St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-12-15

il.
: sation, no gloomy forchoding should h,
, lndulgcd in, and that the result of tn,
! election should he spoken of us il fore.
gone conclusion, las we have the mean,
of carrying the election, and intend +,
do so; but he careful to say and dc
nothing that can he construed into :;
threat, or intimidation of any charac-
, ter" The circular also recommended
that there should he frequent meetings
of all the clubs to be formed, and thai
they occasionally form at their place,
of meeting, and proceed thence on
horseback to the central rendezvous.
stating that ''proceedings of this char
acter would impress the negroes with I;
sense of your united strength :" and il
further recommended that. the day of
election. ut each polling place. there
should he atfdavits prepared to the
effect that there has been no intimida-
ton and no disturbances on account of
any efforts by the democratic conscry-
atIve party to prevent any one from
voting on account of ra,o, color q,
previous condition of servitude.
Thus carefully guided from the CEN
tral democratic authority 10y this secret
and confidential circular. urged to i'm
press on timid blacks by horseback
professions il sense of the united
strength of their former masters. and
warned to prepare blank atfidavits in
advance that no terrorism had been cX-
eIciScd. the next and not least impor-
tant part of the scheme of these leaders
was to select parishes where. having
the means to carry the election and III
tending to Use them ilS stated in the
circular, they could do so with the most
effect. There were in the state of
Louisiana on the day of election - .996
white registered voters and lIJ.3lO
colorcd, il majority of the latter of -. -
3l4. 1t was well known that, if letr
| free to vote unintiucnccd by violence or
Intimidation. the blacks would he al
most unanimously republican,, and that
with the white republican vote. its ma
iorltN would he about equal to that
above indicated. The plan appears to
have been to select for the purposes of
intimidation and violence aS few par
iShes as possible (for in IL fourth of the
% parishes, where these were not en-
ploycd, the republican majority was
600 but to select those in which the
colorcd vote a> compared with the
white would br large. unless unlaWtullN
prevented for in 81 doing il might hc
expected that. should ANY maiorit,
they could thus obtain in such parishes
hc rejected. they would. nevertheless.
attain their purpose 10y the supprc>>i"l
of Il large republican vote.
In pursuance of this plan. fiv, of th,
parishes selected in which the greatest
violence and Intimidation were prac-
which border upon that portion of
Mississippi in which murder and out
RACES 81 prevailed during and preceding
the election as substantially to prevent
any republican vote East Baton Rouge.
which borders on the southern portion
of East Feliciana 4: Moreh"usc. which
adjOinS the state of Arkansas: and
Ouachita. which adioins and lies diIect-
ly south of Morehnuse. The gcoyraph-
ical position of these five parishes WAS
well suited to the purpose to he at
tanned. for II WAS easy for members OF
the clubs to he formed therein. and who
usually pcrpttratcd their outIage> with
masked faces, to pretend that they were
committed by border rutfians from
Mississippi and Arkansas. where like
outrages had been perpctratcd. The
location of these five parishes was not.
however. better suited to the plan tu
he accomplished than WAS the great
dISproPor.inn existing therein hrtwccu
the number of white and colurcd voters:
the tolmer numbered but 5.l35. the
latter l3.24l. Il majority of the latter
equal To more than one-third of the Gu
tire majority of colorcd voters in the ~
parishes of the state. The returns OF
votes actually cast in these five parishes .
suggest that the clubs To whom Wis
assigned the task of SecuIin" democratic .
mai"ritirS therein had performed their /
work of violence and intimidation ct- /
iectually. while the proof (hlicf portions .
of which are hereto lnncXcd) diSclu>c~ .
that, where violence and intimidation
were Insufficient. murder. manning.
mutiation and whippin. were rrSortcd .
to. Instead OF Il majority of six uI .
seven thousand. which the republicans
should have had in these parishes upon
Il fair election. there WIS actually re-
turned to the Returning Board Il dem
Ocratir majority for the parishes of East
and West Fcliciana, MOrchou>c and
Ouachita of 3,SIS. and in East Fclcian;
where the registered colorcd voters
number 2.l2I. not Il republican vote fnI /
elector WAS east. In East Baton Rouge.
3.552 colorcd registered
voters. and but | sol whites. the dem
ocratS claim Il majority of 6l7, which.
but for the rejection of several polls bN .
the commissioners and superv iSorS of
would have been returned To
the Returning Board as votes actually
east. If the democratic majority from
the four parishes. as above stated. We
add the 6l7 thus claimed and insisted
upon before the Returning Board Il
democratic majority of lbs is the Ic-
suit of an election in five parishes con
tanning l3.244 colored republican and
), ia white democratic voters. the CON
rlusion that intimidation and violence
alone could have produced this is al
most irresistible, and that such intiu-
nnces were employed and were supple
mcnted by murder, when that was
ihnught necessary, Is established by the
proofs already referred to. 1t but con
firms this conclusion To refer to the vote
'ist III these i've parishes in IS74. when
10 special motives existed for the uS,.
If cruel means to influence the election.
! he republican majority therein was
hen 1919.
PORTRAYAL OF THE DEEDS OF VIo- {
LESCE.
a result SO suggestive of violence aud :
WAS obtained by means of ,
he most terrible and revolving organ ..
Zcd clubs of masked armed men. formed
md recommended by the central dem
'cratic committee, who rode through !
he country at night, marking their Il
curse 10y the whipping. shooting. 4