The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-12-19
A FAMOUS CHAPTER.
"reminiscences of the Louisiana
Election of 1876.
A DEMOCRAT ON THE RESULT.
Mr. Louis Bush, who Planned the Cam
paign, Talks of Electoral Commits
sion and Negro Question.

MI. Louis Bush and Mr.. L. B. Allan, of
NeW orleans, are at the Rainier hotel.
mr.. Bush is a retired broker, who is look
ing over the country with Mr.. Allan, a
man OF the younger generation. Mr.. Bush,
whose hair is now white, has been prom
inent Inquire in Louisiana politics, and has
played leading part in events of national
Importance. For number of years he
was In the state legislature, and he was
speaker OF the House of Representatives.
tnere for several terms. Though he no
longer takes an active share in politics,
yet In 1875, the year when Hayes and Til
den ran for the presidency, Mr.. Bush was
ch6man of the Democratic state executive
committee. He it was who planned the
famous campaign whose result, so far as
the presidential ticket was concerned, was
settled by the eight to seven" electoral
commission, GAS the head of the Demo-
cratic committee" said he, yesterday, II
planned and engineered that campaign
In my own mind there is not shadow
oil doubt that the vote of the state should
have gone to Tilden. Our committee COM
piled the returns very carefully from fig
any rate trustworthy, and we found ma
Jorlty OF about $500 for the Democratic
electoral ticket. I am certain that this
estimate was closely correct.
The subsequent events are matter of
history. Congress appointed an electoral
commission which held long hearings on
the subject and finally awarded the vote
TO Hayes. This decision was reached by
throwing out, on the ground of fraud and
wards and in some whole parishes which
were heavily Democratic. Then, too, the
returns had been manipulated i'll the
United States custom-house. In that
matter a certain Madison Wells was in
terested. He was very bitter toward our
people. One reason was that during the
war his property was in what may be
called neutral ground and received little
mercy at the hands of either army.
Il was on committee of citizens that
held number of conferences with the
commission, and you might say that the
decision nnally reached by the commission
was In large part the result of those con-
ferences
1--WE accepted the result quietly, because
we felt that we had gotten all we could
hope for. Though the electoral vote was
given to Hayes, nevertheless the Demo-
cratic governor, Mr.. Nichols, was declared
elected and the legislature was Demo-
cratic. That house it was which elected
me speaker.
mo, there was not compromise. We
were all strenuously opposed to having the
electoral vote go to Hayes, but we couldn't
help ourselves. The Republicans needed the
vote to elect Hayes, SO we had to submit
to the inevitable. At the same time there
was tacit understanding-no verbal agree
ment, but merely. an understanuing-tha
if the Republicans would not push the
fnf fap OF hav ha
governor and the legislature, we would not
overtiy resist the turning of the electoral
vote to Hayes.
you may say that the commission
knew when it had enough. For at that
time the South was in rather an irritated
condition and a single act of resistance
might have precipitated trouble and per-
haps bloodshed in several states.
Il do not think the Northern people who
write so hereby against the South on the
negro question fully understand the con-
dition of affairs. | believe that if your
people would examine the matter dispas-
sionately they would agree with us. The
fact is that we cannot let the negro rule.
1.-THE negroes are good humored and
kindly, but they are densely ignorant and
easily led by demagogues of the lowest
sort. The state has done its best to edu-
cate the negro, but he has made almost no
advance. OF course Louisiana has been
recovering slowly from the ruin of the war,
and has not had much money to spend on
schools, but she has spent all she could
spare. A university has been built for the
negroes, and it is well managed, but still
il turns out comparatively few scholars.
Those who attend it are the rare exception.
Most of the negroes seem incapable of
grasping anything beyond the most ele-
mentary studies taught in the schools.
They appear to have no ambition to learn,
and they remain an ignorant mass in the
community, utterly untitled to govern.
Rather than have such men rule, rather
than have our affairs administered by the
most incompetent class, the whites would
better leave the country altogether and not
try to live in it. Society could not hold
together under the misrule to which the
negro would subject it, so what are we TO
do? If any man can answer that ques-
ton, What are we to dor he will solve the
great problem of the South.
And if anyone will tell what the out
come of it all will be, dread to think of
il, but fear the result will be mixing of
the races-a thing which BODIES no good TO
any of us. The negroes now who show
the greatest capacity are those with white
blood in their veins. | should Judge that
about one-hfth of them are of mixed blood.
There are few legitimate marriages be-
tween the whites and blacks, and few
white women have children 10y black men
fathers are white. The race of half breeds,
or whatever you may call them, is not
strong one not one calculated TO make a
great people.
ssJust now New Orleans is agitated over
the murders committed by the Mana, the
Sicilian secret society. These Sicilians, or
those of them who are of the worst sort,
bring their old country customs over TO US.
They carry out their vendettas in our
American cities. This Malta is society
of assassins. II one member is offended
the rest club together to kill the offender
They have sort of cooperative killing
association. You cannot get evidence
against them, for they will not give in
formation even against their enemies.
When the chief of police, Hennessy, found
out about them they killed him.
But think the police are getting these
rascals under control"
Mr.. Bush was formerly president of the
National Cotton Exchange.