The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-06-18
THE COUSHATTA REPORT.


Referring to ''the subcommittee de-
tailed to inquire into the facts connect
ed with the murder of King and mutt
lation OF Senator Twitchell," the Rcpub-
ltcdn says:
Take It all together the report while It fails 10
criminate any known offender, leaves the I'm
pressioi, that the Cvushatta community ore g
peaceful people, and the unfortunnts victim oil
violence the principal criminal discovered In
Coushatta. As q report on the special inquiry
ordered BY Congress the report 10 failure; a.,
a cam paign document to show the corruption OF
the Republican party, it may be copyrighted by
the Democracy.
We dissent from only one statement
In this paragraph, and that statement
is, that, "as report on the special in
quiry ordered by Congress the repolt is
failure" The special inquiry ordered
by Congress was, in brief, whether or
not King and Twitchell were shot be-
cause they were Radicals. The report,
made by Democrat and a pronounced
Republican, and signed by both, clearly
determines this question, and the Re-
publican Is entirely correct when 1t says
that it leaves the impression that
the Coushatta community are o peace
able people, and that Twitchell is the
principal criminal In Coushatta. This
is what the DEMOCRAT has been telling
the country for months, and we are
gratifled that Congressional commit
tee has visited Red River parish. inves
tigated all the facts, aud Is now forced,
in strict justice, to corroborate every
word we have written in relation to an
abused, outraged, plundered and SLAM
dered district Of our State.
The report Of the committee has effec-
tually dispelled the bloody phantoms
the fertile imagination Of the Republi-
can had conjured up to horrify the coun-
try; it has exposed the fimsy texture Of
the thousand falsehoods the Radical
press and politicians have disseminated
throughout the country to injure and
defame the white people of Louisiana.
1t was to have been expected that the
Republican would seek to discredit the
report, and II is to be expected that all
the bloody-shirt papers In the Union
will denounce the committee. The
truth Is not what those journals want.
They feed upon falsehood and slander
as q toad fattens on the vapors OF a
dungeon their party owes its vitality to
sectional hate, and to mean and coward
ly prejudices, and they hunger only for
the lies that pander to that hate and
those prejcdices. But the facts In this
case have been investigated and made
public, and now, we trust, we have heard
the last lie on the Coushatta people.
The Republican complains that the re-
port may be made an excellent CAM
paign document by the Democrats to
show the corruption Of the Republican
party. This is true, but neither Mr..
Vance. the Democratic member. nor
Mr.. Woodburn, the Republican member
of the committee, are to blame for this
fact. Ii the exposure OF the facts con-
nected with the events which have
transpired in this State is calculated
to make a campaign document to show
the corruption OF the Radical party, the
blame rests only upon the party which
has violated every pledge it ever made;
which has plundered and impoverished
the State; which has arrayed race
against race, and provoked violence
and bloodshed, and which, In q long
possession OF ill-got and ill-used power
In Louisiana, has left not q single re-
putable deed to redeem the blackness
OF its infamy, and which has stirred
not q single passion In the hearts OF
honest men, save those OF hate, shame
and disgust.