Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1877-01-12
The Party of Fraud, Violence and
IaWIessness.

events as they occur to know that the Til
den party stops at no means, however
base or dishonorable. to get control OF the
government. They have tried violence
and revolution in South Carolina, bribery
and fraud in Oregon. made an armed
camp of louisiana, and from their Sth oil
January meetings sent out resolves threat
enng civil war in the country unless Til
den is made President.
While the republicans have full conf
dence that Gov. Hayes has been elected
President legally and fairly-saying moth
ing o! States Ike Mississippi, Alabama
and several others which were carried for
Tiden by fraud and notwithstanding
have resorted to no extraordinary, violent
and revolutionary measures to secure the
Inauguration Of Hayes as President, but
have rested their case solely upon legal
peaceable, honest and orderly processes.
the result OF which they intend to abide
by. They have raised no mobs in South
Carolina or Florida; they have not
thronged the streets OF New Orleans with
thousands of armed men to defy and over
ride with brute violence the action OF the
Returning Board of Louisiana; they have
paid no S25, 900 TO wrong Oregon or any
othei State out of an electoral vote; they
have simply said let us take the votes OF
the States as returned under the laws, let
,,E .
clare the result as the trainers OF our Con-
stitution intended, and whatever the de-
cison may be, whether Hayes or Tilden
be found President, we will acquiesce in
and support the decision as lawabding
citizens should.
Very different is this from the course
of the democratic party. Mr.. Tilden was
nominated in the national democratic con-
vention by fraud and corruption. We
have the utterances of leading democratic
papers charging it upon him that he
bought and cheated his way to the nomi-
nation. Once nominated he sought his
election bv means like those which secured
him the nomination. He organized vo-
lence in the South aud bribery and fraud
in the North. Failing to get the necessa-
ry number OF votes to elect, his satellites
in the North are threatening to send thou
sands Of men to Washington to inaugurate
him by force, and the White Leaguers are
already in arms in Louisiana threatening
riot and bloodshed.
In regard to Louisiana, it must be re-
membered that the action of the Return
ing Board in casting out the votes of sew
eral parishes is the pretext for the Til
den warlike array in New Orleans. Yet
the action of the Board was strictly in
accordance with law 1t was The duty of
the Board to do as it did. And the law
under which they acted has been in force
several years, and been sanctioned by
the democratic party of the State. Sen
ator Sherman, who was one of the COM
mittee present at New Orleans durin 2
the session of the Returning Board and
witnessed its proceedings, read in his
place in the United States Senate, the
other day. the law under which the Re-
ably defended them. He said the evil
dence before them was ample to justify
throwing out the votes which they did
There was not a scrap of evidence to
show that they acted in disregard of the
rights of others. Wealth, social influence.
the personal safety Of the members of the
Board, all had a tendency to make the
Board decide in favor OF the democratic
party. There was nothing to lead the
members of the Board to decide in favor
Of the republican electors except the
plain mandates of the law.
The worst elements in society were
the leading actors in the tragedies. and
to count the votes cast in pursuance of
such violence would be a shameful bur-
lesque upon republican institutions Prob
ably the five parishes in Louisiana which
he had referred to would hereafter be
free from intimidation. If they submit
ted to it a second time they would not
deserve to be free. The very moment
this system of intimidation extended to
other parts of the country and poisoned
the elections in the Northern and Western
States our government would be at an
end, because law-abiding men aud prop
erty-holders would rather submit to a des-
potic government than have our elections
controlled by the worst men in society
1t was because such men controlled the
election in louisiana that he regarded the
inauguration Of Mr.. Tlden as the great
est misfortune which could befall the
country. He did not fear Mr. Tilden
or his four years OF power, but he did
fear such means of electing him. The
only safety Of this government was in
fair election and an honest acquiescence
in the result. II Mr.. Tilden should be de-
cared elected 10y the vote OF Louisiana,
his term OF office would be dishonored
from the beginning. He would have the