The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1877-02-08
AN INFAMOUS WITNESS.
j. 81. Littlefie1d's Story Before the House
Committee.

y. n. LltJIeneldS Story Before the House
Committee.
From the Chicago Tribune.]
Democratic papers are seeking to make po-
litical capital out of the testimony of the man
Littlefeld, Clerk of the Louisiana Returning
Board, who, from his own confessions, is so
far Enthusiastically and perjured that he would
not be believed npon the stand in any court.
The history Of this champion political scoun-
drel, as gathered from his own testimony, the
testimony of the Returning Board, and state
ments both from Republican and Democratic
sources, may be told in few words Little
field is Northern carpet-bagger, who went to
New Orleans and obtained the Office of Hay
Inspector from Gov. Kellogg, from which he
was subsequently removed for cause by Lieut..
Gov. Antoine, during the Governors absence
from the State, thus giving MN at the
outset motive for revenge. He next
turns up as Clerk of the Returning Board,
and in that capacity is conveniently found
and coached by ex-Gov. Palmer, who
turns him over to Judge Murphy, of Daven-
port. After Littlefisld has distracted the gen.
uine Vernon county returns from the Office OF
the Secretary of State, substituting forged re-
turns for them, Judge Murphy takes him to
Iowa, having copy OF the forged returns in
his possession. He remains in Iowa for time,
learning his lesson, and at the proper time
starts for Washington, stopping en- route at
Springfield long enough to receive additional
coaching from ex-Gov. Palmer. He next turns
up in Washington, transfers the forged re-
tnrns or the stolen original ones-it is not yet
quite clear which-to David Dudley Field. the
protector of Boss Tweed in his villainies, and
after being coached by Field, appears on the
stand and testifies that he was directed to
alter the returns from Vernon county by trans
ferring certain number of votes from the
Democratic to the Republican side. What
the condition Of the return was when it was
signed it is impossible to state, as Little
field or some one else has stolcn the
original and substituted forged copy for it,
but the testimony sheds flood of light upon
the affair nevertheless. 1t shows that in the
bull-dosed Vernon parish there were 700 Demo-
cratic voters to two Republican, result al
most as VIGOROUSLY corrupt So that in East
Feliciana After receiving sufficient proof of
the violence and intimidations prachced in
that parish, the Returning Board excluded
three of the worst precincts which aggregated
178 Democratic and no Republican votes, and
Littlefield was directed to make out the re-
turns in this manner, but, instead of doing
this, he deducted the ITS votes from the Demo
cratic side and added them to the Republican,
and then sold out his infalny to Murphy,
Palmer and Field. The proof that this in
fanny is all his own is clear from variety of
reasons, among them the following: l..
The Returning Board knew mounting of
the additional change and ordered
nothing of the kind. 2. Listlefield stole the
original returns and substituted copy in his
own handwriting. 8. The change did not affect
any candidate to the extent of changing the
result, and thus nothing was gained by the
Returning Board in doing what he alleges the
board did. No one was elected by it, and no
one was defeated by it, but everything was left
where it was before. In point of fact, DEM
ocratic State Senator was elected by 1873 ma
jority. It did not carry the State for Hayes
nor for Packard, nor for any Republican men,
Der of Congress, nor affect the result in any
parish on district. The Democratic committee
may assume for their partisan purposes That the
Returning Board is composed of knaves, and
hire d thief, blackmailer and forger to prove it,
but they have no right to assume that they are
such idiots as to alter returns. knowing that they
cannot affect any result, and knowing that the
fraud would show on it's face, or as to order
their clerk to do it. The objects of the man
Littleield are apparent enough. He Is seek
ing, in the first place, to magnify himself; in
the second place. to secure revenge for
his removal from profitable place; and
third, to obtain his reward from " the bar'l."
The estimate that is to be placed upon the
testimony of such an infamous witness and
upon the conduct of the man Field, who has
him in charge, may be best fixed from Mr..
Morrison's refusal to have anything to do with
the witness or the stolen property, which
Tweed's lawyer wanted to shove into his hands.
If this is the manner in which the Democracy
is to conduct it's case after the appointment Of
Board Of Arbitration, it would seem to indi-
cate that they do not want an honest decision
even from that body.