in 1868, for voting the he-
publican ticket. Henry NJ. MeCauley,
Lieutenant in the United States Army, les.
tilted to there having been Intimidation al
Monroe. ~
A. M. C. Hearsey Republican,, OF
New Orleans, was before the House Com
mittee on the 23d, and testified that there
was no intimidation before the election, but
there was after the voting closed; he was
Commissioner of Election at FOIL NO: III
the Eleventh Ward; the Democratic ION,
| count and go home, and wanted him TO 90
| that which was not required by law; the
election was quiet and peaceable; beleVes
| all the votes polled there were Legal; ulah
| think the tally-sheets were correctly KEPT,
| thinks the Democrats received all the votes
| that were counted for them; witness slgnea
| the returns under fear OF his lie. a. W.
| Kempton testified that he was also kepup
| Iicaa Commissioner at the same poi, ana
corroborated Hearsey's testimony; obJectea
| to the taIly-sheets, and was threatened py
| Mr.. Ledick, Democratic Supervisor; signed
the tally-sbeets under fear OF his lie. MI.
| fedick denied the statements OF Hearsey
| and Kempton as to threats made by MIN.
Iouix Backus, Supervisor OF Registration,
| testified that Mai. Burke made Changes on
the taly-sheets; Maj. Burke emphatlGany
| denied the statements of Mr.. backus. 1onn
! CIepp testified before the sub-commlttee ol
Lafayette Parish that there was no lntlmlaa-
| tion of Republicans there; knew 9 numoer
! of aoIored men who voted the Democratic
| ticket, Another citizen of the same parish
| also testified that he heard of no 1ntlmlda-
| tion and violence, and that the elecuon was
I neaceabIe and quiet Several other VII
| ppesses testified to the same effect, and I'M
Reached the testimony Of witnesses before
| the Returning Board. A special from mon
| roe saws witness of high character there
had cOntradicted every essential particular
of Eliza Pinkston's story. A special from
Sb-evenort saws the investigation there
showed Irregularities in the counting OF
votes. and fully sustained the action Oh the
Returning Board. = -,
FLORIDA.
The Senate Committee had before
them, in secret session, on the 2oth, VIII