Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-01-24
PRESIDENTIAL COUNT.

= Z
To the Editor Of the World:
S1R: The history Of the Florida canvass
continues interesting, as anybody might
guess from the currency given lately to
fiction about it, ascribed to McLin Of the
Canvassing Board, whose official act, since
pronounced illegal and false by the Execu-
tive, the Legislature, and the Supreme Court
TALL Repubicans) of Florida, then defrauded |
that State Of its vote for Tilden, and reversed
it, and defrauded the people of the United
States of their choice for President.
When arrived at Tallahassee, the capital |
of Florida, last winter, my first effort was in
conjunction with Samuel Pasco, an accom-
plished graduate of Harvard, Chairman of |
the Democratic State Committee, to ascertain
the actual vote at the November election.
Qnebec was nearer in time than some of the |
southern counties, across the everglades, at
the foot of the peninsula. Nevertheless, from
every county, however remote or inaccessible,
we organized speedyas- possible collection
of certified copies Of the recorded canvass
and returns of the local county officers.
Three copies of each were then in existence
1. The official record at each county seat 2.
The return at or on the way to the Secretary
of States Office at Tallahassee. 8. A dupli-
cate return with or on the way to
the Governor at Tallahassee. Forgery or
Justification of No.-2 and No. 3, and a
forced agreement of the two with each other,
were attainable by their custodians if knaves,
but these two official returns could not be
safely cooked at Tallahassee and falsifed
without precisely corresponding cookery at
the county seat of No. 1, an original official
| record there.
| Every leading Democrat in Florida, like
Colonel Pasco, firmly believed, with sufficient
reason in the reports from the near and
populous counties, that their party had carried
the State. The whole Democratic organiza-
ton throughout the State lent willing hands,
to know and fix the literal truth and fact.
The certified copies for which we sent by
telegraph, post, boats, mounted messengers,
&C., of the county seat record No. y in
every county nailed that record nailed it at
the precise majorities, whichever and what
ever they we're, as computed and returned
(No. and No. 81 to Tallahassee by the county
officers, for the Board of State Canvassers to
canvass, aggregate and declare.
4 In due time the arrival of our certified
copies of the county seat records gave Gov
ernor Drew, Col. Pasco, Elector Wilkinson
Call and their friends from the North, actual
and legal demonst ration that the people OF
; Florida had cast a majority of their votes fol
] George F. Drew and the other State officers
who are now holding Office, and for the Til
den electors, who, afterwards on the law day
: met, cast their votes, and transmitted the
the same to the President of the Senate
But so did also the non-elected Hayes cleo
TORS whose votes the Electoral Commission
selected for count.
It was presumed, you perceive, in these
our precautions against forgery, that we hac
to deal with rogues. Why assumed, if the
time ever comes to tell the whole story O.
} the Florida fraud, may then more fully ap
r pear. But when the fact that Florida hai
7 voted for Tilden was thus certified, recorded
8 and fixed by evidence in our control, not tina
of the State authorities, the rogues wer,
r driven to other means than forgery for effect
. ing their criminal purpose. They were shu
: up to fat violation of the law prescribin,
3 the duty of the State Canvassing Board.
: At the time of which McLin speaks the,
1 knew that the county returns aggregated
/ Tilden majority. They knew too that for
$ gerry or Justification of these was prevente,
Q by the certified copies in Democratic hands
$ But also they knew perfectly well that in
d recent previous decision the supreme cou1
n of Florida had rebuked construction of til
s election law under which the same State can
wasting board had usurped authority to d
something more than compute and declar
the aggregates from the county return.
r The subsequent decision of the same cou
! (Which unseated Gov. Stearns and implied
- ousted the Hayes electors as welD was merel
:. repetition of their former decision and {
y the accepted doctrine of our courts.
y Nevertheless, for obvious reasons, a
q ways treated Secretary McLin, in my sligl
VI with him
y he were an honest man whose mere fulfil
Il ment of his official duty might oblige him
> make the painful decision that his own part
o had been defeated. never called upon hi1
. at his own house, as he is reported to hav
. said, s'the night before the count" In fac
. he was then closeted at the State House wit
his confederates. And if he has said tn;
then or at any other time, in any way, direc
~ ~ or indirectly, or by any form or implics
ton of language, told him that the Demo
cratic party would make him rich, or nom
% nate him to any office, or that any one wou]
! do SO with my consent or furtherance, he ht
- uttered a stupid lie. But I am not concerne
10 to deny anything, however false, that tn
4 disappointed man may choose to say Of m
- or invegt as my part in conversation will
- out witnesses even though he charg
:, me with promising him what President Hay
- has performed, or rather, tried to perforI
30 by nominating him to federal magistrat
i in New Mexico.
a The shameful fraud by which he and b
~ misguided associate soon after falsifed Il
~ vote Of the people of Florida fraud, Q
it's completion by furtherance Of the Elect
raj Commission, denounced and reversed
the Executive, Legislative and judicial authc
re tiles of Florida in every public and possit
- way-was worked out mainly in four coun
70 returns: They took away about 1900 vot
ak from the Tilden electors and 500 votes fro
ht the Hayes electors-a net gain of neal
n 1000 to the Hayes electors which was t
'e- times more than enough to overbalance
'e- actual majority of SO which the lowest I
y. den elector had over the highest Hay
re- elector, as shown upon the face Of the coun
on returns.
re- The following table exhibits the deta
and method of the fraud:
Vote for Vote for
Tilden Electors. Hayes Electo
!, --s----> ---s--
lth De In De- In
RS Counties. creased. creased. creased. creas
mt Alachua...... IL
of fernando S
lb- Orange......
sd Clay. 30 2
49, Jefferson 800. GO