Year: 1878

knew 1t, was more calculated to arouse the


bad blood Of the negroes than his offensive


reference to their slavery, and his arrogating


to himself the right or demand to rule the


parish was hardly less offensive to the white


portion df his audience besides disclosing


for United States district attorney paltry


ambition. One would have supposed that o
high public FunctIonary like him would be more


concerned about the successful administration


OF the affairs Of his Office than In seeking to


control the political destnies Of an interior
parish In his district


In his speech at Spring Ridge he told the


negroes that the planters of the country
| bought meat at six cents per pound and sold


it to them, their employees. at fifteen. twenty
| and twenty five cents per pound He also said


the planters charged them So for rent Of land
| per acre. when he could buy the land for less


money per acre. This was travelling out OF


the domain Of politics and charging every
| white man present with unfair aud eKtor-


tonate practices This was more than the
| planters present would stand, and many Of
| them rose from their seats and denounced his
| statements as false. His idea was. doubtless
| TO lead the negroes to think that they were
| an Injured and oppressed class, and their de-
| pendent condition was taken advantage Of bv
| the whites. and was @ direct appeal to their
! worst passions.


All the bad blood engendered In the cam
paign In this parish is traceahle directly to
his Incorporate and ill-advised speeches. In
stead Of exeiting his influence as an officer Of
the law to aIay the excitement and appease
the animosities growing out of the campaign,
l. / l.
trouble and disturbance he now complains 10
the President about. He Is reported as
| charging the whites with instigating the dis
| turbanee which took place at the Caledonia
precinct on election day, and saying that
seventy-ive negroes were killed,


The following statement, published in the
Shreveport Times, over The signatures Of
forty four gentlemen living at and In the
neighborhood of Caledonia, one Of them being
Mr.. Reuben White, q prominent planter and
candidate on the Republican ticket at the late
election upon whose plantation the disturb
ance occurred. shows how utterly false the
reported statement is:


"The commissioners Of election at Caledo-
mia learned that O number Of coiored voters
had arms and ammunition deposited in tie
house Of one Madison Rernis O prominent
negro politician and leader, and candidate for
justice Of the peace, very near the polls, and
law and wishing to discharge their duty IN
der the law, ordered the deputy sheriff. who
was sent to that precinct by the Republican
sheriff of this parish, TO proceed with q
house where the arms were deposited |
take possession and stack them until after the !
closing Of the polls. When the deputy sheriff
and posse Of unarmed citizens five or six In !
Al.
tanning the arms, and before they reached it |
they were fired upon by q large mob of ns- |
groes without the least warning, the negroes
issuing from the house arms In hand and the |
wounded by the volley, ons Of them danger
ously. It not fatally. Being justly appreben-
sive that the mob would renew the attack and .
approaching the imminenCe Of the danger |
whites five to one, cu,lriers were dispatched ,
by the whites Tor assistance to suppress these !
insurreCtionary measures in disbanding the
mob. That night and the next day twelve Of !
their number were killed. all Of whom had
arms and ammunition In their possession 4 !
number were captured, who made 81 voluntary
that 1t was the Intention OF their
organization TO take possession of the ballot
boxes after the closing Of the polls and kill |
every white man who attempted to Interfere
with Them


have yet to meet the first man. white or





presses the opinion or belief that the whites
iDstigated the disturbance or brought it on,


On behalf Of the whites and the Democratic
party Of the parish | invite the closest scrll-
tiny into the conduct Of our party friends on
that occasion. and If upon an Investigation it
is not demonstrated that the negroes were
not the aggressors first in the threatening
Of their arms in large numbers TO the
polls; and second. by firing upon the officer Of
The law and his assistants going peaceably and
quietly to discharge a. duty imposed upon
them by the commissioners Of election under
the law, then / agree personally to shoulder 1
the responsibility Of and bear the penalty at
taGhed by law to whatever was done by the
whites on the occasion.


Let Mr.. District Attorney Leonard, then.
elther make good his assertions or else re-
rain in future from malgnlng people who
,nce loved and trusted him.


n. G. BLANCHARD,
chairman Caddo Democratic Executive Com


mittee.