The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1876-11-25
The Real Humiliation,

w hCNl uuiUitiNtlNVs
Says the Philadelphia Sunday Press,
of the 10th inst IL is a humllatlng
fact that the Republican party Is just
now practically debarred from insisting
upon the strict legal rule In regard to
the louisiana troubles. The party IL
thus debarred by the atroclous record
Of some of Its members in that State
who have long been prominent In her
crooked affairs and are now in the front
at this time of peculiar dinlculty aud
danger. II Il useless to attempt to dis.
guiso the fact that the Caseys, kel-
loggs, Warmouths, and tho rest of that
pestlent gang have brought the party
to the yegee OF disaster and will prob
ably prccipitate It into the gulf, No
honest man can keep his countenanco
while ash ing either friends or opponents
to trust these fellows in anything. They
are condemned In the records made by
Congressional committees of their own
party, and no imam of ordinary powers
of observation believes them to be any
thing but the worst kind of political
tricksters and corruptlohists.
This, then, is the situation and the
new humiliation There are charges of
fraud on both sides in Louisiana. The
Kellogg government is in possession of
the machinery; the canvassing board Is
the creation OF that government. Ma
turally, the Democrats object to set
tlement of the dispute by this board
alone. They can have no confidence
in its honesty We should have none
ourselves il we knew that it was any
wise the interest of the board to count
Tilden in. The letter of the law is un-
| doubtedly on the side of the Kellogg
party, but how can the Republican
party of the country demand the strict
letter of the law when it is to be execut-
ed by such men, notorious for their
habitual prostitution of public power
and trust to the most unworthy pur
poses2
We do not doubt now, any more than
heretofore, that free and fair election
in Louisiana would have brought ma
iority for Gov. Hayes. There was, in
our belief, practice of intimidation
which was as much fraud as stuffing
ballot boxes would be. But all this is
disputed, and who step forward to de-
eide the disputed fact fairly? Men with
clean hands, and in whom there is con-
fidence? No; but men who are them
selves denounced beforehand as the per
petrators of vast and shameless frauds
Both sides are agreed that fair count
shall be made, but setting the creatures
of Kellogg to purge election returns OF
fraud would ba like putting up Boss
Tweed, from his exile, to lead q muni'
cipsl reform In New York city.
The Louisiana returns should be care
fully canvaesed. There is little doub
that the vote of some precincts shoult
be thrown out. There is almost as LITTLE
doubt that the intent Of the statute IL
to give the canvassing board the powe
to deal with just such cases. If the Re
publican administrations of Louisianf
had been in character like those o
Massachusetts,, or Pennsylvania, o
Ohio, or Michigan, the party could
boldly insist that the constituted au-
thorities must be trusted in the dis
chage of their official duties, and n
party could make headwav in opposi
{ ton to such a demand. But the ke
loggs and the Caseys-with them come
the present humiliation. The party i
not in position to insist.