Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1876-11-22

Vote il, 1874 Den. ma
,---'---- ioraies il.
Ph'is'es Dem. Rep. 1916
y. Feliciana SAT 1.GSS 1853
w. Feciana sol 1850 465
Z. Baton Rouge ,j56 2,4iG 600
Morehouse 654 1,Ol7 52S
| Ouachita 766 1874 lO7l
- -------
Total 1924 s,lSj 4,4l7
AT the election in 1874 these par
ishes gave u Republican majority for
State Treasurer oI 1861. They now
give Democratic majority Of ALT,
which exceeds the Democratic vote
cast in 1874. The Democrats admit
that, had the Republican vote been
polIed, the Republicans would have
had large majority. Now the coli
troversy stands: On the one hand
the Democrats insist on the vote being
counted in exact accordance with the
number of tickets cast on the other
hand, there are two propositions |.
That the vote Of these parishes be
wholly disreyarded and thrown out,
on the grounds Of intimidation, by
the Canvassiny Board. =. That the
vote polled be counted, but that the
Canvassing Board reckon also as poll
ed the votes Of those absen,ing them
selves from fear otbodily harm The
average Northern voter has no prece-
dent for such condition of things as
this. In the first place, deadly intim-
idation is not known at the North,
and in the next place 1t will be diff
cult for Il Northern man Of any party
to understand how 1000 voters of one
party in Il county can be so Success
fully ''i"'i'nidotc,l'' by 1909 rs to be
unable to approach the polls, though
the latter were protected. or supposed
to be, 10y the United States Supprvls-
ors. 1t will be difficult to persuade
the people OF any Northern county
that the minority, numbering 900.
voters, could 50 intimidate the major.
ity in East Feliciana. numbering
1900, that none Of the latter dare
show themselves to the polls Never
theless, it is certain that the negroes
did not vote for some reason. We as
sumo that those who did vote were le-
gal voters, and know OF no right rec
ognizcd by any law Of any State where
the votes Of legal voters, lawfully
polled, can be rejected and they dis
tranchised. We do not believe, there
fore, that the moral sense of the
American people will consent to or
tolerate that the election Of Presi-
dent Of the United States shall be l,e-
termined and decided by throwing out
the votes of several thousands of LEGAL
voters, legally polled in any State Of
the Union. We take it, therefore,
that the votes actually polled in these
five "bulldozered' parishes OF Louis
lana will be counted, 10 matter what
may be the result produced upon the
election by so doing.
If the facts be as stated, and we
have tried to colate them fairly from
the statements of both sides. the Re
publicans of Louisiana and of the
country have to bear the consequent
ces OF the panic, which seems to have
so stricken the colored voters in these
five districts. We look upon it rs a
calamity, because we know Of no le-
gal remedy. There is no precedent
known to any election law that we
ever heard of where the votes Of per
sons not voting, and not Offering to
vote, can be counted, no matter how
strong may be the presumption that if
such votes had been polled they would
have changed the result. In 1874,
the Democrats elected at least fifty
to Congress in Republican
districts because Republicans stayed
away and did not vote. For the same
reason the Democrats elected the
Governors of several States, and ma
Iority Of the Legislature in several
States in 1874. No such thing as off I
setting the vote actually polled by
that not polled has ever been recog-
nized at any election ipany State in
this country. Even in the desperate
conflict in Louisiana four years ago
both parties claimed the election, but