Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-01-03

tlawless young men of the wiifres Of
the South, are determined that the
negroes shall not exercise the rights
that have been conferred upon them
by the people Of the United States
and by the Constitution of the United
States. That is the truth; and they
have such power because five men
can control a hundred negroes. The
negroes, ignorant, uneducated, and
accustomed to slavery, will flee from
shadow sometimes, and always
from real danger; and few white
men can ride rough shod over them.
There is the trouble, that these white
men are now engaged in conspiracy
against the Constitution of the United
States, which gives to the negroes
the right of suffrage. They viii not
allow them to exercise the right ex-
cept in subordination to their will,
and in carrying out their purpose
they will tread down your law,
break up your courts, shoot your
sheriffs, and hold that community in
absolute terror and intimidation.
There is the answer. have here now
proclamations issued by Gov. Kel-
logg, which l saw published in the
daily newspapers, plenty of them, Of
fcring from one to five thousand dol.
lars reward for the prosecution and
conviction of open, known murder
ers. Here their names are given, and
the circumstances of the murders.
And yet, such is the intimidation that
no man dare seek to recover that re-
ward, because he knows very well
that the making of an affidavit against
a well-known citizen of particular
parish would be his own death. That
is the explanation of it. Now, there
are staring you in the face, in the
newspapers published in New Or
leans at this moment, advertisements
offering big rewards for the detec-
ton and punishment of murdcrers:
but they cannot be arrested, and no
process can be filed against them by
reason Of this wholesale intimida-
tion.
Mr.. WHITE. I ask the Senator if,
after this statement Of the turbulent
and disorderly condition of Louisiana
he thinks it is proper that the electo-
raj vote of that State should deter
mine who should be President of the
whole United States?
Mr.. SHERMAN. This condition of
intimidation and violence extends
wholly TO five parishes, and to some
extent to seventeen parishes and if
the condition of affairs throughout
Louisiana were in the state l have
mentioned in all the parishes, l should
say with the Senator "No;o but it is
localized, and it is confined to one
party, though it may be unpleasant
for gentlemen to know it; this organ
lied violence is confined to ono party.
The idea that these white men are
afraid of the negroes is absurd. The
negroes are a timid, yielding, fleeing
race; and when these tumults break
out into violence, it is not the white |
man that's killed except an isolated |
case here and there it is the negro that
falls victim. The purpose is, the |
object of this whole movement is, not
to prevent the election of Hayes so
much, or promote the election Of Til
den SO much as it is to prevent the ne
gro from exercising his right to vote.
And yet, strange as it may appear,
the Southern States now enjoy thirty
five electoral votes based solely upon
the negro vote, based solely upon the
negroes living in those Southern
States. The white men vote those
thirty-tive electoral votes, denying to |
the negro the right to vote except |
here and there, in places where his |
vote would do them no harm; but |
certainly in those states, where, as is |
admitted by every man, such as Mis-
sissippi, and Louisiana and South |
Carolina, and Florida, the natural in
clinatior of the majority would lead |
them to vote the republican ticket,
there the system of terrorism is or
ganized and carried out for the pur-
pose of preventing them from voting.
But, sir, will no. go further into
this matter, although 1 do think that
what the Senator from Delaware says |
is true, that while these things exist
there are other questions as to the
causes of them and the modeof punish
ing them which he and have not yet
discussed and which ought to be dis
cussed before the American people. |
| only say now, that if were Cover
nor OF the state of Louisiana would |
put an end to these things or perish |
in the attempt. l would not allow il |
TO be said of me that was Governor
of people where / could not pun
ish murder, and rioting, and whip
ping, and violence.
THE WILL OF TIE People.
Mr.. BAYARD. He is there against
their will.
Mr.. SHERMAN. That is the question, |
Is he there against their will? Whose
will! The Southern people down |
there cannot embrace in their idea |
that tho will of the negroes is to be |
and there is the secret of
the whole matter. Their will, the |
will of the white people is alone
to be considered If their theory is
true, that only white people are to be
then the government of
Kellogg is usurpation and wrong ;,
and that is their idea honestly enter
tanned. saw plenty of people, talk
ed with them, honest men, who real
ly fel. that this idea of negro suffrage
and negro government was humili-
alton and q shame to them, and that
Kellogg was the representative of ne
gro government. But, sir, the negro
has the right to vote he has the right
to participate in the governments
The laws give it, the Constitution
gives it to him; and these men en-
deayor to deprive this whole
class of people in Louisiana
of their right originated and or
ganized this trouble. If the white |
people alone were to vote in Louis
lana, the Kellogg government. has no |
foundation; and it is because the |
Kellogg government seeks to protect |
all these people to the extent Of its
feeble ability in the exercise Of the |
elective franchise that this whole
trouble is brought upon us. There
is the key to the whole difficulty. FL
We ought to abandon as an impossi-
bility the idea Of carrying into exc
cution in the Southern States the
doctrine of negro suffrage; if that,
gentlemen, Is the ultimatum; if YOU
say that you will not tallow these peo-
pie to vote where their votes would
count against you for President; i'll
that is what you mean, then you
ought, in all fairness and honor, to
surrender that political power which
is based. upon the negro; and vet
that Is tho sober fact that, in those
States where the negro vote could
prevail or be made to prevail with
the aid of comparatively few white
fmen--as matter Of course we can.
not get these States without the aid
OF the negro vote--thc trouble comes
from the effort to deprive the negro
of his vote.
do not think any man who takes
an intelligent view Of tho actual con-
dition of Louisiana can fail to admit
in the outset that, by reason of the
unhappy divisions there, as rule the
white people vote the democratic
ticket and the negroes the republican
ticket. It is estimated, according to
1.-THE best statements there, aud ! heard
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