Litchfield enquirer., 1876-12-14

when the practice of fraud is limited only by it's opportunities, and the color of the
 returns indicates not the state of the vote l but the political complexion of the count CTS. aas f .frge st-.s .,.. Am wrong in considering the attitude of the Republican party toward the crime which in the opinion of many tlonghtful members of the party is contemplated in
 this matter as the feature in it of the
 highest importance? Do overestimate the
 corrupting and demoralizing influences
 that must flow from tacit consent to the
 procurement of party success by transac.
 tions that will not bear the light of day? | Consider for moment the effect upon all | branches of the public service of the loose
 practices which during the past few years
 have been so freely charged and in many
 instances proved against the heads of de- partments; the influence of these things
 upon social life and individual morals,
 and the general lowering of tone, the im- pairment of confidence that followed And
 as for the effect upon our faith in repub-
 lican institutions, do I need lecall the time when the Tammany rings perpetua- 1 tion of it's own power through it's control | of the ballot t-boxes-ju ust as the Louisiana
 Republican Ring has perpetuated itself led refiecting persons to doubt the
 capacity of the experiment of self government to stand such strain |? The reputation of the nation has suffered terribly already from the scandals of our politics; but how should we stand, beg to know, if to all these are added the terrible disgrace and dishonor of hay ing the govrnment administered by par
 ty which resorted to intrigue, falsehood, and corruption to retain power? The scan- dals of administration might be lived down, but thls crime would be the ''dam-
 med spot" that would not ''out" for any
 washing in the long night of the nations
 sleep walking and remorse.
 But perhaps you will assent to all that
 have said regarding the baleful influence
 upon society and the State of the lapse of
 the party of moral ideas into immoral
 practices, and fall back upon denial of
 the existence of any such danger. You
 may say that my fears are idle; that there
 is no probability of the perpetration of fraud; that it would not be countenanced | by Republicans, and that Gov. Hayes in the last resort would not consent to take | the office with any taint or suspicion of l fraud upon his title. I read this view of | 1t in the Tribune some days ago, and for the moment accepted it. My opinions
 have been modified by subsequent events
 and by more careful study of Republi-
 can opinions. Let us see. Is there no
 danger of fraudulent transactions by the Louisiana Returning Board? If I am suspicious of the honesty of the persons | composing that remarkable tribunal, I learned my distrust from the Tribune,
 which, time after time during the past four years, has denounced them as the most interruptions and corrupt set of scamps that ever held office. I learned it from the Tribune's impartial correspon- dents who visited the State and made themselves familiar with all the facts on
 both sides, and on them gave their un-
 biased judgment: I learned it from able and honest Republican Members of Con- gress and Senators who investigated the transactions of the board and its manage ment of elections; I learned it from cur rent report and sworn testimony: and @9H al of s ree seTs charged upon these men there has not yet been found any reputable person to deny their guilt or defend their character.
 I distrust them, MT. Editor, and plead guilty to distrusting them even before they have been caught in any overt act. r Character does go for something bad character for the taint upon it, just as much as good character for it's worth and weight. And submit that even if these men were appearing now for the first time i'll this relation, and were not covered all over with charges of dishonesty and fraud, there is enough in their manner of con ducting the present proceedings to war rant the gravest suspicious and the clos est watching. Your own correspondent, ''Z. l.. w., has given us hIs belief-and he is not man who indulges in any loose ph<, that cannot be verified-that of the votes actually cast the Tilder electors had a majority of from 1000 to 8 900. Notwith- standing this, it is notorious that the Kellogg Returning Board intends to de- clare the election of the Republican tick ct. Were this board composed of reput- able men, who had never fallen under sus- picion, and who proposed to act fairly and with all the forms of law in this mat ter, even such men would see the necessi- ty as we'll as we'll as the propriety of in- vltlng their opponents to a careful scru- tiny of the whole proceeding. Any con- cealment or evasion or underhandedness in the matter would subject men of the highest character and most unimpeach- able integrity to suspicion under such cir cumstances, and men of @ nice sense of honor who were conscious of no offense would have been especially careful to have everything done openly and above board. But these men, already loaded with char ges of tampering with ballots, and returns, have taken hardly single step that has not suggested fraudulent intent and fur nished additional reasons for distrust. I leave out of view then South Carolina and Florida, and confning the question to Louisiana say that in that State there is good reason for believing that fraud is contemplated, by which the triumph of the Republican party and it's candidates IS, to be secured by overturning and re- versing the legally expressed will of the majority. If my statement is too strong, let me qualify it-for 1 wish to be entire Iy within bounds-by saying there is a reasonable basis of suspicion that the Re- turning Board will not hesitate at the per. petration of fraud if it shall be found nec- essary, and that the Republican party cannot afford to take the election from their hands while that reasonable suspi- cion exists. Observe that do not here enter into the discussion of the question whether under the legislation to enforce the amendments the Louisiana Board has the right to assume that the entire color ed vote is naturally Republican, and that any appearance to the contrary must be accounted for upon the ground of intimi- datlon, which warrants the board in dis regarding the actual returns and restoring the colored vote to it's natural order and relation; great deal might be said on that question. take it for granted that the board will stretch to their utmost ten. sion all the laws, general and special, which have been passed to meet these cases. and when all this is done, and all the measures adopted that have the faint est color of law or authority, believe it will simply set law aside and accomplish it's ,pu pose in spite of it. These men have cheated before; the temptation now is greater than ever; every step in their proceedings thus far advertises their pur- pose to do it, and it is carry ing credulity too far to ask us to believe that they have no such intention