The Wilmingtonian., 1884-11-15
A MEMORY OF '76.
The Parallelism of the eTilden-Hayes
Campaign and the Present One.

L
t 1t was past one o'clock on Tuesday night
. Nov. 4th 1876, bulletins had been success.
lively coming in, showing "Tilden,' "Til.
dea, "Tilden, with increasing maiorities.
f AT length the last telegram had come in
for the night giving Tilden 1s5 electoral
votes and Hayes 1S4, This had been ac-
cepted as the last assuring evidence, in con-
nection with the steady manner that the
Democratic majorities mad been announced,
J that Samuel ]. 1lden was the president
elect.
Citizens had commenced slowly to leave
the telegraph office and bulletin boards for
their homes. Suddenly the attention of the
belated news-hunters wandering homeward
along Market street was arrested by small
knot of citizens who appeared greatly inter
ested in whatever matter it was that engaged
their attention. On joining the group the
intense interest betrayed in their faces as
]
Gated that something Important was being
discussed. 1t was ascertained that rumor
existed that the wires had been ''tapped'
catching the following telegram from Wash
ington: "HOld back Louisiana, Florida, and
South Carolina"
There was the greatest agitation, and the
most pronounced indignation was freely ex-
pressed at the possibility of such an outrage
being perpetrated as that of any Washington
authority interfering with election matters
in the Southern States.
In connection with the above is the histor-
ieal sequel of thePresident Gen. Grant)per-
soEal interference with the domestic affairs
of Louisana.-How that 10000 votes of |
Louisiana were thrown ont in order to re- |
duce Tilden's plurality in that state-uow |
that General Grant in his official capacity as |
President of the United States issued such |
orders as that the Legislature of Louisiana |
was arbitrarily changed from its Democratic
to Republican complexion, in order to
enable electoral returns favorable to the
Republican party to be sent Congress from
the Louisiana Legislature The modus
operandj of this most disgraceful of all out
RACES ever pe-petrated upon the American
people is as follows. Through the President
of the United States such orders were issued
to the Department Commander in the South,
General De Trobriand that seven Democratic
Representatives of the Louisiana Legislature
were inveigled from the House just before
organization, Ike doors The Hes.za sf Ise y
resentatves of the State of Louisiana were
then closed by order of General De Tro-
brand, and guarded by Federal soldiers
armed for duty, further ingress or egress
being barred by the bare bayonets of SOL
diers. Meanwhile the members within had
organized for the election of Senator The
Infamous William Pitt Kellogg was by the
means of this nefarious conspiracy elected a
Senator. The desired result of majority in
the Senate being thus gained, the false re-
turns of the Louisiana Returning Board
were sent to Congress, with the certificate of
a false Legislature, acting in direct opposition
and in conspiracy against the voice of the
people of a sovereign state. The Republican
party were thus enabled by this outrageous
fraud, openly aided and abetted by the
chief magistrate of the United States, to
place in the chair of the presidency their
pitiful nominee Rutherford B. Hayes. This
is history, and it must never and never can
be blotted from the annals of the political
party at whose behest those deeds were
done.
At this juncture of another presidential
election almost similar conditions have, un-
fortunately, arisen.
There was grave suspicion that the same
party, desperate and unscrupulous in its
present extremity, may be fcol-hardy enough
to attempt repetition of the Louisiana tao
tics in New York State.
The strength of the conservative element
and independent influence has tended how
ever by showing such a strong bulwsrk
against the over-reachng claims of the
and unscrupulous demands of
Blaine, Elkins and Davenport, that those
leaders have lost whatever OF solid and sub.
stantial backing party fealty originally
accorded to them.
There is no truer AKIN than that the time
for blind partisanshp is lost and gone by in
this country.