The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1876-12-27
HOW THE WORK WAS DONE.

Republicans are sedulously at
tempting to conceal the methods by
which the three Southern States, 80
long in dispute, have been counted
for Hayes. Democrats may, in their
honest Indignation, overstate the case
1t is desirable that every citizen, of
either party, should know just what
has been done. This, then, is an
impartial statement of the facts, such
as cannot be disputed.
LOUISIANA.
In Louisiana, the vote cast gave
Tilden a majority of 6,G75 and up
wards, to nearly 5000, five to the
Hayes electors running $500 vote
behind the rest, because their names
were omitted from the ticket. This
majority has never been denied by
the Republicans. The Returning
Board, when it met, did not I'll the
vacancy existing in the Board, which
the law required to be filled with a
Democrat, and that vacancy remain
ed until the adjournment of th o
Board. The Board excluded from
its sessions all representatives of the
press, all counsel Of Democratic can
didates, and all Democratic candidate
themselves. They allowed, however
the Northern delegations to be pres
ent, with stenographers. These Wis
itors could hardly be denied admis-
sion, as one-half had come to witness
the count at the personal request of
President Grant. The presence of
stenographers secured a report of the
proceedings, but as bare record of
spoken sentences it threw little light
on the things done. During the
progress of the count, the Democrats
submitted evidence that fourteen Su-
pervisors of parishes were in New
Orleans, having the returns in their
possession, which they were with
holding from the Board, and in
which they had an opportunity to
make fraudulent alterations. Two
instances were discovered where the
returns had been tempered with while
in the possession of the Clerk of the
Board; both sides admitted this, but
Mr.. Stcughton, of New York, de-
clared that they were clerical err
rors." The Republicans submitted
testimony in regard to two ''outra.
ges" which they declared were po-
litical; the Democrats, however, in
PRODUCED testimony to show that the
same witnesses had previously given
entirely opposite versions of the same
affair, and that the outrage was con-
mitted by Republican negroes upon
a Democratic negro. When the hear
Ing of testimony was over the Board
went into secret session without the
presence of reporters, photographers
or visitors, and without the Demo
crstic member which kle law re-
CURED them to have, and after throw
ing out great numbers of Tilaen
votes, declared majority for Hayes
on the lowest electors of 3,435 on
the highest, 1850, in both cases over
the highest Tilden electors. This
was accomplished, not throwing GU,
the whole vote of the FIVE parishes
where ''bull DOING" is alleged to
have prevailed, for that would still
have left a majority of 1000 in the
State for Tilden, but by throwing out
the votes Of the polling places in the
Eve parishes where the Democrats
voted in large bodies, and counting
those where the negroes voted in
large bodies.
The votes at Democratic polling
places were thrown out, on the
ground TINT the Republicans were
prevented from voting by intimida-
tion, but the votes of the same Re-
publicans who were prevented from
voting at these places were counted
at the polling places at which they
had voted, the habit of the negroes
being to vote in droves, and often to
change their places of voting; 1.-THE
law of the State permitting voter
to vote at any polling place he may
select, within the Parish in which he
resides.) This is literally the ex-
PLANTATION given by the correspondent
of the New York Tribune, The
number of Tilden votes thrown out
to effect this result was about 49,
0oO'~ The men who composed the
Returning Board now, are the same
men who composed it in 1874, when