The Louisiana populist. [volume] (Natchitoches, Natchitoches Parish, La.) 1894-1898, 1896-04-10

| puhllCdI party CISdillIitlon. IA
their candidate for Governor OF
the State. At the same time Il
| full ticket for the other State of
ficers was nominated, to he voted
for at the election to be held on
April 81, 1896.
81 am aware that you are the
nominee of the Democratic party
as its candidate for Governor. We
are opposing candidates for the
same office. You being the in
cumbent of that office at this time,
it is your duty, through officers
appointed by you, to conduct the
election. 1t is your sworn duty,
through the officers appointed by
you, to conduct the election accord
ing to law, and to see that fair
and free election is held, at which
all of the legal voters are permit
ted to be registered and to vote as
they prefer, and it is your sworn
duty to see to it that the votes so
cast arc honestly counted and hon
estly returned as cast for the diff
fercnt candidates.
81 have to inform you that your
| registrars of voters in many par
ishes of the State, notably in St.
Landry, Jefferson and Plaque
mines, are using their power not
to register the qualified voters, but
to delay, hinder and prevent hum
drcds, if not thousands, of legal
voters from being registered.
"The law provides that when
necessary the registrar shall have
appointed clerk to assist him in
the work of registration, and that
said clerk shall be of the opposing
political party and that the Gov
ernor shall appoint the clerk.
SIT is a fact notorious, which
must be known to you, that every
registrar and every clerk of regis
tration are members of your own
party.
lit is your duty TO appoint one
supervisor of election for each par
ish, except Orleans, and 1t is the
duty of the police jury in each par
ish, all of whom are your appoint
ees. to appoint another supervisor,
who with the one appointed by the
clerk of court, shall select the COM
missioners of election and fix the
polling places. The clerks of court,
with the fewest exceptions, are al
SO members of your party. So
the organizations nominating me
as their candidate have no repre-
sentative either at the registration
of voters or in fixing the polling
places, or in the officers appointed
to return the votes.
"Your own sense Of duty as
sworn officer, your own sense of
honor as man and a citizen, must
revolt at such unfairness and In
justice, which, if not remedied,
will make the coming election a |
farce, if not tragedy, and bring
reproach upon the State and black
en- your name forever. You can
not afford to take the government
another four years by force and
fraud, and l now give you notice
that come what may, l will resist |
it with all the power l can COM
mand.
1.-The premises considered, l here |
formerly but respectfully demand i
81. That you remove all clerks |
of registration and appoint in their |
places men selected by my politi-
cal associates as clerks.
SO. That you require your reg
istrars of voters to afford every |
facility for all of the legal voters
to register.
SO. That you require the cleo
ton supervisors appointed by you,
and the police iuries appointed by
you, to fix the polling places so
that all the voters can. without in