The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-03-03
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TIE ELECTORAL FRAUD,

or like Grants supreme court when he ap
nointed Bradley and Miller, TO decide IN
certain way regardless of law or fact'-w'
left the said commission in profound secret
cop,tation over the Oregon problem. VI
course the waste of day IN secretly ponder
ing the question was as absurd as 1t was iol
the supreme court to waste week arguing
the legal tender question when the decision
by the appointment of Bradley and Miller
was foregone conclusion. Every body
knew week ago what the decision would
be, and the commission, or rather Mr.. Brad
LEY, might as well have prevented further
waste Of time by saying candidy that he had
predetermined to give Oregon to Hayes, and
all argument on the subject was useless. The
democrats, however, compelled Bradley &c
put on paper the dlsgraceful decision, that Il
was of no consequence that Watts was lneli
gible on The 7th of November, provided ht
was no longer ineligible on the 9th of De
cembcr, when he cast his vote as elcctor
There is not respectable lawyer In the L
S. but knows that this is absurdly and gro.
tesquely bad law. So the commission dccid
ed that Oregon had cast three votes for
Hayes, and at the JOINT meeting of the two
houses on Saturday Oregon was counted for
Hayes. When Pennsylvania was called an
other elector was objected TO as ineligible,
and when the two houses separated, the house
adjourned over to Monday.
A So I'm. on Monday the two houses
again met to proceed with the count. The
vote of the ineligible Pa. clector Boggs was
counted for Hayes. With various Interrupt.
tions-one over the vote of Rhode Island
which was soon settled, and other Interrupt
tons arising out of Il portion of the democrat
ic members attempting to stave off the count
by tilibustering-the count finally proceeded
until South Carolina was reached, from
which state two certificates having been pre-.
sen,ed the matter had TO be referred to the
electoral commission.
That body re-assembled on Tuesday to
take upj the South Carolina case. Hurd of
Ohio and Cochrane of Pa. stated the objec.
tons to the Hayes certificate, and Lawrence
and Christiancy the objections to the Tildcn
certificate. The substance OF the objections
made by the democrats was that on account
of Grants military interference there had
been no fair and tree election in South Caro-.
lima. Stanley Matthews made speech of an
hour and half In defence of the Chamber
lain. Grant fraud, and Montgomery Blair and
Judge Black made some almighty caustic"
observations on the other side. Then the
commission cogitated briefly in secret-voted
to receive no proof of any sort, and decided
to give the electoral vote of the state to
Hayes
On Thursday the two houses again met,
heard the report of the commission, and sep
arated. The House rejected the finding and
the Senate approved II, whereupon, under
the rule, the decision of the commission
stood and South Carolina was counted for
Hayes. The count then proceeced as far as
Vermont, when not only the vote of Solace,
the postmaster, was objected to, but the entire
vote of the state, on the ground that but one
return had been forwarded from that state,
the law requiring two-0ne to be brought by
an elector and the other by mail. The mail
copy from Vermont seems to have been lost
somehow by the way. The two houses sep.
arated to cogitate on the matter
BY Thursday, however, the Vermont bust
ness was adjusted, and the count again pro.
ceeded, with numerous Interruptions by the
"flibustors,' until IL o'clock on Thursday
night the. certificate Of Wisconsin-the last
state on the list-was opened. Then ensued
one OF the most desperate struggles the house
ever witnessed, TO force an adjournment and
put Oft the final consummation of the giant
fraud TO the last possible moment. The
struggle was still going on at 3 o'clock yes.
terday morning, when the last telegraph dis.
patches IN yesterdays dailes were sent over
the wires. The chances are, however, tina,
the count was completed and Hayes declared
elected before the adjournment took place.
The last speech reported by the dispatches is
that Of Blackburn, who said:
To-day is Friday. On that day the saviour
of the world was cruciiied between two
thieves. On this Friday constitutional gov.
eminent, judicial honesty, iair dealing, and
decency suffer cruciiXion among a number
of thieves. 1t was on that day that this presi
DENTAL fraud received his nomination at the
hands of u party convention. 1t was on tina,
day, as 1t required, that every determination
reached by the bllstered, perjured miscreants
who constitute majority OF this CONN ission
has been promulgated 1t is on thai
day that you propose 10 consummate your
iniquIty, but the people will at length rise tc
punish even, perhaps, in blood, the pcrpetra
tors of all the scoundrehsm and villainy of
this proceeding.
Don Piatt, once republican of the Red