The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-05-07


State which he claimed 10 represent. As 70
the debt question, he asserted that the debt OF
the state had been largely increased during
The Administration Of Mr.. Hayes.
The Presidential term which ended
with the veto of the Funding bill began
amid rumors of civil strife. But for the
fast that the war of secession was little
more than ten years behind us, and that
everybody who in 1876 had any part in.
the electoral controversy retained q
vivid remembrance of its peFils and
horrors, nobody can doubt that the in
auguration OF Hayes four years ago
would have been resisted even at the
cost of war. In 1876. however, nobody
seriously thought of fighting, and the
audacious and INSCRIPTIONS leaders OF
the Republican party took advantage OF
this temper of the people to devise and
carry out q scheme of fraud which has
no precedent in our own history or in
the modern history of any civilized Ma
ton.
1t is as much historical fact that
Mr.. Hayes was defeated for the Presi-
dency in 1876 as that General Nice lellan
was defeated in 1864. or Mr.. Seymour
in 1868. or Mr.. Greeley in 1872, and
there is no more reason why the defeat
OF Hayes should now be disputed, ex-
cept by persons who were engaged in
the conspiracy to inaugurate him in
spite of it, than why any other historical
fact should be disputed. Indeed. there
would be no particular reason for now
referring to the fact of his defeat
at the polls had net that fact
exercised controlling influence
upon Mr.. Hayes's whole Adj
ministration. The temper of the DEM
ocratic party during the winter of 1876
n made it necessary for him to give
assurances to its leaders that the local
self-government Of the South should be
secured. These pledges he faithfully
kept during his term, and it is the
keeping of them that has made him
8. moderate - instead of q ssstalwart
Republican. Mr.. Haye is moderate
enough by nature; no man is more so.
But by reason of his very moderation
he would have fallen into the hands of
the stalwarts, and been as clay therein,
if he had not been bound by pledges
which he could neither retract nor dis
regard. If he had been elected by tho
people he would not have found it
necessary to make those pledges, and
there is no reason to suppose that he
would have made them except from
necessity. In the little speech which
he made on the night after the election
of 1876, and in which he acknowledged
his defeat, he observed that It was not
for himself but for the blacklman that
his heart was heavy. The only Repub-
ican method at that time Of sympa-
thizing with the black man was to stay
him with local Offices and to comfort
him with troops, and Mr.. Hayes re-
marks were justly construed as an as
surance that he would have continued to
apply these consultations to the black
man at the cost of the white ii he had
been elected. Yet the first thing which
he actually did when he became Presi-
dent was to withdraw the troops from
the South. 1t is quite true that it
would have been difficult for General
Grant himself to have kept the troops
there much longer than they were re-
tanned. The temper of the country, as
the election of Tlden had shown, was
decidedly opposed to treating the South
as any longer in condition Of tutelage,
and q Democratic Congress, elected also
in consequence of that temper, would
have made it impossible for Hayes to
continue the Southern policy of Grant.
even if he had not found it necessary to
pledge himself not to continue it. Un-
doubtedly it was polite thing for him
to withdraw the troops when he did.
and undoubtedly the withdrawal was
the only public service of any great
moment which Mr.. Hayes has rendered
the country. But the black man, for
whom Mr.. Hayes heart bed in Novem-
Der, 1876, has been in precisely the
same position since March i. 1877, with
the tritiing exception of Whitaker,
which he would have occupied had Mr..
Tilden instead of Mr.. Hayes been in
augurated at that date.
The chief public service which Mr..
HAYES has rendered was thus forced
upon him by the manner in which he
became President. The chief scandals
of his Administrations indeed the only
scandals for which he himself can be
held responsible--were forced upon
MN Dy the same cause. Ahe canvass
ers in Louisiana and Florida who count
ed for Hayes votes that were cast for
Tiiden received offices which have
usually been reserved as rewards for
political services. The visiting states
men" who encouraged them to mis-
count the votes and to certify untruths
were rewarded in the same manner.
The appointment of these men to Office
was virtual confession of the fraud
that was perpetrated on Che people OF
the country. 1t is absurd to suppose
that count of votes conducted on
arithmetical principles entities the voter
to anything at the hands of the person
whom the count shows to have been
elected to public Office. Reward
ing the counters. some of whom
were highly disrepqtable, was
confession that their count
had been conducted on principles other
than arithmetical. This was unpleasant