The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-07-05
TILE ELECTORAL ERA I'D.
C0ntInued frOm FLrgt PAge

Union. All Jnb unbup6Ib Vi lhO NVhA"i,D
sion knew it as we'll as they know the
geographical position of Tallahassee, or
New Orleans. It needed no proof but
ifspecific evidence had been required,
there was the record, from which the
truth glared upon them as clear as the
sun. They shut their eyes upon the
record. and refused to see "how many
and what persons were duly appointed
electors" by the people, but listened
eagerly to the evidence (alIunde though
n WasI which showed chow many and
what persons" had been designated by
the returning officers. 1t was ultimately
held teight to seven) that the appointees
of the Returning Board were duly APP
pointed, and the appointees OF the peo'
Die were unduly appointed. Did the
eight suppose that the legal power to
make such an appointment was vested
bv law in the Returning BoardsP Did
they think it was not vested in the peo-
ple? No, that is impossible. But they
NAV have ConsCientiously believed that
the interest of their faction would be
we'll served by Hayes's election. They
may have been prompted by virtuous
admiration of carpet'bag government
and were sincerely anxious to save II
from Tilden's reform.
It's Pettlfogging.
But this decision in favor of fraud that
80 shocked the common sense and com
mon honesty of the nation, was not made
without seme attempt to justify it. The
eight gave reasons so many and so plaus-
ibIe that Kellogg and Wells must have
chuckled with delight when they heard
them One argument very seriously ar
gued was that it would be troublesome,
and require a great deal of time, to ascer-
tain who was appointed by the people.
It was much easier to accept the false
vote and say no more about it. To de-
eide how many and what persons got
certificates from the Returning Board
was short and simple process; but to
push the inquiry behind that-to inquire
whether the certificate was honest, to
look for the evidence which would show
who was duly appointed-hic labor hoe
Opats ea The seven reminded the eight,
but reminded them in vain, that the due
appointment which nobody in the world |
except the people, had the least right to
make, was the very thing they were to
find out; and they could not be excused
from duty to which they were pledged
and sworn by the mere inconvenience Of
performing it. Besides, the eight knew
very well there was no difficulty in it; it
was but looking at the record of the ap'
pointment as the people made it up;they
could read it as they ran; the truth was
palmer than the lie; the honesty of the
case was as easily seen as the fraud. But
no persuasion could influence them to |
cast even a glance at the actual appoint |
ment. What did they think this COM
mission was made for? Why was this
great combination of learning and state
craft set up? According to the eight its
sole purpose was, not to determine any |
matter of dispute between the parties,
but merely to declare that the Returning |
Boards had certified for the Hayes eleC-
tors, which everybody knew already, and |
nobody ever denied. If its object was |
what theiaw said-to decide who were
duly appointed-the the eight succeed
ed in making it merely splendid abor-
ton, because, among other reasons, it |
was too much trouble to make it any
thing else.
Hedging for Oregon.
But the Commission, following the
lead Of counsel for Mr.. Hayes, insisted |
that the certificate of the proper State Of
ficer ought to be regarded as conclusive |
evidence of the appointment made by |
the people. 1t is undoubtedly true that
the State has right to speak on this
subject through her own organs, and |
when she does so speak her voice ought |
to be regarded as true. But what officer
is her proper organ? The Governor be-
ing her political chief, and his certificate
being required by act of Congress, it
would not have been unreasonable to
hold that it was conclusive unless tainted
with fraud. The Hayes electors had the
executive certificate in Louisiana and
Florida, and this, in regard to those
States, gave the eight legal advantage.
But they threw it away, abandoned the
attsstation of the Governor as worthless,
claimed no faith or credit for it, and pro-
nounced it open to contradiction, no diff
ference how honestly it may have been
given. What was the meaning of this
phenomenal ruling which apparently
opened the door Of investigation even
wider than the Democrats asked? 1t was
understood by everybody. The Commits
sion was hedging for Oregon. The eight
were reaching across to the Pacific for
the one vote there, which was just as i'm.
portant as the twelve on the Gulf of
Mexico,
But having gone behind the Governors
certificate for the sake of correcting er.
rors, could there be any possible justif-
cation for stopping before the truth was
reached2 If the State Executive,
whose attestation is required by Federal
law, went for nothing whenever it was
Contradicted, how could the conclusive
ness be asserted of paper made by SUI
bordinate officers unknown outside of
the State, and powerless even by the To-
cal law to make certificate of more than
prima faCie validity? Yet the Electoral
Commission (eight to seven) decided
that the Governors certificate might be
set aside fol- a mere mistake of law or
fact, while that of the Returning Board
would stand, though known to be found
ed on falsehood and saturated all through
with corruption.
EUuenCb ADunues
The unvarying preference of the eight
Commissioners for the false over the true
becomes very striking at this point.
When they got behind the Governors
papers they found lying aliunde two diff
ferent sets of documents, one was a rec
ord of the actual appointment made by
the people, the other was mere fabrica-
ton of the Returning Board without any
semblance of truth, they embraced the
latter with all the ardor of sincere affec-
ton, and rejected the former with all pos
sible marks of their dislike.
To give the DEGREES Of the Returning
Boards the conclusive effect claimed for
them, it was necessary to hold that they
were legally invested with judicial pow
ers, and that their jurisdiction, whether
rightly or enormously exercised, was alb
solute over the whole subject matter. In
Florida the statute which creates the
board gave it nothing except ministerial