The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1876-09-13
.Aa'eise arrs!gGeds


ANSWEREO-AND HIS VIETHa
ABOUT = FREE REGIS
TRATIoN DIS
CUSsED.
Rooms STATE Central CoMMITrEE)
DEMOCRATIC -Coxs'TIvE PAgry,
NEw ORLEANS, La, +
Aug. 60, 1876. J
non. c. c. Antoine, Cover
nor and Acting Governor of Lou
isiana:--
S1RI have the honor to ac-
knowledge the receipt Of your COM
munication Of the Goth inst, in
reply to mine Of the 23d. In my
communication I made to you, as
Acting GOVERNOR q simple PROPOSE
ton, looking to q fair, free and
peaceablo election, that representa-
ton should be given to us in the
registration Offices throughout the
State. It was request which you
were empowered by the laws to
grant, and to which simple assem-.
or refusal was sufficient.
YOU HAVE MADE YOUR sErLr
an occasion to issue q campaign
document, in which you attack the
Democratic party in q manner as
unjust as the allegations contained
therein are untrue. This is not che
first time, by many, that such at
tacks have been met and such ale
cations disproved. Fov eleven years
there has flowed from this centre g
constant stream of malieiously false
accusations against the characters Of
the Democratic Conservative citizens
Of this State. These accusations,
disproved from time to time and
shown to be fabricated simply for
the purpose of firing the Northern
heart for partisan purposes, have
been again disproved, until nsithes
in the North nor South can there be
found any intelligent person credu-
lous enough to regard them other
wise than as electioneering tricks,
with which to secure Federal inter
yention in order that the Republican
party might again ride into power
over the PROSTATE liberties Of she
people.
YOU WILL RECoLLGCg
that when I handed you my letter
you stated to me after reading t.:
q see the justice of yous demand,
but / must submit it to the Republi-
can Committee The first part Of
your eeply indicates that, for che
moment, you appreciated she fact
that you owed allegiance to sbe
whole people OF The State, bus she
last part OF the sentence unforCu-
nately evidences that you could NOT
emancipate yourself, az a candidate
for reelection, from che control Of a
political committee. am therefore
constrained to believe that your an
swer TO my communication emanates
not from the Acting Governor Of the
State, but from the campaign COM
mittee of she Republican party,
which apparently controls the mat
ter of registration, and from which ]
fear we can hope for but scant meas
ure Of justice.
''THE PROPOSITION WAS s1NCEREx,y
MADE"
as you say you presume IL was, in
the interest of free and fair cleo.
ton, and in the hope that its justice
would strike you, and lead you to 8
practical as we'll as to theoretical
conclusion. I am not aware that Che
Republican party has ever put itself
on record as desiring a fair and free
election. That some of it's members
have occasionally used empty phrases
expressive Of such desire there can
be no doubt; but it's every action
contradicts such declarations. So
long 40 fraudulent registration is
notoriously permitted and encous
aged, as is now being dons 10 shis
city; so long as the registration
books are corruptly manipulated by
the parties having them in charge
as has been the case at every cleo
ton since the passage Of the regis
tration law; so long as shere exists
Returning Board, whose mission ant
object it is TO hullify the result o
every election, and over which acts
your courts have decided there car
be no control; so long as counterfeit
registration papers are issued, ane
forged affidavits are used as votes
as was the case in 1872, professions
Of desire on your part for q fai
and free election are a mockery ant
g sham, and such an election is ar
impossibility.