Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-12-06
j. N. HEDRICK & CO., PROPRiETORs.

O., PROPRIETORS.
Affairs in Louisaua-As Seen by
, w. A. McGrew.
OTTUMwA, Iowa, Nov. 2S, 1876.
EDIToRs COURIER: As the eyes Of
the whole people, regardless Of party
lines, are turned upon the State o.
Louisiana, I desire to present to youl
readers statement of facts regard
Ing political affairs in that State, and
| shall endeavor to only narratc sucf
as came to my knowledge from par
tics to the facts, as the entire election
returns of Louisiana arc now in the
hands of the Returning Board Of that
State. I desire first to say that the
law under which this Board is acting,
was passed by a Democratic Lcgisla.
ture, and approved by II. G. War
mouth (known rs the fusion Cover
nor) November Goth, 1872. The
members of this board are elected by
: the State Senate, and arc required to
make oath to honestly canvass the
| vote and make correct return of the
election. The law requires them to
meet at New Orleans within ten days
after the election, compile and cam
vass the statement of votes as made
by tho commissioners of election, and
make return to the Secretary of State.
The law requires them in canvassing
and compiling the vote to follow the
following order: They shall compile
first the statements from all polls and
voting places where there shall have
been fair free and pcaccablc cleo
tiOn. Whenever from any poll or
voting place, there shall be received
the statement, of any supervisor of
Registration or commissioner Of cleo
tion, corroboratcd by the affidavit of
three respectable citizens, qualified
electors of the parish, of any riot,
tumult, acts of violence, intimidation,
armed disturbance, bribery or corrupt
influences, which prevented or tended
to prevent, fair free and peaccablc
vote ofall the qualified electors, cnti-
tied to vote, at such poll or voting
place, such returning officers shall not
compile or canvass any such contested
poll or voting places until all others
have been canvasscd. They then take
up such contested cases and investi-
gate all the evidence i'm the case, which
is submitted in writing. The board
have the power to examine witnesses
for their own information. butncither
of the contcsting parties have the
power to present witnesses and exam
inc them before the board. If after
such examination the returning ofli-
GERS shall be convinced thatany or all
Of the above enumerated influences
did materially interfere with the
purity and freedom of the election so
as to prevent sufficient number Of
the qualified electors from voting to
materially change the result of the
election, the returning officers shall
not compile or canvass the vote of
any such poll or voting place, but
shall exclude it from their returns
The law farther provides that all can
didatcs for Office shall have a hearing
before the board; and, farther, the
board have the power to send for
persons and papers. AS the honesty
and personal fitness of the members
of this board have been severely crit
icised, Imade some enquiries about
them, and will give you my informa-
ton regarding them:
James Madison Wells, president of
the board was. born n Rapidcs Parish,
and still resides there. lie is plan
ter by profession. In 1864 he was
elected Lieutenant Governor, and af-
tcrward Governor, to which Office he
was elected by an almost unanimous
vote. lie is regarded as man of
great firmness of character, and one
who will mcte ont even and exact
Justice.
Gen. Thos. G. Anderson is native
of Virginia, but has resided in Louis
lana for forty years, and for twenty
years, before and since the war, has
been member of the LEGISLATURE
He is probably the best business man
on the board.
Gadane Casanova, the third mem-
bcr of the board is colOred man
never slave himself, but a slave
holder himself prior to the war. He
looks like Frenchman, has been lib
orally educated has acquired a for
tune, and is known as man of finteg-
rity.
L. M. Kcnncr, the junior member
of the board, is young man of color
ed blood, but good connections. lie
is said to be a man of quick pcrcep-
ton, and good business habits, to my
mind he is not up to the average of
the other members of the board.
Such are the members of the board
and their duties, and from my per-
sonal examination of colorcd wit
nesscs i'm New Orleans from country
voting places, incline to the opinion
that a large vote will be excluded
from the official canvass. The worst
bulldozed parishes, as they are called,
are East Baton Rouge, East and West
The population of these parishes Is in
round numbers: Black, 10000 white,
1900. will say right here that l
believe that fOrty-nine ont of every
fifty blacks, are, as they term it, radi-
calls, and the whites in nearly the
same proportion are conservative
democrats, as they are styled. The
plan of intimidation pursued was to
call upon the colored men at night
in bands of six or seven men call
them out of the house and require
them to join certain democratic
conservative colored club. If they
refused they were whipped, hung,
/ or shot. The first case 1 desire to
relate is Henry Pingston, of Ouachita
parish. He was a leader among the
and was visited and required to join
a colorcd club, and upon his refusal,
was stripped and whipped in the
presence of his wife in his own cabin.
Upon his still refusing he was cut
with knife and shot and killed.
They then seized the baby from the
mother, and upon her resisting, cut
the child's throat with a knife, while
IN the mothers arms, and threw the
body into the lake near by. They
then cut the mothers throat, and left
her for dead. You ask mo how l
know this fact. A colOred man
named Shecdon who was nearly hung
by the same party, and was witness
to it, related the matter to Hon. w.
d. Kelley, who informed me. Mrs.
Pingston herself arrived in New Or
leans on Saturday, and will testify
before the board on the subject of in
timidation, ii she does not die. One
other case related in my presence by
colorcd woman. She said: was
watching while my husband was
sleeping, when l heard band Of
horscmcn coming up the road. !
awakened my husband and he went to
the woods; they went by my house to
the next house about hundred
yards away, and knocked and threat
onad Ao hraaE Ia,un fLn laar which