Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1877-01-02
Clearing Away.

cy is narrowing down to q single State.
By the admission of the democratic CON-
mi,tee sent to South Carolina TO investi-
gate. that State is taken out of the contro-
versy and declared TO have cast its vtte
for Hayes and Wheeler electors. As the
case of South Carolina has been decided,
so is virtually settled the case of Florida.
Investigation has but shown more clearly
how false and weak is the claim that the
bull-dozers make for Tilden.
Counting Oregon for Hayes and Wheel
er, as it will be in spite of Grover and
Cronin, and with the approval, too, of
every decent democrat in Congress and
the country, there remains but one State,
Louisiana, in which the democrats wage
contest in behalf of Tilden. There the
question is not as to the legal power and
authority Of the returning board to cast
out the votes of the parishes which they
did, but whether the board rejected any
votes without good reason for so doing.
II we were to apply the same method of
securing democratic maiorities in Louisi-
ana to our northern communities, we
should then be able to understand what
the condition of things was in that State
at the late election, and be qualified to
judge intelligently whether the action of
the returning board was justifable or not.
Imagine armed bands of democrats riding
around. both day and night. threatening,
whipping, killing republicans, in order to
prevent them from voting Imagine the
roads leading to the polling places picket
ed with armed ruflians to prevent republ-
cans from going to the polls, and an
armed mob in possession of the ballot box
es. killing on sight any one who dared to
differ from them, and fair picture may
be had of certain parishes in Louisiana,
whose votes were rejected by the return
ing board in accordance with duty and
law. Does any one believe that such a
district in the North could have its vote
countedP We venture to say that no in
telligent democrat can be found in any of
the Northern States who would Justify
the counting of votes cast under sys-
tenn that brushes the opposition by violence
and intimidation. The following is but
sample of the cases before the returning
board. Some of them are sickeuing in
their details, and unfit for publication.
The recital Of these outrages perpetrated
In the interest of the democratic party
is simply horrible, and should bring
the blush OF shame to the faces of all who
are In any way responsible for this deplor.
able state of affairs:
ELLEN j. Durham. being duly sworn,
says: live in the tenth ward, in the par
ish OF East Baton Rouge. Ga the night
OF the 18th Of April, 1876. was at the
house OF my mother, in company with my
husband; nj about 2 or 3 O'Clock in the
morning we heard a noise in front of the
house; my father, Jerry Myers, went out
30 see what it was; | heard some one say
to him, Halt, you damned old Radical
niger My brother, Sam Myers. jumped
out OIL bed and said it was the bull dozers
my husband jumped out Of bed and ran
out the back door. and / did not see him |
again until an hour after the sun was up |
My brother ran out the front door aud
toward the woods. The bull-dozers, who |
were ten or twelve in number, began |
shootfng at my brother; he ran about one |
hundred yards from the door and fell down |
DEAD, and when / saw him after he was
carried into the house he was filed with |
onilef-holes. While the bull-doZers were
looking at my brother running, my father
ma himself in an old potato house, and |
when they turned around again they hal
loco. Hunt the damned Radical Niger >
Tour or five came into the house. When |
mother and were crying, they told US to
smut our damn mouths and get the guns
ana pistols belonging to my father and
Drother; they found pistol and an old
musket, and said they wanted my mother
10 md them another shotgun, but mother
toid them she did not know anything about
1t. They by this time found my father
and dragged him out, and hallooed, Get |
rope boys, we have got the damned |
Old son OF b-h,' and said TO father. |
You got away from us once before, but
we will fix you this time NV moth
er and l began to scream and haloo
the bull-dozers told us to take last look |
at the old man, as all you can do is to |
pray. The bull-dozers then took nv faith
er about mile from the house and hung |
him to tree on the side of the road. |
think recognized the voices of some of
the bull-dozers, although they had their
faces blackened, striped, and covered with |
handkerchiefs. / think one of the bull |
dozers was Henry Kew; | think two of
the other men were the Watts men. Ny
father, brother, and husband were all re- |
publlcans. and would not join any demo
cratic club, and think that was the reason |
they came to our house and killed my
brother and father"
The conscience and judgment OF the best
part OF the community of the North will APP
prove the action of the returning board |
in casting out the vote of these bull-dozed
parishes. The democratic House COM
mittee is taking the testimony of demo-
cratic negroes who swear to acts of intim-
idation and abuse by republican negroes
IS an Offset to evidence like the above,
but the attempt at rebuttal is desperately
weak, and will not serve 10 conceal or
palliate the horrible course pursued by i