The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-02
THE ARM Y.
THE RRPUBLICAN MANAGERS ANX-
IOUS TO USE THE ARMY IN
TEE SOUTH.
The Kind of Campaign they Propose to
Garry On in southern Negro
Districts.

Some days ago MIR. Ellis SJabeu III I'll"
House that he had knowledge Of a design on
the part of the Radical managers to employ
the troops Of
THE REGULAR ARMY IN CERTAIN CONGRESS
stoNAL DISTRICTS IN THE SOUTH,
about twenty in number, for old fashioned
political purposes. This announcement cOu-
pied with expressions from other quarters to
the same purpOrt, undoubtedly had much to
tO with ralIying tho Democrats In the House
and enabled them to beat Radical amend
ment fixing the strength Of the army at
$4,000 men. Tho result is that the original
plan Of reduction Of the force to 10000 will
be persisted in and probably carried il the
House does not weaken at the last moment In
case of an amendment In the Senate restoring
the force TO Is 900 These points. however, are of
but little Importance to the South. So far as
purely political purposes are concerned,
regular army OF 10000 can accomplish about
as much Us ono OF $4,000. II the question
were one Of the mere physical force Of the
attachments that arc employed for political
duty it would take 100000 regulars to do the
work that has in the past frequently been ac
compIished by u dozen companies. The mis-
chief Of using troops for political service In
strength Of the attachments themselves, but
in the fact that they represented the vast and
Indefinite resources of the Federal govern
ment behind them and the fact that collision
with them meant the beginning of q new war
of eubjugation. Under these circumstances
numbers ceased to be an item Of Importance.
With half Il dozen Carpet-bag Governors
scattered through tho South to go through
with the constitutional forms Of calling on
the Federal Executive for military assistance
in "suppressng domestic viOlenCo too power
full to be dealt with by tho State authorities"
acCording'to the stereotyped formula Of the
old fashioned prOClamatiOns, and with Grant
in the White House to respond there was no
difficulty in reducing the South to q state Of
siege whenever there was n close election.
But now the case is altered Ellis indeed
stated Il fact when hG said that tho Radical
managers entertained
A DESIGN OF DRAGOONING THE SOUTH
over again this fall in the fOrlOrn hope Of
CARRYING Southern districts enough to restore
the control of the House to the Radicals. But
the Radicals themselves counted without
their host and reckOned without taking aC-
count Of obstacles. These will appear from
the subOnGd notes OF q conversation had
to-day on that subject with one Of the highest
law officers Of the government,
Referring to the remark attributed to Mr..
Ellis, asked this law officer whether, in case
Mr.. Hayes should be disposed to adopt the
tactics of his predecessor, 1t would be posi-
bile to locate troops at points in the South and
handle them 80 rs to derive political results
from their presence.
He said he had not heard Of any such In
tentiOn.
said, Suppose such was the intention
could it be carried OutF'
He then went on to say that there were
1tftrv Of hH- hn AEI hnT
stations, not counting the cavalry on the Rio
Grande, and that these troops could be or
dered to any given point to enforce the laws
of the United States upon call in proper
form by the United States marshal.
But" said l. that power relates solely to
the enforcement Of processes Of the United
States courts does it not 7"
Ordinarily it does" said he, "but second
arily 1t appertains to all
THE DUTIES OF A MARsHAL's POSSE"
"Yes," replied, "but my point Is partiCu-
larly this: Under tho Grant regime the es-
tablished method Of dragoOnng an cleo
ton was for the Governor, like Chamber
lain Of South Carolina, to call on the Pres
ident for Federal assistance to suppress do
mestiC violence too formidable to be handled
by the forces of the State. Then Grant would
issue his celebrated copy Of Major Pitcairn g
proclamation ut Concord Bridge century
ago, Lay down your arms, you rebels
Lay down your arms and disperse; the said
dispersion being impossible because there
was never any assembled body to disperso.
Then martial law would be proclaimed and
the State or district would go Radical as q
matter Of course. no matter how the votes
were cast. Now, what | want to know is,
whether the same sort OF business could be
carried on under the authority OF United
States marShalS in the absence OF calls for
assistance from the governors OF States"
II do not admit your premises rejOined
nay friend, but speaking generally, should
say that the power OF United States mar
Al f,NF+ flInTN
far as the enforcement Of the laws OF the
United States was concerned"
Then" said |, let me understand you.
Suppose Jack Wharton should conclude to
carry ACklen's district for the Radical party
suppose in order to accomplish that pur-
pose he should need to station u few cOmpa-
MES of Federal troops around through Ack-
lens parishes; could he get them and have
them placed Mt his royal discretion without
any process or formality Of lHw2 That is tC
say, without any voucher as to the uses to
which the troops were to be devoted, beyond
his own call for them, and his own statement
Of some pretcxt to that end ?"
well, If the marshal should be ordered by
the court to serve wrtS, az, for example, war
rants Of arrest for violations Of the United
States law relating to elections for members
of Congress, and If this service should be re-
sisted, his call for troops would be sustained
by the department.
This terminated the conversation. The i'm
preston left upon my mind was that the
Radicals intend to select fifteen or twenty O
the principal
NEGRO DISTRICTS
in Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and
Alabama and about six weeks before election
to get out an avalanche Of warrants from the
United States courts, as they did in the Sum
ter District Of Alabama when | was down
there for the st. Louis Republican, four years
ago These warrants you will remember
were based upon manufactured affldavits, anC
the victims were dragged off two or three
hundred miles for examination" kept there
until after the election and then released
without even the farce of a trial. This is a
suggestive outline Of
THE PLAN TO WEIGH ELLIS REFERRED.
Whether it can be made to work or not re-
mains to be seen. But that it has beer
earnestly discussed 10y the Radicals as EN-
bodying the sole phantom of hope they have
to carry the next House is beyond doubt
Under such circumstances the question
arises. how many Federal troops would i