The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-05-15

fraudulent accounts to court expenditures
When George H. Williams, with the aid of
his wife, conducted what was grotesquely
called the department of justice. the pick
ings of the marshals were very fat When
an election approached, in Louisiana, Pack
ards deputies swarmed like the locusts of
Egypt. As they were all clothed with power
TO make arrests, as they exercised that power
with reckless freedom, they succeeded in
terrorizing the negroes into submission and
making themselves particularly offensive to
the white population.
Henry c. Warnoth was the first chieftain
of the carpetbag dynasty in Louisiana 1t
is roughly estimated that he stole million
dollars during his term of Office as governor
of the ztate, from the beginning of 1863 to
the end of 1872. In the latter year he
shocked his associate thieves by suggesting
that he would like a reelection. They
straightway combined to prevent such
result, and Warmoth, in revenge, made EN-
alliance with the honest citizens of the
state in support of the local demo-
cratic ticket kellogg carried off
the regular republican nomination
but as Warmoth guaranteed
fair election the conservatives came out in
force and elected John McEnery governorof
the. state. The election was set aside by
Durrell, the federal judge, who subsequent
ly sought to escape from the responsibility
of his lawless acts by resigning the office he
had disgraced. The Grant administration
lent Kellogg the army TO support his usurpa-
ton, and though his title was condemned at
one time or another by both houses of con-
gress, he stuck through the full period OF
four years the exact amount of his steal
ings is unknown.
Packard, who had been impatiently wait.
ing for Warmoth and kellogg to fill their
paunches, felt that his time had come in 1876.
Ii was the year of a presidential election.
l..
OF the northern managers to carry out
his designs, and also on generous con-
tributions from their cash boxes As
marshal he expected to intimldate some of
the white voters, and to bulidOze the ne
groes to his hearts content. The machinery
of the election was all in Rellogg,,s
hands, and kellogg was Packard's
bosom friend. The members of the return
ing board had been tested after the election
of 1874, and found equal to the emergency
oH-declariDg that the defeated candidates
were elected. All the preparations were
completed, and Packard entered the canvass
confident of repeating Kellogg's little game.
The election was held, and the democrats
carried the state by 5000 ma
jority. What followed is written
in the history of the electoral
conspiracy, and is known of all men. The
vote was stolen for Hayes but Packard lost
his share of the spoils, and Francis t.
Nichols, the elected governor of.Louisiana
was duly inaugurated. The defeated carpet
/ Dagger was in quandary, with some slight
fear that he would presently find himself in
/ jail He hung around New Orleans till
the last shadow of a chance of asserting
his authority had departed, and then
he made a journey to the north.
He put in an appearance, if we remember
Alright, at the last republican conyen-
/ ton in Iowa, and denounced Hayes policy
! with as much rhetorical bitterness as his
limited knowledge of the English language
would permit. In Washington it is under
/ stood that he made threats OF what he would
do in the event that Hayes refused to recog-
nize his claims. He was an applicant for the
New Orleans collectorship, but it was re-
! fused him, and he received more than a hint
that the fraudulent administration would
have no further dealings with him.
The Florida revelations probably turned
/ the tide In Packard'S favor. Hayes begins to
appreciate that trouble is coming. The men
who conspired with him to cheat the people
are getting dangerous. McLIn's confession,
despite the vigorous efforts to belittle il, mas
stirred the country from centre to circumfer-
ence. Packard could unfold tale even
more startling and suggestive than McLin's.
I To seal his lips and bribe him into silence,
I was, with Hayes, a measure of self defense.
/ He accordingly picked out the best office at
his command and rendered it with his
compliments to Stephen Z. Packard. This
| is civil service reform
1t remains to be seen what course the
senate will pursue in regard to Packard S
appointment. If he is confirmed that body
must share with Hayes the enduring shame
of sending abroad, to the most responsible
consulate in Europe, a thief whose proper
place is the penitentiary. If be is rejected
Packard will probably call the incumbent
of the white house to account for not COM
polling his acceptance, and he may be in
dueed by his disappointment to tell the
true story of the Louisiana frauds. In
either event he promises to remain an oh
ject of more or less public interest after
the other carpet-baggers have passed away.