The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-13
THE ELECTORAL COUNT.
THE INVESTIGATION or THE PREsz,
Dental EI,KCTuON THREAT
ENED ny THE RADICALS

gafaon To Go On, and AN the
Frauds 'of the Count To
Ne Exposed.
Especial Correspondence of the Demoerat.l
WASHINGTON, January 10. 1878.
Tsr BAD rAITH OF THE AMERICAN POLITICIAN
has long been among the proverbs. How to
dodge the logic OF record most nimbly. and
how most adroitly to evade the consistency OF a
career are become the problems u mastery of
which constitutes the accomplishment Of states
mansbip. These truisms are now about to re-
ceive new exemplifcaton. There is no mis-
taking the portent OF tho signs Of the times: for
blind man might SEQ them a deaf man hear.
and q wayfariDg man. though fool might read
and understand them.
A YEAR AGO
the American people were confronted with the
possibility Of revolution. A President had been
elected by fair majority in the Electoral Col
lege and an overwhelming preponderance of
the popular vote. The defeated candidate had &C.
knowledged his defeat. and with very few ex-
ceptiens the men composing the party which
had been beaten with him. made the same admis-
sion and resigned themselves to the thought of
abdioatipg the power they had enjoyed for six
teen years. All at once the wires flashed over
u
been formed to reverse the will OF the people.
and to count In the defeated candidate. Then
began
THREE STATES.
which Il was necessary for the consprators to
seize In order to obtain bare majority of one
for the defeated candidate. This struggle was
characterized by a reoklessness of crime and
hardihood of contempt for law. honor and NOR
ality among men OF the very highest station
that would have made the monsters of the
French halt and hold their breath with envy In
the palmiest day OF the Reign of Terror. Step
by step the forces OF the conspiracy beat back
the powers of the people, until at last the object
Of Fraud approached contamination. Bribery,
perjury and forgery had done their work and
at the last moment the cry was raised that the
people, betrayed by those whom they had trust
ed. must take their rights into the keeping of
their own strong hands. This cry was met by
the softest persuasives of the conspirators ut
tered in the mellowest accents. Peace is better.
even with submission as it's price," they said
than assertion of right at the possible cost of
blu1d. Let us inaugurate this man whom we
hav6Nounted in aud you shall have four years
Of Qzliet plenty and rest from the turmois of
tened. and Mr.. Hayes was inaugurated. When
he rode from the VIII to House to the Capitol
that Monday morning. with cannon in front OF
him and cannon to the rear of him. the one
consideration which averteh from him that
bullet which / believe the genius of our free.
dom keeps eyer ready for the head OF the
usIrper, was that
HAYES MEANT PEACE.
and that was powerful argument to address
to o people whose hpt blood had been 80 re
Gently drained to the the last drop in fratricidal
threats for the duarrels of these politicians: :
agreed upon among themselves, for they have
promised not to disturb 1t again"
Mr.. Hayes was inaugurated. He knew that he
hadnot been elected. but he had been counted in
by virtue OF an arrangeme mt which had about 1t
the color or the savor Of law, and he took upon
himself the Of executing those
nasedness g s Of his usSarpation The notion that
roar and tribqlation 70 be providental in,
strument for the paciacation of distracted
country filed the mind Of Mr.. Hayes. One even.
found Mr.. Hayes seated in the midst of his
family. upon. the rear .portico: made some
jocose allusion, to that celebrated knife
the boot leg OF that sanguinary assassin.
,Donn Platt to which Mr.. Hayes responded that
he would try to make his ADMINISTRATION one OF
olive branches and not OF knives, or words to
that effect. From the day Of hi- inauguration
to this he has acted In the spirit of thar mot.
He may have blundered sometimes. his instru:
ments may not have been uniformly we'll
chosen, his methods may not have been always
well advised; but his purpose has been stead
fast, and taxing the sum total toge her. he has
notbeen unsuccessful SO far AS the people are
concerned.
HE HAS NOT. HOWEVER. PACIFIED THE poL1TI-
CLANS.
who counted him In. The masses Of the people
acdutesced in his inauguratiun. accepted his
declarations of policy. and second his acts.
The leaders OF the Dem Ncracy, whose rixhts his
counting in had outraged. were quiescent for the
sake OF the peace that he promised and ack-
nowiedged eachact of fulfillment as 1t trans
pred But one element remained unpacifed
strange to say. this element was composed OF
me very men who had most loudly argued that
FRAUD meant peace and ,thah submission to the
success OF their conspiracy was the only escape
Stranger still is the fact that the attempts of
Mr. Hayes to make good their own pledges Of
peace was what set these men al war again. The
people had expected that this
CONGRESS
would put the past behind it, draw veil over
what was shameful, keep discreet silence about
whaS the nation might be dshonoreJ by the tell
Ing od ana a aeXote t Its energies to the maeria
Congress settled into its seat when the
interests Of the country are brushed asi5a
the pledges of peace forgotten. and a ses ions
the last session did.
THE ELECTORAL COUNT rs TO DE INVESTIGATED.
Mr.. Hayes is to be removed from the Office to
which he was not elected. All the, dreary
ground of last winters long battle must be q ne
s 70 dfgse HsM to light and
no douot that next March will find Congress in
another wrangle as d.sgraceful aud tha country
in another turmoil as distracfing us that which