The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-02-14
THE RETURNING BOARD TRIALS.

Our dispatches from the North Of the last
few days have teerned with SO many illusions
to matters growing out of the electoral con-
spiracy Of last winter, that 1t becomes our duty
to discuss them and to sound a note of warning
against whatappears to be another conspiracy
on the part Of the same persons to obstruct
the course Of Justice and enforce immunity for
their confederates in the crime of a year ago
the Returning Board of Louisiana.
The whole country knows that but for the
encouragement they received from the visit
ing statesmen who came here at the sugges-
tion OF Gen. Grant, Che members Of our Re
turning Board would never have ventured, by
suppression Of votes, forgery and subornation
of perjury, to deliberately nulify the will of
a vast majority of the American people and
foist into the presidential chair candidate
Overwhelmingly condemned and repudiated
by the free voters of this republic. They know
that to trample under foot and spit upon the
people Of this crushed and bleeding State. and
to rob and despoil them of their dearest rights
and privileges, was . gleeflll pastime and
biennial ecstacy Of the leaders of the Radical
party Of Louisiana. but every one felt, and no
one more strongly than Grant and his political
"
tonal Republican party would be required to
infuse into the Returning Board sufficient au-
dacity and nerve for the preparation of the
greatest outrage ever attempted upon the
rights Of free people It was therefore
resolved to send to this city q number
of Republican politicians of national fame
and large following. to aid and abet the
returning officers in the gigantic crime which
they were called upon to commit. Chief
among these statesmen" and the head devil
Of the infamous conspiracy, was John Sher-
man. To his cold blooded and viltainous en-
enlargement Of the acts of Wells. Anderson 4
Co., the country owes the installation of
Hayes as presidential ruler over people who
had repudiated him at the polls, and he has
received from the creature of his INSCRIPTIONS
vilainy the reward hecoveted the Secretary
ship Of the Treasury. This Is the plain truth
Every intelligent man in the United States
knows it. and no one better than Mr.. Hayes
himself, however much he may try to conceal
his knowledge Of the conspiracy through which
he reached the presidential chair by an affec-
tation Of guleless innocence. No stronger
proof was needed of his thorough apprecia-
ton OF the fraudulent methods which elevated
him to his present position than the anxiety he
displayed to conclate the party which elected
Tilden by abandoning the cardinal doctrine of
Capitalization Of the Radical party. and hasten
ing to accord to Louisiana and South Carolina
their constitutional right Of self-government.
The people OF this State were well disposed
to give to Mr.. Hayes all the credit he could
justly claim for his conduct towards them,
and the DEMOCRAT was the first paper of the
South to urge a cordial support Of his admin-
istration in every measure designed for the
public good. But we never for one moment
advocated a conformation Of the crimes that
had been committed by the Returning Board
and their abettors against civil liberty and
republican government. We held and hold
now. that the peaceful submission by the
American people to the installation into
Office, by gross and unblushng fraud
of a candidate repudiated by the people,
was the deepest wound ever inflicted upon the
Republic and an act fraught with the gravest
danger to our institutions "a greater calamity
than dozen civil wars, because it argued
that indifference to thoprinciples Of free gov
eminent (Which is the first step toward self
enslavement. But we were powerless in the
councils of the nation and contented ourselves
with the mere expression of our views.
Towards the Returning Board, however, we