The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1877-02-08
LOUISIANA INTIMIDATION.

- 49, $1,000
ly rivets upon the mind of every
honest and fair man the convictions
that the vote of Louisiana was hon.
estly and fairly given to TILDEN and
HENDRIcKs-that the cry of intimi-
dation and terrorism is false and
that the Returning Board of this
State is made up of set of reckless
political gamblers and scoundrels,
ready to commit any villainy no
matter how infamous, to keep them
selves in power and count HAYES in
and TILDEN out. No sane person
undertakes to argue against these
facts any longer, and if the Commits
sion with the Presidential question
now under advisement, do not go
behind the face of the returns and
investigate the frauds perpetrated in
this and other States, it would be
just as well for the country and the
people that it had never existed.
The best evidence and most con-
rincing proof against the Radical lie
of intimidation among the negroes
in Louisiana, is some statistics pre-
pared by Prof. C~HAILLE, and which
was read before the Congressional
Committee. The New York Sun in
referring to the matter says: SIN his
testimony Prof. CHAILLE began by
referring to the declarations of Gen.
Sheridan, and to the assertions con-
tanned in Senator Sherman's report
made Dec. 6, 1875, relative to the
colored Republicans who, it is alleg-
ed, have, during the past eight years,
been murdered for political reasons.
Gen. Sheridan has said that he has
a detailed list of 5000 such murders.
Senator Sherman reports "from Off
cial sources" that over 1000 such
murders were perpetrated in barely
three months, while in some quarters
the total number has been set down
at 10000, in addition to innumerable
cases of manning, mutilation, and
whipping. In view Of these state
ments the witness drew the attention
of the committee to the fact that,
Notwithstanding it is well known
that such a condition is detrimental
to the development of population,
whether by natural or by extranecus
increase, the statement is made in
the State census of 1876 that for the
past six years there had been a stea-
dy influx of negroes who have been
converging upon Louisiana, while
the whites have been radiating from
it. Still more remarkable is the fact
that an investigation of those data
of the census upon which its compi-
Ter POUNDS his assertion that the
whites have been "radiatiug from
Louisiana" shows an increase of the
white population during the five
years from 1870 to 1875, inclusive, of
1851, which considerably exceeds
the maximum natural increase of the
population in the United States when
not augmented from extraneous
sources. In 1874, the intimidation
accusation was that thousands of
colored voters were prevented from
voting, yet Prof. Chaille shows by
statistics that the total vote cast was
in as large a proportion to the total
population as in any unintimidated
State, so that, if the accusation was
well founded there would be no pos
sible explanation of Louisiana's very
large vote, consistent with the Uni
ted States census of 1870, except on
the s%upposition that those who had
charge of the ballot boxes stuffed
them with votes sufficient to COM
pensate for the voters who, it is al
legged, were prevented by intimida-
ton from voting. In 1876 there
were 100, 1854 votes cast for Governor
but the Returning Board counted
only 1853 of them. Yet in that
State, where the cry of intimidation
has been so fiercely raised, the vote
actually cast was in proportion to
the total population in 1870 as 100
voters to every 451 population while
in the whole United States the pro-
portion Of voters for President in
1876 was to the total number of peo-
pie is 100 voters to every 452 popu-
lation.
"As to the relative proportion in
Louisiana of the white to the color
ed citizens, Prof. Chaille shows from
statistics derived from the official
reports of Republican ofice-holders
that the most outrageous attempts
have been made to misrepresent the
facts. 1t is true that the official re-
port of the Registrar of Voters shows
a majority in the State of 22,914 reg
istered colored voters but the figures
of Prof. Chaille taken from official
documents show that in reality there
could have been only a majority of
about one hundred and eighty color
cd citizens antitlad IN raoister In 1879