The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-06-29

during her first marriage as Eliza Pinkston,
will not take it amiss that we couple her
name above with that of Mrs. Agnes jerks.
The simultaneous reappearance OF these two
notable characters must be an excuse, and
we will at once do Mrs. Pritchard, formerly
Mrs. Pinkston, the justice to declare our
belief that on the whole she is far the most
reputable of the two women.
While Mrs. jerks was amusing herself at
the expense of the Potter committee and
innocently giving the public an insight into
the various and curious system Of rascality
which passed current in Louisiana as repub-
lican politics, HERALD reporter was en-
gagged in conversation with the famous Eliza
Pinkston. The tragic appearance Of this
poor woman before the Returning Board
and the visiting statesmen, in 1876, has
hardly been forgotten by anybody. Weak,
scarcely able to speak, stretched upon
sota she was suddenly but tenderly brought
into the room where Wells and Anderson
were pretending to count the vote OF Lou
isiana, and being questioned she gave in
low tones and apparently with extreme
an account of brutal and cold
blooded act Of assassination and out
rage of which she and her husband
had been the victims at the hands OF DEM
ocratic bull-dozers in Ouachita parish. The
manner OF her introduction, her appearance
of suffering and exhaustion, and the story
she told, produced, rs was not unnatural,
4 o. At. ~
ocrats as we'll as republicans declared that
this kind Of thing would not do. For the
moment nobody doubted the truth of her
tale, for was she not there herself, wounded,
SCARED, suffering, to tell it? When the Re-
turning Board made that awkward dis
covery of the insertion in parish return
of protest dated ten days after the return
was mailed, the ready-witted Mr.. Stoughton
came promptly to the rescue with the i'm
mortal remark that "Here is evidently a
clerical error" but when Eliza Pinkston
testified from her sofa no democratic
Stoughton was there to throw doubt upon
her story. Very soon it was pronounced on
positive evidence to be false; but it was
then too late; Eliza had disappeared and
was supposed to have died Of her injuries,
and her tale remained as convenient cam
paign document.
But it seems that, far from dying, she
recovered, married again, removed to Mis-
true story of her appearance before
the Returning Board. The sworn state
ments of Eliza, her present hus-
band and several other persons, are
printed elsewhere, and will be read with
interest. Eliza relates that she received
five hundred dollars for her appearance
and testimony; that she was carefully in
structed what to say before the visiting
statesmen; that though entirely able to
walk she was laid on sofa when she was
about to enter the chamber of the Return
ing Board; that her testimony was false;
that her husband was murdered and she
was assaulted, ntt by democrats as she tes-
titled then, but, as she has always believed,
by colored man who had threatened to
kill her husband, and that the quarrel had
nothing to do with politics
This is her present story, freely commune
Gated TO HERALD correspondent who had
the natural curiosity to hunt her up and
question her about an event which the
adroitness Of the Louisiana republican
politicians has made almost historical. 1t
will be noticed that her present husband,
Prtchard, testifies that it is the version
which he has always heard from her. 1t is
confirmed further by the fact that though
Il .ltcc<, rar,a;oad GOvavpor cf Touic;ano
until the LIST of the January following
Eliza's dramatic appearance, and though he
had not only his own metropolitan policet to
send all over the State, and his own courts,
but also the help Of. United States
troops, no attempt was ever made to bring
to justice the persons who were supposed to
be the authors Of shocking outrage. Eliza
Pinkston dropped out Of sight as soon as
Mr.. Kellogg's friends were done with her.
But We do not wish to give undue impor-
tance TO this poor womlns latest statement.
True or false accurate or inaccurate, it is
useful chiefly to show once more the kind
of means used by handful Of conspirators
against good government in Louisiana to
keep that great and rich State in their own
control. Eliza Pinkston, Anderson, jerks
and Mrs jerks, Darrall, Pitkin, such we're
the chosen instruments of Kellogg, Pack
ard and Madison Wells; aud whether
their first or their last tale is false,
whether anything they say can be believed,
their testimony in any case puts the fatal
stigma Of low and vulgar roguery upon the
republican managers in Louisiana. The re-
suits attained by the Potter committee may
disappoint politicians, but they are Of real
Importance to tho country, because they
show the base character Of the men who, in
the name Of the republican party, manipu-
lated the politics Of one Of the greatest and
richest States of the Union, as gamblers
load dice and stock cards.
Aa.s.1,e IaxLs Elix. ID sal.cIcsa