Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1879-12-15

Maine aAd Louisiana.
There seems to be no doubt now bu
What the election fraud started !
Maine will be fully carried out and tn
will Of the people Of that State will b
completely overriddsn. Judge Virgil
mas refused the writ of mandamus ask
cd for against the Secretary Of State t
compel that officer to exhibit ths cleo
sion returns Of members Of the Legis
nature, on the ground that the return
are not in his custody but In the Gus
tedy Of the Governor, and now 1t is
matter of discretion whether the Stat
officers who are the returning board
hsus certificates of election TO those WHIT
wore elected or not. There Is no dispute
that the Rspu blicans elected large
majority Of the members Of the Legis
lsture Of both houses, but owing 4
some little technical error in signing
the returns either by the whole or 4
portion Of the board Of election officers.
il Is resolved to throw out enough Of
kspublicans 80 returned ~ will leave a
Democratic and Grssnbaok majority. in
the Legislature. This action will give
- fraudulent majority in both
branches the right to decide upon con-
tested seats, and, Of course the fraudu.
lent Legislators will not decide against
themselves. This will also insure the
reelection Of all the present State
sfiosrs, though Davis, Republican beat
the next highest candidate At the last
election over twenty thousand votes
and the next highest over ffty-thous-
and, but Davis happened to lack few
hundred votes Of getting majority over
ell the others put together, and hence
failed Of an election by the people. ALI
shis 1t is feared is bat the least fraud
contemplated. 1t is believed that when
the Legislature is filed mp by members
never elected that they will elect Dem
scratio Presidential electors thereby
cheating the people ont Of the right to
vote At the Presidential election. This
would give to the Democrats one State
% and seven electoral votes to help to
make the forty-ssven 80 much needed
from the North. This will all be done
under law full Of little technicalilies
liable to be misconstrued, and through
lust such little iDs:rumentalities the
people of the State Of Maine are to be
defrauded and disfranchised. There
are influential papers also, amongst
which are the so-called independent
press, which, while condemning the
fraud in Maine, say that it is but the
counterpart of the frauds committed by
the Republicans in Louisiana in 1876
when that State was counted for Hayes.
The comparison is a most unlucky one
70 make for those who are wilfully
blind. Maine and Louisiana are both
Republican States, at least it cannot be
successfully contradicted that they each
would give large Republican msjorities
II not interfersd with. True there Is
NO bulldozipy nor intimidation in Maine
and that State has never failed 10 cast
more votes for the Republican candidate
than for any other, but owing to ma
jority over all being required to elect,
the Democracy and the Greenbackers
by . COLE bination Of action after the
elections wers over have been enabled
for the sake of securing the State Offices,
TO cheat the Republicans out Of
their victory. This year the COM
bination has not bsen 80 sue.
eessful, the Republicans having car
ried a large msjority Of the Legislature
and almost elected their Governor by a
majority vote. 1t ia this victory that
is to be overturned. Garcslon, the
Democratic candidate for Governor, is to
he re- elected after enough Republicans
have bsen thrown out of the Legislature
TO leave combination majority in it
10 effect that purpose. In Louisiana
the case is far different. The Repnbli-
cans in that State are in larger ma
jority than in Maine, but by the aid of
the White Lsague organizations, shot
guns, intimidation, murders aud out
RACES, Republicans could not vote for
fear Of losing their lives and hence a
Democratic majority was returned. But
when the constitution of Louisiana was
formed, this very thing was foreseen
and provided for. An election return
ing board was provided for and empow
cred with the authority to throw out
the vote of all places where intimida-
tion was used against voters that they
could not with safety vote. The return
ing board of 1876 acted under this law
and simply did no more than their duty
In . lawful manner. They threw out
whole Parishes that gave solid Demo
cratic vote in which it was well known
that there were three times as many
Republicans a. Democrats but who dared