The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1876-11-24

; WHAT manner of man ex-Gov. Wells,
the head of tbe Louisiana Returning Board,
is we can discover without accepting tie
descriptions given of him by Democratic
correspondents. There is AN official por-
trait ON file which ans vcIs every purpose,
and the artist is Geo. +. iioar, the distIn-
! guished Republican of Massachusetts,
/ The "Lcuisiana outrage as 1t is called,
though it is but one of the many 10 which
that unhappy State has been Subjected,
was the marching of United States troops
into the Louisiana Legislature in 1870 III
order to prevent certain members from
taking their seats in that body. The or
der was given by Kellogg, and the Whole
proceedings were sustained by Federal
authority, member of the Cabinet teie-
graphing Gen. Sheridan that all of them
approved his course. An investigation
was made and report given to the Repuo-
lican House by Mr.. lIoar on the legality of
the election of certain members who had
been returned as elected by the Returning
Board, and whose claim to the seats of the
richtfullv decided members the soldiers
had been called in to enforce. MI. Hoar
saws this about the man who proposes to
count in Gov. Hayes
'The parish of Rapides chose three mem
hers Of the Legislature the returns elected
all three conservatives, and when the proofs
closed, the only paper filed with the L. >.
Supervisor showed that the election was in
all respects full fair and free. 1t was not
known in the parish that any contest existed
against these members. They left their
hOmes and proceeded to New Orleans to be
present at the opening of the Legislature, no
intimation of Contestiug their seats or OBJ
iection to their election having heen given
by their opponents. At one of their last
sessions the Returning Board declared all
the Republican members elected from that
parish. When the papers Of The Returning
Board 1rere produced before yOur committee
there acds found among them an dfiddrd by Mr..
WELLS, tie President Of the BOdrd. dccIdril1
that intimidation had eristed at certain polls
ia that parish, and that the returns from those
polls should therefore be rejected. The counsel
OF the Democratic Com mittee testified that
they lad no opportunity to contradict the
statements of this paper; that they had
never seen or heard OF it before, and that
upon examination of the papers before the
Board, when the proofs closed, it was not
among them. The counsel of the Republi-
can Committee reserved the right to make
explanation on this point, bnt offered none.
The affidavit was dated the - day of De-
cember, 1874. 1t appeared That Governor
Wells was not himself in the parish on the
day of election and though, at the opening
of their first session, your committee de-
Clared their intention to examine into he
action of the Returning Board, Governor
Wells never came forward as Il witness. At
the close of our proceeding, leave was asked
that his deposition might be given in. This
was declined, ami MIR. Wells was himself
invited To appear before the committee. But
he never came. Leave was also given for
taking his testimony 10y commission if he
desired, but was not availed of. Your cone
"itce are therefore constrained to declare that
TIE dctjCH Of Tie Returning Board, in rejecting
these returns IN the poYiSt Of Ropjdes and Jjc-
ing The seats for 0,ot parish to the Republican
candidates, ecds arbitrary, unJaiT and acit|tom
1corrdRt Of laJo."
This is the man who still stands at the
head of the Returning Board of Louisiana,
and now proposes to cast the electoral vote
of that State for Hayes by throwing out
votes here and votes theIe, and taking
votes here and votes there, a II in sufficient
quantity to elect Hayes. 1t is interesting,
therefore, to know just what Republicans
Ike Geo. +. IIoar thought of him IA year
and half ago.