| Show ri B by 1 Y telegraph telegraph MW AMERICAN democratic ADDRESS I 1 to the people of he the united states t washington 5 at a caucus ozithe of the democratic members of the House of representatives held on tb the e march 1877 in the hall of the house the following address was unanimously adopted LQ 14 L 4 C chairman chiy B BANNING N secretaries at a meeting of the tho members of tue the national Democratic Committee held bed on an the 3rd ard day of march 1877 the following address was unanimously I 1 I 1 adopted A AL E B HEWITT heiwtt chairman Cn airman F X 0 secretary top TP the tho american emple people we ive submit to the ing irig gevie jevie w of the events which have ha xe resulted in ire the declaration that rutherford B hayes him been boen elected Pre president sidena siderA of the united states in tho the late political canvass two facts stood out prominently first the republican party true to its sectional nature sought to unify the tho north against the solid south bouth and while engaged in that effort it was waa striving to make good its probable losses in the north by dividing the votes of the south this division it sought to detect by unconstitutional use of the army in south carolina florida and louisiana second troops were sent to fo these states when there was neither Ini int invasion nor domestic insurrection oil to require them with legislatures easily to llo be convened the only demand for their presence was made inde by the tho state stale executive the elections in these states therefore were held in the tiie shadow of military the bayonets glistened at the polls in depositing their ballots the citizens enjoyed only such liberty as the army permitted in other states the elections were unusually peaceful immediately afterwards the result showed that tilden electors had been chosen of the whole popular vote they received a majority of more than a quarter of a million and of wa that t Cau caucasian culan race tace which controls every other christian and civilized d government e antof of the world they re ret majority of more than one millio rik rit on the day succeeding the election it was announced by the chairman of the republican national ibi committee that tilden andl hayes electors had hild been chosen nothing had then been learned of the election excepting the tho vote actually cast it has never since been disputed that by that vote the majority of the tilden electors had been appointed such announcement therefore could only have been made in pursuance brance of an arrangement to change the vote shown to have been given by the people we charge that after the true result had been een proclaimed a conspiracy was formea formed by the republican lead era to reverse the decision made at the polls the field chosen forthe for the deve development of the conspiracy was the estates af pf florida and louisiana the persons persona to act with the original conspirators were the governors and members of the returning boards of those states the field was well chosen the state eff omm officers iders selected were suitable persons for the work to be done for more than ten y years ears those states tates have been subjected to Govern governments ments menta not of their choice taxation and had robbed them of their substance and well nigh destroyed their spirit and hope the army of the united states had been freely used to maintain those governments in id thein their acts of corruption and usurpation it was believed that its services would aid jn the designed conspiracy the names of the officers depended upon are marcellus L stearns samuel 33 claytona clay ton A cowgill of florida and william pitt Kellog ff J madison wells thomas B anderson E Cassa nave and J B kenner of louisiana these men were not strangers nt rangers to the american people they had before usurped authority the returning inboards of those states bad had made themselves bywords in the land the governors were known to be pretenders if there were two names dishonored in general estimation they were the namis names of william pitt ritt kellogg and J T madison wells to such men was the work of consummating the conspiracy confided they entered upon their task with alacrity advised and encouraged by the leading visiting republican statesmen of the north they took each step with deliberation and apparent regard for law before the election in louisiana william pitt kellogg and his subordinates assumed the exclusive control of the execution of the registry law they refused registration to thousands entitled to it and added thousands to the lists who had no right to vote on the day of election the polls were managed manas mawad by Offiel officials als ais appointed by the governor these verey werey were in nearly every instance members of the republican party united states marshals swarmed at evry every precinct when thought nece necessary esary under the pretence predence pre tence of preserving peace but la in fast fact to intimidate the voters ballot boxes were worb stuffed in the interest of the republican candi candidates dittes roll poll books were faist falsified fied nied in some instance sand and aud then returned to the canyas canvas canvassing ing board while in other cases the le turris giving democratic majorities were withheld from the canvassers