736 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



possession of the place. Among those obliged to 

 abdicate were Walsh, the mayor ; Kapirs, the sheriff; 

 Wheaton, the clerk of the courts ; Durant, the re- 

 corder ; and Ferguson and Keufro, administrators. 

 Two colored men who had given evidence in regard 

 to frauds committed in the parish were compelled to 

 flee for their lives, and reached this city last night, 

 having been smuggled through in a cargo of cotton. 

 In the parish of Bossier, the White League have at- 

 tempted to force the abdication of Judge Baker, the 

 United States Commissioner, and the parish Judge, 

 together with O'Neal, the sheriff, ana Walker, the 

 clerk of the court; and they have compelled the 

 Parish and District Courts to suspend operations. 

 Judge Baker states that the White-Leaguers notified 

 to him several times that if he became a candidate on 

 the Eepublican ticket, or if he attemped to organize 

 the Kepublican party, he should not live until election. 

 They also tried to intimidate him through his family 

 by making the same threats to his wite ; and when 

 told by him that he was a United States Commission- 

 er, they notified him not to attempt to exercise the 

 functions of his office. 



In but few of the country parishes can it be truly 

 said that the law is properly enforced ; and in some 

 of the parishes the judges have not been able to hold 

 court for two years. Human life in this State is held 

 so cheaply that when men are killed on account of 

 political opinions the murderers are regarded rather 

 us heroes than as criminals in the parishes where 

 they reside, and by the White League and their sup- 

 porters. An illustration of the ostracism that pre- 

 vails in the State may be found in a resolution of a 

 White League club in the parish of De Soto, which 

 states that they pledge themselves " under no cir- 

 cumstances, after the coming election, to employ, rent 

 land to, or in any other manner give aid, comfort, or 

 credit to any man, white or black, who votes against 

 the nominees of the white man's party." Safety for 

 individuals who express their opinion in the isolated 

 portions of this State has existed only when that 

 opinion was in favor of the principles and party sup- 

 ported by the Ku-klux and White-League organiza- 

 tions. Only yesterday Judge Myers, the Parish 

 Judge of the parish of Natchitoches, called on me 

 upon his arrival in this city, and stated that in order 

 to reach here alive he was obliged to leave his house 

 by stealth and after nightfall, and make his way 

 to Little Kock, Ark., and come to this city_ by^ way 

 of Memphis. lie further states, that while his father 

 was lying at the point of death in the same village he 

 was unable to visit him for fear of assassination, snd 

 yet he is a native of the parish, and is proscribed for 

 his political sentiments only. It is more than proba- 

 ble that if bad government has existed in this State, 

 it is the result of the armed organizations which have 

 now crystallized into what is called the White League. 

 Instead of bad government developing them, they 

 have by their terrorism prevented to a considerable 

 extent the collection of taxes, the holding of courts, 

 the punishment of criminals, and vitiated public sen- 

 timent by familiarizing it with the scenes above de- 

 scribed. 



I am now engaged it compiling evidence for a de- 

 tailed report upon the above subject, but it will be 

 some time before I can obtain all the requisite data 

 to cover the cases that have occurred throughout the 

 State. I will also report in due time upon the same 

 subject in the States of Arkansas and Mississippi. 

 P. H. SHERIDAN, Lieutenant-General. 

 To W. W. BELKNAP, Sec'y of War, Washington, D. G.: 



Several prominent people have for the last few days 

 been passing resolutions and manufacturing sensa- 

 tional protests for Northern political consumption. 

 They seem to be trying to make martyrs of them- 

 selves. It cannot be done at this late day. There 

 have been too many bleeding negroes and ostracized 

 white citizens for their statements to be believed by 

 fair-minded people. Bishop Wilmer protests against 

 my telegram of the 4th inst, forgetting that on Satur- 



day last he testified under oath, before the Congres- 

 sional Committee, that the condition of affairs nere 

 was substantially as bad as reported by me. I will 

 soon send you a statement of tne number of murders 

 committed in this State during the last three or four 

 years, the perpetrators of which are still unpunished. 

 I think that the number will startle you. It will be 

 up in the thousands. The city is perfectly quiet. 

 No trouble is apprehended. 

 P. H. SHEKIDAN, Lieutenant-General, U. S. A. 



General Sheridan sends a communication to 

 the Secretary of War, with no signature, as 

 illustrating the action in Louisiana in kidnap- 

 ping a member-elect of the Legislature. Next 

 follows Sheridan's telegram to the Secretary 

 of War, dated January 8th, submitting a report 

 of the affairs as they occurred in the organiza- 

 tion of the State Legislature. The documents 

 conclude with extracts from Louisiana news- 

 papers, showing tho platform of the White 

 League and the intentions of the organization, 

 the following serving as a specimen : 



The lines must be drawn at once, before our oppo- 

 nents are thoroughly organized. For bv this means 

 we will prevent many milk-and-cider followers from 

 falling into the enemy's ranks. While the white man's 

 party guarantee the negro all of his present rights. 

 they do not intend that white carpet-baggers and 

 renegades shall be permitted to organize, and pre- 

 pare the negroes for the coming campaign. Without 

 the assistance of these villains the negroes are totally 

 incapable of effectually organizing themselves, and un- 

 less they are previously excited and drilled, one-half 

 of them will not come to the polls, and a large per- 

 centage of the remainder will vote the white man's 

 ticket. 



ACTION OF THE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. 



The Congressional Investigating Committee 

 presented the 'folio wing report on affairs in 

 Louisiana to the House of Eepresentives on 

 January 14, 1875. Kepresentative George F. 

 Hoar, in behalf of the special committee on 

 that portion of the President's message relative 

 to the condition of the South, reported as fol- 

 lows : 



In pursuance of the order of the full committee, of 

 December 22d, a special committee of three visited 

 New Orleans and proceeded with an investigation, 

 the result of which they report to the general com- 

 mittee, as follows : 



KEPOKT OF THE SUB-COMMHTEE. 



In pursuance of the order of the general committee 

 of December 22d, the undersigned visited New Or- 

 leans, and there proceeded with all diligence to the 

 examination directed by the committee. During 

 the eight days they remained there they were at- 

 tended throughout their sessions, which were public, 

 by the counsel of the. Kepublican and Conservative 

 State Committees. In that period they examined 

 over ninety-five witnesses, besides taking a large 

 amount of documentary evidence, amounting in all, 

 it is estimatedj to more than 1,500 printed pages. In 

 view of the exigency that now exists in the affairs of 

 that State and of the delay of weeks which must elapse 

 before that testimony can be written out and printed, 

 your committee has determined to state the conclu- 

 sions at which they arrived, so far as they are unani- 

 mous in reaching their conclusions. The committee 

 undertook no investigation of the election of 1872. 

 Much evidence has already been taken by other com- 

 mittees of Congress upon that question, and the time 

 allowed both for their action and for the session of 

 Congress seemed to be too short to call for their then 



