Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-02-02

| situation 10 LOUISIANA are ten. james IL
Van Allen, of New York, one of the gentle
men who were invited nv the President Il
90 to that State and watch the counting o.
the vote, and Mr.. H. Y. Redfeld, the CORE
spondent of the Cincinnati Commercial ar
accomplished, able, and independent man
whose reports from Louisiana are of great
value. General Van Allen is reform
Republican. He is not, however, a politi
clan, and he has frankly denounced the in
efficiency and corruption Of the civil seryic'
in many OF the Southern States. In hi
testimony, contained in speech to the Re
publican Reform Club in Now York, he doe.
not hesitate to describe the late Republica.
administration of Louisiana as corrupt
inscriptions and wasteful."
A witness who can speak thus plainly o
an administration of his own party is no
looking at the situation in merely par
tisan spirit, and it is impossible to reat
General Van Aliens speech without deel
impression of its sincerity and candor. Ii,
gives clear sketch Of the situation in thu
seventeen parishes that were selected for thu
| terror lie SAYS: "In East Feliciana
where in 1874 there was a Republican yot'
Of l ,6Ss, only one solitary Republican, Whit
or black, dared 10 present himself at The
polls in November, although the Registration
gave 2,l2, black voters in the parish.
Lieutenant Davis, Of the United States
army, who was stationed at the county seat
Of this parish during the campaign, testife'
that the terror Of the colored voters was
absolute The face Of the returns in this
parish showed one vote for Hayes, and LAC
votes for Tilden. The significance of such
facts must be determined by common-sense
General Van Allen. after carefully hear.
ing and weighing the testimony, declares
.ln my opinion the Returning Board oil
Louisiana could not have permitted the vote
of their State to stand for the Democratic
Electors, as apparently it did on the face Of
the returns, without violating the statute
by virtue Of which they held Office, and
sanctioning mass of intimidation and
fraud disgraceful to Republican institu-
tons"
Mr.. + edfeldstates that he went to Loui-
siana inclined to think that the Democrats
had carried the State by a ma jority larger
than the number Of votes they had gained
by bull-dozing. He WAS wholly without
partisan bias. and the result of his investiga-
ton is that, when the election is full, fair
and free, Louisiana is Republican BY ma
jority Of ten to eighteen thousand on n a.
tional issue but on State issue might be
honestly carried by tie Democrats, because
many intelligent and substantial colored Re-
publicans often vote with Tie Democrats
on local and State questions. In the parishes
selected for bull-dozing, Mr.. Red6eld states
that there were fully forty Republicans
murdered and that those parishes in which
the result gave the Tilden ticket I" the face
OF the returns" for which Democratic virtue
has no Justify demanded ian honest count, :"
were carried for the Democrats 90 by muir
der, whippings, intimidation, and a reign of
terror" In every parish where there was
no intimidation the Republicans gained and
the same percentage of gains in the bull
dozed parishes would have carried the State
triumphantly for Hayes. But in those FIVE
parishes where murder and terror prevailed,
and where there is usually Republican
majority of four thousand fye hundred, the
Democrats DIade net gain of about nine
thousand, and this gave " the face of the re-
turns 3" to Tilden. The Democrats assert
threatenings Of blacks by other blacks but
no Democrat, white or black. was murdered.
while in Ouachita alone the Democratic rifle
clubs killed dozen Republicans in the pro-
cess of carrying the election. II doubted, {"
says Mr.. Redfeld, " until could doubt no
longer" In the very parishes where in
timidation Of black Democrats is alleged,
the Democrats made immense gains. But
in the parishes where the intimidation Of
Republicans. by hanging and every form of
terror is established. the Republican vote
fell off enormously. The Democratic com
mittees have not shown any such falling
of on their eide. And, a. Mr. Redfeld
says, if the colOred Republicans should kill
all the colored Democrats in the State, or in
the South, the general result would not be
affected, because there are 50 few of them.
Tue SPECIAL friends and advocates Of the
Washington Compromise, which has been
50 successfully carried through Congress,
do not lack appreciation Of their own merits
in the matter. Now and then one, like Mr..
Edm unds. is frank enough to own that he
favors tine plan ~ contrivance to beat the
Democrats. The rest, and especially the
independent" and Democratic supporters
Of the measure, are lost in admiration of
their own wisdom, magnanimity, patriotism
and statesmaDship. They haven't a doubt
that they monopolizc all Of these virtues,
to the last jot, and that all will die with
them