New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-01-11
1u,imIdntIen in Louisiana.

When fifty men testify that they did not
see certain thing, and fifty, more or less,
testify that they did see that thing, which
side is to be believedl Everybody knows
the rule of law and of common sense One
man who saw, and swears to it, outweighs
fifty who did not see, and swear TO that.
Strip the Louisiana case of all disguisee and
excrescences, and it iA simply an illustration
of this well known rule. One man who saw
that his life was in danger if he voted as he
pleased ought to outweigh many men who
did not hear any violence or hear any
threats. We are suppOsing that the wit
nesses are equally credible; that there is no
reason to doubt that each swears to what he
believes to be the truth. Yet the knowledge
of one man outweighs the ignorance of
thousands. Assassination, beating, intimi-
dation of voters in any form, are crimes in
Louisiana. No man takes pains to commit
crimes with all possible publicity. The one
witness who saw q murder committed. and
identifies the murderer, is infinitely more
important than the many who did not see,
and who think that the murder was not
committed at all. or was committed by
somebody else.
1t is not denied that some horrible crimes
have been committed in LOuisianB. This the
Democrats admit, but claim that they had
no political origin. Two questions OF fact
arise: Were those crimes committed for
| political ends, and was the effect OF them
I and OIL OUn6r 6CLS Ol NlOlouC6 anu LUE6hlS
| such as to deter men who wished to do so
from voting the Republican ticket As to the
purpose, we must say that the facts speak
| for themselves, A great many persons
were killed, or assaulted with violence; they
were nearly all Republicans; and in nearly
every case they were Republicans of such
| local Importance that che fact of their as
| sassination would necessarily alarm many
/ others, and deter Republican voters. Pre-
| cisely in the parishes where these things Oc-
/ Cured the Republican vote most unae-
/ countably decreased-unaecountab if we
/ suppose that these acts of violence were not
| the cause. Nobody has attempted to give
any explanation of the fact that, out Of
1 thousands of known Republicans in East
Felieiana, for example, only one solitary
man dared to vote, excepting upon the
| theory that they we're deferred by violence.
No man has given, and no man can give,
| any explanation of the amazing decrease of
Republican votes in certain localities, and
not in other parts of that State, who ignores
| the fact that in those very localities acts of
| violence were most frequent.
We come, then, to the conflicting testi-
| mOny as to the nature and effect of these
misdeeds. The claim. which savors strongly
of partisanship, that they were ordered
from party headquarters, may be dismissed
as trivial and irrelevant. The same deeds,
if perpetrated without such instigatiOn,
would have been equally aviOlation of law,
| and would have been as likely to prevent q
free and legal election. Several thousand
witnesses swear that they saw the effects OF
this violence; some, that they were person
ally assaulted; some, that they knew OF the
murder of others, and were warned that il
would not be safe to vote the Republican
ticket; some, that they were personally
threatened or warned; many, that they diI
not vote as the wished, because Of the rea
or supposed danger; aud many others, tina
among their acquaintanees there we're many
Republicans thus c0eroed or driven from
the polls BY fear. Such Is the nature of tn
evidence on one side. Thousands swea
that they personally know certain facts
On the other side, thousands swear tina
they did not see any Intimidation, nor hea
any threats, and that they know nothing Il
, warrant the belief that the election was no
fair and free. Which set Of witnesses is 3
be believed Which would be believed
: the issue were the guilt or innocence of
man accused Of horse stealing
In these few words the Louisiana case, q
it now stands, is summed up; thousand
swear that they saw, and thousands mofl
; that they did not see. The Presidency o
/ the United States depends, in equity il no
In actual result, upon the degree Of eredi
bility to which such conflicting testmon.
, is entitled. There are all manner OF sid
: issues Especially there is the strietl,
/ technical view taken By Judge IrumbQl
? and others who composed the Demoofnti
I committee which amounts to this; that TIL
3 Returning Beard had not legal aufho7li'
{ % eonaiaeE ma1h Of lAo evidences presented
/ I Plain people ef honest INSTINCTS VIII EAR
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