alta gether after tho the returns had bad been delivered to the board beard they remained in I 1 it its p possession 0 I 1 assion and while they were open opened e d with its consent the original na 1 papers were abstracted and false ones substituted in their stead when the returns were opened open edthe tho board with an appearance pe arance of fai fal fairness permitted per sons representing both parties to be present but when the decision was made mado as to what should bo be coun ted secret sessions were held froni from which every democrat was ex eluded although the law constituting ng the he board required that it should be composed of representatives of both political parties in counting the votes it exercised powers not conferred by the statutes and in the most flagrant disregard of truth and justice the members of the board changed the poll books so that the chose republican officers appeared to be chosen when their opponents had bad in fact been elected they forged tho the tho names of off omm meers officers to the certificates of they threw out the votes of precincts upon affidavits which they knew had bad been fraudulently returned indeed they themselves ordered false affidavits to be made hundreds of miles from the places in which they purported to have been taken in order that their decision might appear justified which they had in advance determined to td make they arbitrarily threw throw out votes where there was no preliminary statement from the commissioners of election to give them j jurisdiction uris dIctIon they corruptly in order to elect their their favorites and to correct the mistakes of certain republicans in voting for electors added to the list hat of votes which had never been cast while considering the case the members of the board endeavored to enter into negotiations with both the republican and democratic national committees to sell bell their decision naif half nillion wi dollars was waif the price asked and not obtaining it they tried to bargain with the leading democrats of louisiana to elect tho the state ticket of their party J madison madleon wells with the approval of thomas C anderson And ernon ereon 1 offered gred tred to elect nicholls and tife the state ticket for cash in hand the money was nol nok paid negotiations were then renewed if ever over broken oarl off idith with the leadora leader of the republican party darty the result resift was deo declared lared in its favor the chief conspirator cmadison JM adIson wells admitted that he lid had been bedri paid by that thiet organization nor for his decision 1 in iii florida we same bame frauds characterized the returns and by the action of the returning board votes were thrown out with the same dis disregard ickard of JI justice ustice besides in that state it jt refused to regard the order of a court of competent junis juris urise i diction and proceeded in the most moat defiant contempt of judicial authority in this thi mander manner more moie than thin ong one hundred thousand tilden votes were thrown out in florida and more than ten thousand in louisiana ahia afia the votes of those states in consequence of the conspiracy which in fact had been east cast air for tilden were given t to hayes the only excuse for this outrageous reversal of the tho judgment of or the people Is had been tided by the whites whiles against the blacks blacka where the votes were thrown out whether this intimidation conf com belled some bome persons to vote against their will or prevented some from attending ten ding the poll sit auford afford edin either elther gase case cadeno justification for the deliberate rejection of ot the twe ballots by the returning boards but the statute louisiana only authorized the of intimidation in cases where charges uti ili arges of violence were made in writing by the commissioners the election on the day the was held these charges were to bp enclosed to the board in envelopes containing the returns in a fw few cages cabes cases were the charges made as required in the rest evidence was received without a proper foundation having been laid the evidence received consisted in the main of affidavits written out by clerks employed by the returning board without ever having been seen by the persons persona purporting to verify them or the officers purporting to certify to them was therefore no adequate proof intimidation it may be here that the temptation to kel Ipg gand gland hla hia return returning hig board to manufacture cases intimidation for it was only in that that thab the borit could be overthrown and thi the C conspiracy on spir acT be successful ful fui i i not lall pail to call theat the attention of the dangerous effect of the doctrine gf Irit imia imlA dation in it dis from voting not hot only parties to t act of intimidation but all who have voted at the ihu same withe precincts with them thein two may conclude to make a case of intimidation timi dation and thereby cause bause a parish casting thousands of votes be rejected it makes elections farce it takes the power froni from people to rest in the ze board boards it enables the latter to impose ose the severest political penalties is disfranchisement without persons punished an opportunity of hearing or trial the republic p bublic deserves to lose its liberties if it