The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1877-01-10

has no right to do anything except to canvass
made 10 them by local officers, except in cases
where they were accompanied Oy the ceftln-
Sfn,S~ nr,,-sded a. ybe third Section !" I
believe no such foundation for the jurisdiction
OF the board, rs the law requires, was laid IN
any parish OF the state, and certainly not IN
any of he i've which have been the chief the
alter Of alleged intimidation and violence.
The action the board therefore, in see king
70 defeat the viii OF the people Of Louisiana
by DISTINGUISHING more than l5OU democratic
voters was not only hagrant usurpatlon OF
against dthe habit Of obedience TO the forms of
law" which the visiting committee OF repuO,
ncans at New Orleans lately solemniy warned
n should be seduIously inculcated," and that
'%the resort to extra constitutional modes OF
redress for even actual grievances, should Oe
avoided and condemned as revolutionary, dis
organizing, and tending to DISORDER and anar-
OTTER EXAMPLES.
Gentlemen, the performances of the return
ing board during its recent sessions furnish
stu other illustrations Of the perverse ana
malign spirit which has Favored the entire pro-
ceadings Governor Wells, after being repeat
edly and persstently urged 10 I'LL the vacancy
on the board, ind guantly denied that II had
ever thought OF re- using 10 MI ~ out the va
cadcy never was filed, while the CTS
of the case clearly reveal a fixed debefm1na-
ton not 10 nil il. The board played fast aud
IOsse in its rulings relative. TO cI l)0Tte aInda-
Wits BY a shifty and amb.dextrOus policy IL
allowed many such affidaVits to be received in
the interest of the republican candidates; but
that cOunter-affidaVitS would be admitted, on
which assurance they went to the labor and
expense OF procuring them in large quantities,
the board suddenly changed It's nina, ana tre
permission 10 use them was denied. The re
turns from many of tue parishes were brought
10 the city in the pockets OF Inherent ludlNlG-
uals instead of being forwarded by mail, AS
required by law, and were received by the
board without objection. In number OF
cases they were carried around the city for
DAVIS by the parties having them ia charge:
and when these parties, a. sometimes hap
pcued, ooutumaciously refused 70 deliver them
To the board or held them back on account
of the non payment of charges for their trans
mission, Governor Well, manifested not the
slightest desire to get possession OF the papers,
said the board could not afford TO pay the
charges, and falsely declared that IL possessed
no power TO compel their production.
a supervisor, by wrOngfully refusing
to die his return, might deprive the people o.
their votes, Governor Wells responded, I'VE
can't help that" and that "eriminality OF that
kind should be brought before the courts.
He promised TO take up the consideration OF
East Baton Rouge parish on specified day,
aud advised the counsel for the democratic
candidates to have their witnesses in readi-
ness, which they did, and when the day came
he took up the Eliza PinkstOn case, in which
they were surprised and entirely unprepared.
He gave written aud express permission TO
sions OF the board, and when he appeared on
the following day Governor Wells notified him
that the perm SsiOn was Withdrawn, and that
ne must retire. In several instances the sealed
returns from distant parishes were clandest-
inely opened and the papers tempered with,
after they had been received by the board, as
was shown Ia inspecting the papers on the
canvass of the returns. As an example, the
returns from the parish of DE Soto were re-
ceiVed on the 18th of November, but open
Ing the papers on the 18th of the month, the
affidavit OF Mr. Ferguson, the supervisor, was
found i'm the scaled package, dated on that
day. having fOund ITS way there, OF course,
through the agency Of some rascal who had
broken the seal in order to doctor the case with
ez post f,L9O statements, and then re-Sealed the
returning board was entirely forgotten by Sen
atOr sherman in his splendid and picturesque
biography of its members, which he embodied
in mis- letter to the president transmitting the
proofs OF intimidation which the repub lean
committee had procured; but in justice 10 the
board and its clerical force l must not fail To
mention the original defense of this ugly spec
linen of Louisiana crookedness which was vol
unteered by Mr.. StOughtOn, oil New YORK,
namely, that the dating OF the affidavit on the
18th of the month, which had been enclosed
and sealed up in the parish of De soto some
10 or ~ days before, was 'clerical error! Mr..
StoughtOn was right. 10 iC1S 'cl6rical error,
and quite unfortunately for the state of Lou
isiana such .errors" have been entirely too
common in the operations of her returning
board, and the tactics of her party leaders who
have used il IN keeping themselves i'm power.
Indeed, "clerical errors" are not confined to
Louisiana, but in other states the men who
commit them are furnished with public lodg-
Ing and employment in our pcnitentiaries, Us
az arny OF forgers and c. unterfeiters can bear
witness. But dispensing with any further i'll
lustraiions of returning board political moral
-
1tical outrages in Louisiana and the intimida-
ton of voters.
INTIMIDATION AND vIOLENCE-TIIH KELLOGG
GOVERNMENT.
In dealing with this subject invite your at
teutiOn to several considerations which meet
us at the very threshold of any honest search
after truth. Bear in mind, in the first place,
that Louisiana has a republican governor, and
that under her anomalous constitution he Is
armed with powers almost as great as those OF
the last Napoleon. lie appoints and removes
the registrars of election and their assistants
throughout the state, whose judgment is final
a. TO the right of the citizen TO vote, aud who
generally nOn-residents Of the parishes in
which they are required to do his bidding as
the unquestioning tools of party. He controls
the appointment of the commissioners OF cleo
ton, who receive and revise the voles- In New
Orleans, where the democrats are in the ma
jOrity the control of elections is given to the
metropolitan police, which is appointed by the
governor and may be used by him as stand
ing army in any part Of the state. He appoints
the tax collectors of the state, and in the city
OF New Orleans the assessors also. He appoints
the state b)ard of public works. When he
deems il necessary he may appoint an extra
ordinary force, a chief constable and as many
deputies as he thinks necessary in any parish,
with eZ-ODtcbO power 10 make ar
rests. He can All all vacancies in Of
fee throughout the state. including conStables,
justices OF the peace and parish surveyors, and
by the help of the legislature, which the re-
turning board can elect, he can control the
judiciary OF the state. He has power to APP
pOiIt and pay a special local police in every
parish, and in such numbers as he pleaSes. He
can send brigade OF metropolitan police into
any part of the state at his own will, and has
a steamer at his command TO transport them.
The judges appointed bv him superintend the
selection of iurIes-grand ana petit. He con-
trolls the militia, while the United States mar
shall, who is a republican, has the control OF
federal soldiers by orders from Washing
ton, so that when Marshal Packard was chair
man of the state republican committee, every
United states soldier in the state was bound to
obey his order.
Gentlemen, in the light Of these remarkable
facts, do you not see the intrinsic absurdity of
the stories we hear about intimidation and NO
lence? Is not their falsehood Enthusiastically
confessed in the kern irony which they EN-
body? is the governor of Louisiana, armed
with tho powers Of an autocrat, and backed by
the whole power of the national administra
ton, utterly incapable of maintaining order