The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1882-11-25


restoration of personal and political
against the leaders of the Radical parry,
corruption. He said the war had ceased,
and it was time that it's penalties should
be removed; that amnesty should be
extended to all, and that men born and
reared in the State of Missouri who
owned It's land and property and paid it's
taxes, should enjoy the privileges guar
they were born, and have once more the
rights of freemen. Placing himself at
the head of the party holding the same
of its citizens, although the penalty he
paid was that from a strong Radical
State Missouri became Democratic one.
shown himself to be fully qualified to
be a leader in this great movement
which has been inaugurated for reform.
hsse Ss Da%ss are to
party. They could have had but little
smppe1Ett tihIeeughout the length and
Of the %sre they not So
he would not remain in the field except.
party. If they are as sgecessful as
OVER thTeep mlllion Demoeratio se Sotes
and three or four hundred Thousand
Republican votes. The Radical party is
riyeted together by links of steel-so
bound in oath-bound and secret assocla-
tions, and by the power of public plum
port of the most disfnterested and pure
men of that party. In the South, and
especially in this State. whom we look
who are to carry this State for them. we
are forced to depend entirely on the
conservative ranks of the people who
Blair. We find but a handful among the
Republicans who are disposed to unite
with us in this crusade against Grant
And here wish to draw distinction
between our national and State positions.
We are asked, in order to bring this
solely by personal motives-to us, to sur
render our organization into their hands,
although our national organization re-
Thousand Republicans. Because we CON
sent as in duty bound, to accept the
nominations of our national party, we
cation to a handful of men Whose
only claim is that they were the earliest
advocates of Greeley and Brown in Lou
best. No good could be achieved BY the
early advocacy Of any candidate in the
South. We in the South are as certain
other candidate that could be nominated
by the Democratic Convention. It was
for the great States of the North and
decided we accepted their decision, for
we feel they acted for the best after due
deiII6eTatlon, gn n and anconz
from the Democracy of the South,
Before the Baltimore nominations, the
Democratic and Reform parties, which
comprised nearly the entire conservative
vote of Louisiana, called thelr conven-
tions, to meet in New Orleans, for the
purpose of placing in the field a State
ticket for your sutfrages. These two
conventions met in june last, Their his,
tory is familiar to you all. They labored
honestly for week; The Democratic
were members, was composed of the very
best men in tim ranks of that party. I
have attended several and have never
seen SO much ability or patriotic devotion
to the interests of the people, SO much
calm elaboration OF SO much indisposi-
ton to embark hastily in any enter
Many of its delegates were also credited
to the Reform Convention. They had
hardly assembled before resolutions
ference should be appointed between
the Democratic and Reform Conven-
tions. These committees also were
izations in The State, to see if a union
could be formed between all the ele-
ments OF opposition to the Radical
mittees were for days in anxious de.
liberation, and finally reported to the
Democratic Convention, on the last day
of it's session, after the delegates had
been there a week and anxious to re-
turn to their homes, the result of their
deliberations-that they had been in
session with the conference committee
of the Reform party and acted in
full harmony throughout that they
had meetings with different committees
from the Republican or Liberal Re-
publican parties of the State of Louisi-
ana-they were at that time divided into
three or four organizations, and none
of them at that time had assumed the
title of :" Liberal party" The committee
reported that after q conference
with the committee of the Liberal Re-
pubhcans, they We're unable to agree
with them on any of the propositions
the Democratic and Reform parties
could not accept with honor: and being
unable to form any honorable coalition
without surrendering the rights entrust-
ed to them, OF without forming what
they considered a dishonorable coalition,
they concluded the only course to pur-
sue was to nominate State ticket in
conjunction with the Reform party, and
such a ticket was presented to the Demo-
cratic Convention. That was rejected.
Every gentleman who was on the floor
will bear me out in the assertion that at
the time that report was rejected, if it
could have been divided, SO that the
question could simply have been submit
ted to that Convention, whether the
committee of conference had exhausted
every honorable means for the union of
the liberal parties of the State and
the report would have been adopted in
that Convention almost by reclamation
But the report was coupled with the
nomination of n State fiClSat and