tolerates such outrages for an hour by this disregard of law lawn disobedience of courts and contempt of the rights of voters by their frauds corruptions corrupt ions and asur lations pat ions by their bri briberies bribe berles ries rles prejudices and forgeries did the tors tora obtain certificates of election for the republican candidates in lu tiie the sou Gou southern bouthern thern states named prom from the day that certificates were wore issued to the hayes electors in louisiana and aud florida the country has been filled with unprecedented excitement the people have done little else than engage in discussions as to io the fraudulent conduct of ithe returning board in this condit lop iop of amma affa affairs iry irp Pu business siness has been bidi leave V generally suspended failures have been heen een frequent i ana and prostration po seized upon every interest in theland the tho land when this was at height congress assembled of its ita duties was to count the electoral votes totes of the tho states florida and nud louisiana Loul ioui slana siana with view of facilitating the count providing for the pea peaceful cebul per por perform forn ance of its ita duty by congreso Con gres grea the bill was passed pawed creating an electoral commission by that law the commission was to ascertain the true and lawful vote of every state in this labor it was to exercise as to the hearing of evidence the examination of p apers papers such power as congress or either elther house of congress pos possessed sessi ed in the belief that the evidence would be heard and that the settlement of the disputed d question cf facts would be fairly reached C congress and people aa accepted the commission how that confidence has been disappointed how tho the decision has been made filide based upon the refusal to consider the unfortunate question i of iia ils dispute ia 18 well known to th e ce antry when the certificates from florida and louisiana were opened and submitted to the tho two tyro houses objections were filed to those presented by the hayes electors among other grounds of objection it was urged that these certificates had been fraudulently and ed corruptly raptly issued by thu tha returning boards and the executives of these states and ast ahe fhe result of conspiring between them and the electors claiming to haye baye been chosen that such auch certificates have in violation of 0 the ia laws osof of the respective States and that some of the electors named therein were ineligible by express provision of the co constitution ofine united states when these objections were made for consideration before the commission proof was 0 offered fored to the commission to sustain in them and the commission by a ivete of eight to seven beven refused to receive the testimony offered except as to the ineligibility of a single member in florida it was voted in the case of the commis commission sion Bion would not have evidence t to 9 show that the returning board was an unconstitutional body thit that it was waa not organized as the law required at the time the vote was canvassed that it had no jurisdiction to canvass the electoral vote that the charges of riot and intimidation were false that the tho returning board knew the fact that certificates were corruptly and fraudulently issued and as a result of the conspiracy and aud that the me vote of the state never had been compiled pr or canvassed the same rulin rulings gs were made substantially ly in the cause of florida the commission also refus nefus refused ed t to hear bear proof that at the time 0 of the election of south carolina anarchy prevailed destroying the republican form of government in that state that troops were retained there thern in violation odthe constitution to interfere with free chol choi choice ceby coby by ejection BO so that the lawful vote of that state could not be known against these deci decisions decla decia ions alons we protest most blost earnestly in the name of a free republican government in the arst first place they struck anatal a fatale alq blow hiow w at the constitutional al powers odthe of the two houses to count the electoral eieg elep toral apte this power has been exercised by bath houses without dispute from the foundation 1 of the govern government men t that evidence dende dence e sh should ouid be reached in cases cabes ot of contested electors seems clear the milne principle haq ham been maintained by the ablest state statesmen salen the country ha pr produced 0 duce 0 it was wag a practice connner to principle in the fc secret ecret session notably in the cam case ol 01 louisiana itself in 1869 and 1873 such evidently was the view both houses at the present ses Ees session slon sion when investigating we resent to florida south carolina A and louisiana to take testimony and lepor report t as to the elections in these fi tates states it is difficult to fee lee lee see heeln upon what principle this view can ean an be based ased the duty of congress kress ia Is to count the tho vote this makes the enactment of the vote to bo be counted this again makes the determination of what whak is the true vote and distinguishing what Is false from what ia is true this requires evidence the forms of law ini pressing impressing the fact cannot be made unless evidence bo |
