The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-03-12

feCtly peaceful anu 1alf. - Inc RepuDllCanS, IN
order to overcome this majority, then Esurped
powers not given to them.
In support of this the report cites the find
ing Of the Hoar, Wheeler and Frye committee,
that the returning board had no power to dis
card votes where protests, as required by law,
had not accom- panied returns, no instance of
which occurred at this election. Notwith-
standing this, the returning board decided to
discard the necessary number of Democratic
votes As a pretext for this usurpation they
obtained protests from certain parishes which
they picked out parishes in which to pretend
had taken place. These parishes
were all largely of negro population, which the
Democrats had fairly carried.
The report then deals with the question of |
intimidation, and argues that it was impossible |
for the Democrats to gain anything by it, be- |
cause the returning BOARD had been credited on |
purpose to neutralize any such action by !
throwing out votes in localities where it should
prevail. 1t recites the outrageous conduct of the
same returning board in that respect in 1874,
and how it's action had been condemned by the |
Forty-third CONGRESS, giving instances where
they had counted in officials without color of
had caused to be turned out and their places
given to Democrats, tho Democrats knowing
that they not only could gain nothing by in
timidation, but that they could only hope for
some show of justice by avoiding anything
which might be made pretense for alleging it.
made throughout the State by Democrats to
conciliate the black vote, showing by the evil
dence of Republican witnesses as we'll as the
testimony of gentlemen of character, as we'll
as Gov. White6eld, how the planters combined
with the negroes to get up clubs of both. colors,
made to the negroes even to equality in cars,
theatres, ETC., for outrunning Republicans.
The leaders having Joined the Democrats, the
whole mass of negroes came in and became
quite enthusiastic supporters. and thus the vote
in some of the so-called bulldozing parishes
was the very largest cast.
The report states that after the Democrats
had conciliated the negroes in East Feliciana
Kellogg wanted Anderson, who was supervisor,
to have no election and Anderson fraudulently
ran away with that view to furnish an excuse
for throwing the parish out. The parish was
thrown out because the supervisor of registra-
| ton absented himself on election day, notwith-
| standing other officers held the election and
| made one return of the vote. The Democrats
| in East Feliciana knowing that they had cap
tured the negro vote, hired Anderson to 60
back and hold an election. The Republicans
| then hit upon new plan, and directed their
| friends in the parish not to vote, to pre-
! tend intimidation and exclude the parish.
| They sent out word to their followers not to
come to the polls, refused to permit any tickets
| to be printed and circulated and
exercised their influence to withhold their own
votes were cast, and four hundred and ffty-one
| which Anderson had prevented from being reg
| istered, made about twenty-three hundred votes
cast, all Democratic, but not one Republican
would vote, though urged to do so. The whole
| vote of the parish at the previous elections, on
| both sides, had not exceeded twenty FIVE hum
dred. The Republicans, who purposely with
held casting any vote at all, subsequently
made claim that they had been inundated
and could not vote, and the returning board, on
this pretext, purposely prearranged excluded
the vote of fhe parish.
The report then refers to the supplementary
| papers obtained from Anderson and Dan
Webster, both of whom were known by Re-
| publioans to be for sale that after these SUI
| pervisors had made returns that there was no
violation in the parishes, they were induced to
make supplementary protests, and that they
both confessed they did this because Of reward.
In other parishes where officers had seen and
certified to perfectly fair election, Kellogg by
the pressure exerted procured like false reports.
The report then goes on to state how the re-
turning board having got possession Of such
unlawful protest proceeded to take the evi.
dence of United States officers, and money be-
ing used TO bring ignorant negroes from the
" interior fe ds into great city where they were
herded together. taken before officials and haC
affdavits written. drawn for them, to which
upon making their marks they received theil
fees and and were sent home. The process Of
show how the negroes were imposed upon. anC
how worthless the affidavits were. As an illus
tration Of how utterly reckless the returning
board was in considering evidence, it points
OUT that in East Feliciana only twenty fou
witnesses to any kind of disturbance could b.
called. The disturbances to which they testi
he'd to had arisen from cotton seeds and othe
, thefts by negroes and their suppression, whicl
had been conducted by leading Republicans
, had nothing to do with politics., and although
this and the fact that the election was entirel.
peacable and Republicans purpOsely refused t.
vote was shown by twelve hundred witnesses
: and although four-fifths of the negroes in tn
.. narish actually did vote with Democrats tn
! turning board threw out the whole vote.
The report points out great many other in
ances OF what it styles the fraudulent, out
ageous and desperate character of the retu! n
; ing board, and shows the imposs1bility of thei
considering the testimony before them, as the
> had more than could be read by man, readin
ten hours a day, in two weeks, when they wen
into consultation. The next day their intend
ed decision was known, and indeed never ha
been in doubt. everything connected wit
them being a travesty on justice and shown
= how absolutely abased and unscrupulous the
were.
. It then refers to the Sherman letter. in rf
/ gard to which it simply states the facts the
o stand, showing that a letter was actually wri
: ten and largely Influenced political action i
b ton to the attempt in the interest of Sherma
It by Mrs. jerks, whose husband and brother al
d employees of the treasury department, to il
IS duce the committee to produce forged lie
d ter.
The Florida portion of the letter is followe
a by list of all persons connected with tt
It election there who have been appointed I
e Office, and the Louisiana part by still longt
it list of persons in that State appointed to ofic
9 The third part of the report deals with til
U forged Louisiana electoral certificates. It tel
" how the Vice President having refused the frs
u certificates, the Republicans secretary man,
factured another, antedating it, and made
d in paper and printing to resemble the one pr
It viously made; how having very little time
e prepare it, and it being impossible to get a
e the electors to New Orleans to sign it With
that time, it became necessary tie forge the si
IS natures of two absentees; that thus there we
L put to tho triplicate paper eighteen forged si
E. natures, which were attached on Decem b.
rs 29th, in a small upper room in the State bull
n ing then in charge of Conquest Clark; on tt
1T making Of this second certificate, it was CO.
I'd cealed until it was produced before Congress
a. how when it was referred to the electoral cor
n mission, it was not read but ordered printe
as and the printer was charged and the elector
m commission were served with the printed copi
IF tho forced certifcata narfoct IN f,rn, n,