The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-04-26
THE ASCENSION ELECTION.

People who were not in the ring, 80 to
speak, and who did not fully appreciate
the scope of the confident predictions made
that the Fusion ticket would carry this par
ish, were generally surprised last Wednes-
day to learn that all the candidates on the
Republican ticket were defeated by major
tiles ranging from 4o4 against Mr.. Bentley
for Clerk of the Court To 1152 against Mr.
Landry for ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF
course Mr.. Jones, whose name was on both
tickets for Sheriff. While there was no
actual breach of the public peace at any OF
the polls and no voter can be said to have
been influenced by knock-down or shot
gun argument, it is no exaggeration to say
that the contest was further from being a
free. fair and untrammeled election than
any that has occurred in this parish since
1870.
| We do not care for the present to go into
details and specifications on this subject,
because it is more than probable there will
be several contests made before the courts
which will afford better insight into the
true inwardness of tile means used to carry
the Fusion ticket through than could be
given in our limited space, and too specific
newspaper comment at this time might
tend to prejudice the outcome Of this litiga-
ton. Furthermore, the editor of the CHIEF
was one of the candidates said to have been
defeated. and however truthful our state
ment of the case might be, we could not
expect to escape the suspicion that orr
mind is biased and our judgment warped
by self interest.
1t can not be denied, however, that as q
general rule, the powers of the officers
charged with the conduct of the election
were exerted to the detriment of the Re-
publican ticket. The provision of the law
requiring the appointment Of Commission
ers and Clerks fifteen days before the cleo
ton was ignored; at a majority of polls the
regular Republicans were without official
representation: numerous instances of open
bribery and undue influence practiced in
the interest Of the Fusionists are asserted
to be susceptible of proof; Republican can
didates were deprived of a number of votes
by the refusal of Commissioners, based on
the instructions of the Returning Officer,
to count names printed on gummed strips
and pasted over those of other nominees;
the ballot boxes, poll books, lists of voters,
duplicate tally sheets and returns were not
delivered by the Commissioners to the
Clerk of Court as the law commands, but
were taken to the Returning Officer, through
whom the Clerk received them the morn
ing after the election; and the opinion is
widespread among both Democrats and Re-
publicans, that these Irregularities indi-
Gated purpose to carry the election for the
Fusionists at all hazards and did really pro-
duce the majorities accredited to most of
the candidates of the combination party.
The election of Mr.. Benajah Gibson as
Representative occasioned little surprise
in fact, there is reason to believe the Re-
publican candidate himself anticipated that
eyent-though Uncle Ben's = majority was
larger than his most enthusiastic friends
had looked for.
Mr.. G. q. Blouin, the Independent candi
date for Sheriff, polled vote that is fat
tering evidence Of his popularity, and had
the regular Republicans supported him, as
they ought to have done, and had no skull
duggery been employed to keep his tickets
away from the polls, he would have come
for any one outside the charmed and
charming Fusion circle to have done. The
boast that Mr.. Blouin's own ward would be
carried against him was triumphantly
foored by his enthusiastic friends, who not
only swept the tenth ward, but carried the
ninth also.
large number of the Fusionist Repub-
licans, particularly at the third and seventh
ward polls, voted the Democratic State
ticket, but there is reason to believe that
most of those who adopted this strange
course, i'll the third ward at least, were mis-
led thereto by designing leaders, who were
interested in giving the Democratic candi-
dates as large vote as possible. This was
regarded as one of the items, either express
OF implied, in the Fusion contract, and
evidently the "parties of the second part -
Carried out the stipulation quite faithfully.
Tup unrp M ON Ta1sru