November 1874 Election Chaos in Farmerville, Union Parish Louisiana
Submitted by:       Shawn Martin
Date of Submission: 12/2008

************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
************************************************

==================================================================================
==================================================================================
November 1874 Election Chaos in Farmerville, Union Parish Louisiana

From the New Orleans "Times Picayune", issue of 3 November 1874
==================================================================================
==================================================================================

                           RADICAL TRICKS.
                          _________________

                     The Registration Books and 
                       Ballot Boxes Reported 
                            Stolen in Union 
                                Parish.
                          _________________

                       One Thousand Conservative 
                         Majority to be Over-
                            ruled by Fraud.
                          _________________

   Yesterday morning Capt. Wright received a telegram from J. M. Lee, Jr., Registrar 
at Farmerville, Union parish, stating that on Sunday night the registration books, 
poll books and ballot boxes had been stolen and carried away.  The registrar asked 
for instructions, pleading utter ignorance of the circumstances connected with the 
theft, but Capt. Wright was unable to take him out of the dilemma or devise a means 
of substituting for the lost articles.

   This is evidently one of the tricks nicely set on foot by the Republican State 
Committee, and as neatly executed.  The Republicans were the only ones interested 
in the disappearance of the books and boxes, as the parish is overwhelmingly 
Democratic, and our party alone must suffer in the event of any fraudulency.  It 
is morally certain that these articles were stolen by the Republicans themselves 
for the purpose of defeating the election in the parish, as all their arts could 
not keep it from going largely Democratic.


==================================================================================
==================================================================================


                                     Union Parish.
                                      __________

  The following dispatch from Union shows that the election has been held, 
notwithstanding the neat little ruse de guerre:

FARMERVILLE, La., Nov. 2—The poll book and ballot box of the Farmerville poll, and 
book of original registration of Union parish were stolen Sunday night from the 
sheriff’s office.

   The election is progressing at the poll under the advice of Judge Trimble, who 
will maintain the legality of the polling, in case of a contest between local 
candidates.  Judge Trimble is a Republican, but will not sanction any attempt to 
deprive the Democrats of their legal majority in the parish.
                                               Geo. Cambell, Editor of Record



#############################################################

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/union/newspapers/articles/1874election.txt