The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-06-13
THE REYOLUTIONISTS.
The Potter Conspiracy and the Anderson
Witness
From the Chicago Tribune.I

first gun at Sumter, they have taken the
first step to imbro1 the nation in civil
war, and to adopt the Mexican system oil
revolution as part of the American con-
stitution. Let us see what their long
headed witness has stated, as furnishing
the cause for national upheaval and a
removal of a President.
James q. Anderson was a Pennsyl-
vanian domiciled in Louisiana. He
held an Office of clerk in the New Or
leans Custom House, and was Super
visor Of Registration and Election in the
parish county, of East Feliciana. East
Fehciana was one of the strong Repub-
ican districts of the State. The two
parishes of East and West Feliciana
voted, in 1872 and 1874, as follows:
Dem. Rep. D DEM Rep,
West Felioiana.. 224 1,458 sol 1880
It will be seen that it was very impor-
tant for the Republicans to have the
votes of these parishes polled and count
ed. A man named Weber was Supervis-
or in West Feliciana. During the prog
ress of the Presidential campaign, the
certainty of a Republican triumph in
Louisiana was evidenced by the fierce
ness with which the Democrats sought
to intimidate the negroes, and by inhu-
man beating and frequent assassination
to terrify them into keeping away
from the polls. In September, 1876,
Anderson, as the testimony shows.
claimed that he was politically
neglected, and evidently became
embittered against the Republican lead
ers, and was prepared to sell out to
whichever party would do the most for
him. He and Weber were pretty much
of mind. While at East Feliciana in
October, he represented that he was as
saulted at night. and fed to New Or
leans, and in his letters to Weber he
complained that the Democrats did not
place confidence in him. He asserts
that at that time the Republicans de-
termined to have no election in East
F'ellciana, or have no Republican votes
cast. and thus furnish an excuse for re-
iecting any return which the Democrats
might make from that powerful Repub-
lican county. For this purpose, he al
leges, the Republicans endeavored to
keep him from returning to his post in
East Feliciana, but he communicated
with the Democrats, and was secretly
conveyed to Feliciana, held the election,
and made return of 1,736 votes
for Iilden and the Democratic ticket,
and @ vote for Hayes and the Repub-
icans! In like manner Weber made a
return from West Feliciana, showing,
in that strong Republican county, 1,248
votes for Tilden, and only 778 votes for
Hayes. The two Supervisors then re-
turned to New Orleans. The extraor-
binary and unlooked-for character of
these returns attracted universal atten-
ton. These men, processing to be Re-
publicans, were questioned why they
made such returns from such strong Re
publican parishes. They both weakened
under the glazing evidence, and both
drew up and fled official protests against
the honesty of the election, both alleg-
ing such intimidation as prevented the
Republicans voting. On these official
protests and the surrounding facts, the
East Feliciana return of l, 736 for Tilden
and @ for Hayes and the Republican
State ticket was rejected by the Return
ing Board, and several stuffed ballot
boxes of West Feliciana were also re-
jected.
At this point of the case the attentive
reader will ask why the Republican
leaders picked out two of their strong
holds to abandon them to the enemy for
the purpose of crying 6 intimidation
afterwards, and having the Returning
Board reject the returns from them. Is
it probable that the Republicans would
undertake to bite off their own noses in
the silly and absurd way this scoundrel
Anderson asserts? What object would
they have in throwing away their 2, 200
clear majority in the two Feliciana par
ishes? How would it improve their
prospects of carrying the State of Lou
isiana to keep their men from voting in
those parishes? Were they such nat
ural-born fools as to thus play into the
hands of their opponents? The fact of
the matter is, Anderson had sold out his
party in East Feliciana to the bull
dozers. He suppressed the Republican
T1CK6CS, mace no provision LOT receiving
any Republican votes, and, if any were
voted, he connived at their rejection;
and the scoundrel went so far as to GER
tify that the 1,O04 Democrats in the par
ish had polled 1,736 legal votes, while
the 2, 1877 Republicans polled not one
When Anderson returned to New Or
leans and found himself confronted with
the transparent evidence of the grossly
fraudulent election which he had super
vised, he felt constrained to put in
protest against It's legality. He thus
seems to have backed out Of his inten-
ton to aid the Democrats in the enor-
NOUS and unprecedented fraud that had
been committed in the Republican
stronghold.
Both of those men-Anderson and
Weber-by making their protests to the
Returning Board against the frauds, de-
feated whatever scheme had been con-
cocted by the Democrats, and became
Immediately odious to the bulldczers.
In short time thereafter, Weber, on his
return to West Feliciana, was assassinat-
al in oman 7av nv the Democrats THE