The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-11-15
LOUISIANA.
The Usurpation Of 1874.
ADMINISTRATION by a Repub-
lican Congressional
Committee.
What that Committee De-
cided.

carving Of the State by the Dem
Gratis at fair a. peaceable election, the
usurpation by hELLcGG, and the expui-
sion of Democratic members OF the Leg
stature BY armed force and the instaila-
tion OF Radical representatives IN thcir
places, and the investigation and de-
nunciation of this usurpation by ke'
publican Congress, is fresh in the minds
of all intelligent newspaper readers. 1t
will be remembered that, after the IN
famous exploits Of SHERIDAN, the Repuh-
lican Con- IS appointed committee to
90 TO Louisiana and investigate the
whole question and report to that body.
Hon. GEORGE f. HoAR, Republican
member from Massachusetts,, was the
Chairman of the Committee, and
WILLIAM A. WHEELER, recent Repub-
lican candidate for Vice President,
Republican Congressman CHARLES Eos
TER of Ohio, and Republican Congress
man NM. WALTER PHELPS of Neio JSr-
ecu. were members.
WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEE DECIDED.
The election laws of Louisiana pro.
wide for supervisor Of Registration,
"who appoints his own deputies in each
. ward In New Orleans, and for one 'Su.
&" pervisor of Registration for each parish
" in the state These officers 1cere all GP-
d" Doiatcd 5v Gorcraor KeiioQg. In addl-
L" tios 10 these supervisors, the police iu-
"rors 1.-THE local authorities of the parish
.es) appointed three Commissioners OF
{ Election for each pool in the parish,
"aad there were also u nited States Su-
Supervisors appointed by the District
"Judre o. the United States for each
"poll."
Tine law further provided that in case
"oi violenc., intimidation or corruption,
at or near the poll, either during regis
"tration or election, as prevented tdir,
" free, peaceable and full vote, the Com
.missioners of Election, if the occur
81 renee was on election day; the 'Supervi-
& sors of Registration il on tie day Of
g registration, should make u tNtL, oert-
" ned statement of the occurrence, and
" forward the same tCtth and annexed TO
the returns; and further provided that
when the Returning Board, in canvas
ing the returns, should come to any
"poll where the returns were accompa-
MED by such II protest, they should not
ranUass. coto,t or compile the statement
of rotes from such poll. until the state
ments from all the other polls had been
canvassed or compiled"
The Committee then proceed to state
that the Returning Board read and be
came informed OF the returns from the
contested polls before laying hem aside
:, take up the polls in whicS ,herc was
uo contest, and deterreG rcnd ing their
decision until after tu"y lad acquired
knowledge of how the contested r".urns
would affect the election. The Commit
tees report continues as follows:
The election embraced Int one State
" officer. The chief struggle was over
the election of members of the State
q. legislature and parish officers; and in
,.hcsc elections local and personal con-
" sideratiors. rs well as National or State
politics. entered. The RETURNS Ky
d. THE COMMISSIONERS OF ELECTION,
=. COMPLIED AND FORWARDED BY THE
SUPERVISORS OF REGISTRATION kel-
"logg's sppoiDtees, every one of them
- gqrc the Conservatives u majority OF -
"members out of a total Of III members.
"In only a few instances were there any
protests accompanying these returns.
The Returning Board was in session
" for many weeks. AS finally announced,
"theIr findings gave, rs Governor Kel-
log reckoned it, 50 members to the
Republicans, % members TO the Demo-
O." Gratis. of whom, however, one was re-
garded as not a staying Democrat
1.-THE Board made no decision as TO the
"remaining..fye seats.
THE RETURNING BOARD CENSURED ny
TIE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COM
MITTEE.
The parish of Rapides chose three
members ul the Legislaturc-the re-
turns elected all three Conservatives.
" When the proofs closed the only paper
" filed with the Returning Board was the
" affidavit OF United States Supervisor
THAT the election was in all
q. respects full, fair and free. 1t
I" was not known in the parish
" that any contest existed against these
' members. They left Their homes and |
" proceeded 10 New Orlea rs to be pre-
&" sent at the opening OF the Legislature,
d. no intimatiun Of contesiing their seats !
"or objection to their election having |
" been given by their opponents. At one ,
=. of their last sessions the Returning /
" Board declared allthe Republican mem
= bcrs elected from that parish. Wien .
" the papers n the RctuIming Board ,cere
a" DrCdUrrG before VClu' committee there |
" l0aS fc,t,rt among item an atfdGrn Jv
" Mr.. WELLS, the PrGMGcnt of tie Board,
" declaring Nm intimidation had erlsted
" at certain polls IN H1t parish, and that
:. the returns from those pQvs shouId there
:. fore be rejected. The council of the
s. Democratic Committee testified that
{ they had no opportunity 10 contradict
ithe statements Of this paper; that they
:. had never seen or heard of it before,
u and that upon examination OF
L. the papers before the Board,
{ when the proofs closed, 1t was
= not amoag them. The counsel of the
b. Republican Committee reserved the
right to make explanation on this point,
but offered none. The affidavit was
s dated the - day of December, 1874
Z Ii appeared that Governor Wells was
}. not himself III the parish on the day OF
'the election, and though, on the open
sing of their session, your Committee de-
{ clared their intention to examine into
i. the action of the Returning Board,
{ Governor Wells never came forward as
witness. At the close OF our proceed
ing, leave was asked that his deposition
might be given in. This was de-
clined, ard Mr.. Wells WAS himself