Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-10-26
The Philadelphia Fraud.

The Philadelphia Fraud.
One of our most eminent and able Demo
cratic politicians of this city informed
gentleman in our hearing that he had read
the Reoieso's article charging fraud upon the
Republicans in Philadelphia at the late
election to twenty persons in one morning,
and hoped to read it to twenty more. Now,
while we sympathize with that gentleman
in the difficulties of his position in belong
ing to and being leader in party in
which it is necessary to read for the party,
and while We admire his zeal in so eagerly
circulating a base SANDER and calumny,
which he certainly must have known had
not yet been fully authenticated, we wish
to see whether he will as industriously
read to his party the true version of the
Philadelphia frauds which We append. Will
he inform those members Of his party who are
in the habit of coming to him for their daily
information, that Judge Byerly, who has
been arrested on the charge of making false
returns, is a DsmocrGts
Correspondence of the N. Y. Tribune.J
PHILADELPHIA, Dot. II, 1860.
There is ferment among the politicians
of the LIST District touching an alleged fraud
by which Butler has been returned as
elected to Congress. If there be fraud at
all. it is admitted that neither Butler nor
any of his friends had my knowledge of it.
1t is emphatically family quarrel among
the different wings of the Democracy. II
any cheating has been done they have done
it themselves. Lehman, the Douglas man,
has been foorcd by the Breckenridge men in
revenge for the Douglas voters boiling Ger
tain Breckenridge candidates for the Legis.
lature. Butler has received his certificate
from the Return Judges; but, under our law,
two returns are made to the Governor, one
by them and one by the Prothonotary, and
as these will not agree, it is barely possible
the Governor may omit Buffers name, and
withhold a certificate under the broad seal
Of the Commonwealth. The fraud is said
to be this, and occurred in the Fourth Ward,
Moyamensing, district from time imme-
mortal ruled by the toughest of the
rough Dem ocracy. The Judges of its ten
preclacts met on Wednesday last and made
up their returns, appointing William Byerly,
a Breckinridge man, as Return Judge to the
general meeting on Friday. Each Of these
Judges kept memoranda of the vote, as did
Mr.. Lehman and the reporters, all being
copied from book containing the returns
of the ten precincts, and this book gave
Butler 1908 votes, Lehman ,5iS, and
King 1913. The Judges signed such return,
and delivered it t, Byerly to hand in 20 the
general meeting on Friday. But on that
dav he handed in d return giving Butler
l ,l6O votes, Lehman $3.50, and KING 206.
thus defeating Lehman. This last return is
alleged to be forged. Some of the signers
swear their signatures to it are forgeres,
while Others say theirs are genuine. Byerly
has been bound over to answer for forgery,
yet 1t is we'll known that he can neither read
nor write, so that if wrong has been done,
others must have had hand in it. Alto
gether it is strange affair to happen among
the harmonious Democracy, and where the
wrong is to be righted we do not exactly
see, whether in Court or in Congress. But
fresh count of the ballots will undo ubt-
eddy be had somewhere, and that being done,
we are persuaded that Butler will be shown
to have ajority, as if Lehman has been
cheated in one ward, it is fully believed that
Butler has been worse cheated in others,
Should Lehman obtain his seat, it will be
some satisfaction to know that be is really
an able lawyer, an enthusiastic Tariff man,
and heart and soul anti -Lecompton, all
which is infinitely better than could have
been said of Tom Florence.