Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1880-01-01
THE LOUIsIANA ELECTION or
1875.

THE LOUISIANA ELECTION OF
1875.
Jim Anderson Tells why No Votes
were Cast i'm East Feliefana.
The Enterprise, in a recent editorial, in
commenting on the proceedings Of the
Maine Democrats, and comparing it with
the election in Louisiana in 1876, says:
A majority Of the voters in Louisiana in
the spring OF 1876 were Republicans. The
returns showed that in some parishes,
which the previous year had given heavy
Republican majorities, there was in 1876
scarcely q Republican vote cast.
In 1872 Kellogg, the Republican candi-
date for Governor, carried the parish Of
East Feliciana by over LOO majority, and
in 1874 the Republican ticket was elected
by over 800, but in 1876 not q Republican
vote was cast in the entire parish. 1t was
the only parish where such q thing oc-
Cured, and the reading Of the Enterprises
editorial recalls the circumstances con-
nected with that memorable affair.
On the Friday evening preceding the
election of 1876 the writer, who was then
Supervisor of Registration of the parish,
was sent for by the Republican leaders,
who were holding Q consultation in the
Office OF the Tax Collector. There were
present Colonel Frank Powers, James De
Grey, Winans Campbell, P. @. Butler and
one or two others. Powers had been q
Colonel of an Arkansas cavalry regiment
in the Confederate army, had been Colonel
OF the bulldozers' regiment, was credited
with having killed . dozen men, and at
the time mentioned held the position Of
Tax Collector Of the parish under Kellogg.
James De Grey was Deputy Tax Collector,
and undoubtedly the best Of the crowd.
Winans Campbell was a notorious fighter,
and had winged his man on several occa-
sions. p. G. Butler had been q Captain
of cavalry in the Confederate army, had
been Lieutenant Colonel Of the East Felic-
lana bulldozers, and boosted that between
the age Of 10 and 81 be had shot and
stabbed "a men. When wishing to fix .
particular occurrence he would pleasantly
refer to it as having taken place two weeks
before he shot Smith, or ten days after he
had stabbed Jones. Such were the Repub-
lican leaders Of East Feliciana, and they
gathered on the occasion referred to for
the purpose Of mapping out their course
on the following Tuesday.
No man in the parish could vote unless
he held a certificate from the Supervisor,
and voters could be deprived Of the right
of franchise on the most trivial p~retext.
The Supervisor also designated the polling
places, appointed the Commissioners Of
Election, counted the returns from the va
rious precincts and forwarded his returns
to the Returning Board, who acted as 0
Court of Appeal. There we're eight polling
places in East Feliciana, and it was in the
power Of the Returning Board, upon the
Supervisor protesting, to throw out any
number of Democratic polls, count the
Republicans, and thus save any parish or
county they saw fit.
To thoroughly understand the peculiar
state Of affairs at that time it is necessary
to go back to the election of 1874. In the
fall Of that year the Republicans elected q
set Of county officials whose thieving pro-
pensities were never equaled, even in Lou
lsiana. TIL Sheriff was an ignorant, brutal
negro, incapable of writing his own name,
and the balance of the ticket was scarcely
better. They had hardly been installed in
Office before they entered upon a career Of
intolerance and oppression that would not
have been borne a day outside of Louisiana.
The people realized that their reputation as
l~aw-abiding citizens was at stake and toler-
ated the thieves, for they also proved to be
thieves Of the most unblushing character,
until forbearance ceased to be q virtue, and
they were driven from the parish. The
colored people were anxious to educate their
children, but the school fund had disap.
peared with the officials in question. The
better class of colored men decided that
there was but one way to better matters,
and that was to rid the State Of Kellogg's
crowd, and the only way to do that was at
the polls, and so in 1876 many of them de-
termined to vote the Democratic ticket.
The writer firmly believes that had it
been possible to have separated the State
from the National ticket, Hayes would have
carried the State by a large majority. This
was impossible, however, and through the
manipulations Of Kellogg's gang, Packard
apparently secured a larger vote than the
National ticket.
The meeting IN question was called for
the purpose of devising some means OF
saving the parish for the Republicans. 1t
was conceded that the Democrats would
carry it by a majority ranging from 1900
to 1900. Powers, whose Office was worth
SIC, 900 per annum, was anxious to secure
the two members of the Legislature, in
order to help Kellogg's election to the Sem
ate, and to secure himself should Packard
carry the State. This, according to his
programme, could easily be done. The
Republicans would rally and carry onepoll,
and the remainder were to be thrown out
by the Returning Board, upon the protest
of the writer.
Approaching Powers motives, and not
caring to be a party to such a transaction,
we declined to accede to this modest re-
quest, and a general discussion as to our
course, and what should be done, followed,
and at Powers request we submitted our
| views, which were about as follows:
Every election since the passage OF the
| reconstruction acts had been contested.
Charges of bribery, corruption and in
timidation had SO often been made that
| they fell fiat on the Northern mind. As
| Supervisor we would the election and
make our returns accordingly. But what
would be the effect on the North if, in q
| parish that had gone largely Republican
heretofore, not o single Republican vote
was cast on election day? We left those
assembled to draw their W differences
and departed. That night couriers
were sent over the parish, and the Repub-
licans instructed to remain at home. No
| ticket was placed in the field, and on the
day of election not a Republican ballot was
cast in the parish. Even Powers and his
associates, who feared neither God, man or
devil, refrained from voting.
And on this trick the whole Presidential
election turned. 1t was in vain the Demo-
Gratis asserted hat it was a scheme to in
fluence public opinion. Northern Repub-
licans would not, or did not care to believe
it, and the action of the Returning Board
in throwing out the 1880 Democratic ma
jority was fully justified.
But the Board decided that a protest
must be had, in order to apparently COM
ply with the law. The story Of the
forged protests of East and West Feliciana,
by which $500 Democratic majority was
turned into 500 Republican, is a matter Of
history.
OF the men interested in that affair, Don
| Weber, the Supervisor of West Feliciana,
| ia rotting in the swamps of Louisiana, his