New-York tribune., 1885-02-13
A MoCKERY OF JUSTICE,
DEMOCRATIC METHODS IN NEw-oRLrASs

| DEMOCkATlO METHODS IN NEW-ORLEANS
TIE COURTS PARALYzsD By POLITICAL rNrLuErcr
AND coRRUPTIoS-REAPNG THE YRurrs or
PARTISAN oUTRAGEs.
| lFRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT or TIE rRBUr,
NEw-ORLEANs. Feb 4.-The failure to punish the
murderers Of the late Captain Murphy, although
there Is no room for doubt - to their guilt. has
aroused deep indignation in this city. For once all
the newspapers are agreed in denouncing thu
mistrial " as mockery Of justice. With tho Ex.
position depending upon Northern and Western
visitors for support and now ready almost TO col
| lapse because of mismanagement, the people fully
realize that they cannot afford the disgrace which
must follow the failure to convict Judge Ford and
| his accompices for wanton murder of political
opponent. But the result causes surprise amona
Republicans and close observers of the politics Of
this State The courts as now organized are pro-
duct of the Infamous political methods by which the
Democratic ring maintains itself in power in this
State.
Not since 1876 have Republicans in political liti
gation been able to get justice administered in the
State and city courts Is it surprising then that the
Ring turns It's power over sherifs and juries and
court officers account in order to shield OF h
members. But this is ty NO means an isolated case
The Democratic boss of this city is credited with
having killed seven men, and he recently attempted
to kill still another and yet he holds the most ucra
tive Office in the city, while his power is un.
diminished. 1t Is not long since that many of the
leading business men of the city. including the
presidents of the Produce and Cotton Exchange
and presidents OF banks and insurance companies
signed an address which boldly stated that murder
runs riot in our midst and the hand of justice is
paralyzed by political influence and corruption"
But those men were unable to bring about any re-
| form because the ring laughs them to scorn by ,s
fraudulent control of the ballot boxes.
HOW THE RING WORKS
As shown in a recent letter all the election Off.
in the State the creatures of the Governor
who is the head of the State Ring which cooperaes
with the City Ring Hence only Ring candidates
be successful at the polls when such result is
particularly desired. Every man must be registered
before he can vote Over half the voters in the
State cannot write, showing what mass of ignor
ance the Ring has to feed upon. In this city The
Registrar of Voters, who is appointed by the Gov
ernor and removable at his pleasure. not only has
sole charge of the registering of voters but be
appoints all the election officers. 1t is Their
business to receive the votes count and tally them
and return the result to the Registrar, while he
complies it for official promuIgation.
There is only place for the registration Of
voters in the city. new registration is not made
each year. but names are aided to the list. and the
Registrar is supposed to strike ot those persons who
have died or removed, otherwise lost their right
to vote But he does not do so. He is obliged by
law to register anybody who takes the oath except
when foreign born. Previous to the last election,
however. colored men refused registration
unless they could produce rent receipts to prove
their resdence-not an easy thing to do even with
those who rented houses, the landlords nearly
all Democrats. Republicans were refused per
mission to examine tho registration list aud the
United States Supervisor had to invoke the power
of the Federal Courts in order to secure a copy Of
the list for one Congressional district comprising
about half the city, He had sewing machine cir
culars mailed to all the registered voters in that
district, and about 5000 Of the circulars were re
turned the carriers being unable to find the persons
TO whom they wero addressed. The Supervisor then
had canvassers sworn. according to the provisions
of the State law. and they investigated each name
on the list of returned circulars. They found that
364 of the names were of persons who were dead
and &, 800 names were of persons who could not be
found The Registrar refused to investigate these
required by the State law and as the United
States Court decided that 1t had not Jurisdiction
and the state ConIts would not act the names were
fraudulent registration The Picayuae, q leading
Democratic newspaper, said:
It il welknown fact that no effort has been made
Er 90 purge s s OF ays oas as
passed into the other world yet represented voters
another appear registered two three times Those
who have LETT the State still stand suagars Each Of
these registrations opens the door to fraud election
day Their certificates duplicates be voted Many
Of these certificates In the hands Of the ward manou
laors to be sed IN primary and regular elecuons. and
will DO voted by the Ring on election day.
sCoRNINa THE LAW.
But keeping those 1000 fraudulent names on the
rolls in one district was not enough. The law
directs that the Registrar strike OF the names
of persons he believes entitled to providing
h.. ,Jaa 10,
thereafter publishes tho list in the official Journal
continuing its publication for three consecutive
days. and after that five days are allowed each
person to show cause why his name should not be
erased. That proceeding requires two weeks notice
altogether before q name can be erased But Ia
utter disregard of the law three days previous to
the last election the Registrar published In an after
moon ~ s NatScaon Of mo other End
was given. and tine first that many Republicans
knew of their names being stricken OIL was when
they came to vote. For such outrages there was no
redress IN the courts of this State Referring TO
this condition of affairs Captain Charles Caxanae
the former Registrar, and prominent Democrat
" Men may legally register then go away leaving
their papers with Others to vote upon the tickets
substituted; names of remiss voters or absent per
may be added to the poll lists alter tue voting
endsall these ways of cheating have been perpe-
trated and no law to punish therefor found after
the facts were proven in courts. But you can
well the Registrar of Voters in no way respon-
sible for this condition of things"
But add to those ways the fraudulent registration
which the Registrar is responsible for and his arb:
trary exercise of power in striking of the names of
political opponents and take into account the foct
that all the election officers his creatures while
he is a creature of the Governor, and 1t may well
be for wonder that any Republican should
ever he returned elected to any office in this state
although that party has q large majority o. the
voters. United States Supervisors claimed the
right to be present to watch the voting for members
nfC
different place from the other boxes. IN order that
there should be attempt at Federal supervision Of