Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-02-19
Telegrams to The Star.
RETURNING BOARD SENSATION.
Sharp Letter from Wells
THE PAPAL CONCLAVE.
THE EUROPEAN SITUATION.
THE RETURNING BOARD TRIALS.
., mad. Wells sharply Criticises the
Proceedings and All Concerned

prints column and a half letter in the Times
THIS morning, in which he says" When il is
khoNn that hVe successive grand jurieS have
firmly refused to find a true bill against me at
the high beheSt of the attorney general and
ihe prosecution against me and my associates
Is based upon information. some public inter
est VIII attach to the personal character of the
informer.
THE CENTRAL FIGURE IN THIS CoSsrrR,,y
lSJudSe VIM Il. Whitaker. He conSpired TO
detraud the government of the United States
OF 500, with which he was intruSted as as
sistant treasurer succeeded in the conspiracy
and stands indicted for the felony. Judge
whitaker has conducted himself in the late
trial OF Gen. Anderson rs though he had nm.
dertaken contract with the democratic party
10 DO their dirty work and receive as his re-
ward full rehabilitation into their society He
stated to several persons and 10 LAWYERS OF
hlgh standing before the trial of Gen. Ander-
son that
THE Jury WAS PACKED
L"f ihe purpose OF his conviction. He stated
further that ne motion having for its object
lne removal 01 the cause from his Jurisdiction
would have his sanction that all motions for
that object would he overrued. Nine of the
Jurors in the Anderson trial SwOre that they
were preJudlced against the prisoner yet thev
were made To serve. Two of them had de-
clared openly that Anderson ought TO be- hang
ed; During the greater part of the trial Judge
Whitaker was in beaStly state of intoXica-
tiOn.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROSECUTING ATroR-
MES.
Attorney General Ogden was also aware that
The jury was packed and aided and assisted in
the nefarious scheme by Which the backing
was accomplished. He said he intended to
lofce the trial. because he haG his jury pre-
pared for conviction: that he kept concealed
in his room Littlefed TO prevent his testimo-
ny being taken in AndersOn's trial. This At
torneY General is wholly unreliable. As 4
sworn officer he has Speculated upon the col
lection of taxes. lie attempted to force the
grand jury last summer 10 find bills of indicl-
ment against th' returning board. He ap-
peared before the grand jury. inSulted Wit
nesses and tLreatened them with incarcera-
ton if they refused To swear exactly what he
desired. Failing to procure such evidence
from The witnesses as he wanted, he accompa-
MED the Judge before the grand Jury and had
him (the ludgel 10 repr imand the witnesses.
and threaten them with incarceration il they
| did not give such testimony as was required
! by him. The judge attempted TO force the
grand jury t.. find IA true bill, to satisfy the
wants and wishes OF the attorney general
against the returning board, but, finding all
| their extraordinary efforts futile. they were
compelled to 1all back upon the alternative
General Eagan stands indicted for the murder
of his brother tfl-law.
ABOUT THE WITNESSES.
or the witnesses, he says that Charles Cava-
nae is man OF bad reputation for yeracity.
VIM. t. Smart would omit no lie he could utter
that would be likely to convict him, (WellS.)
During the rebellion he stole my stock, killed
/ my hogs and poultry. and put the vote TO his
| company il they should kill me and burn my
! dwelling over the heads of my family. Burke
| is an abscOnder from Illinois.
! TIE JURY SELECTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC
COMMITTEE.
! The names of the jurors that were impan-
! Eeed for the trial OF Anderson and myself
! We're furnished by the democratic committee
Their political status, as well as their views as
! TO the proper punishment, was canyaSSed by
! the judge. attorney general and the demo
cratic committee before being placed on the
| panel. One of the jury commissioners testified
| before the court that the list of jurors placed
| in the jury box from which taleSmen We're
! drawn after eXhausting the panel was fur
! nished by the democratic executive committee,
and this fact was known To Ogden, Eagan and
! Finney. Wells says that if the Vernon parish
! returns were altered they were altered by
i democrats.
| HE THUS SPEAKS OF CONGRESSMAN GIBSON
''R. l.. GibSolL-haS seen fit, on the floor of
| Congress. to calumniate the returning board,
and has attempted a justification of their pros
| ecution. This colored democratic representa-
tive seems to claim right to asSail the white
! commngling of the African with the CaucaS-
! sian blood in his veins When | was acting
| foreman of the l. 5. grand jury in 1875 this
cOlOred representative of Louisiana in the
Congress of the nation was presented to the
| grand jury for violation of the election laws
| fraudulently filling the boxes with tickets that
| were never ballOted, and would have been in
dicted by the jury, and in all probability sent
| to The penitentiary, but for my leniency and
: forbearance. The evidence of his guilt, taken
before the jury, is yet in the hands of one Of its
TnDEN vs.. HAYES
These are samples of the principal tools and
the members of the returning board in the
case improperly called The stale of Louisiana
| ys.J. Madison Wells and others, hut really
! and truly it should be called The case of Sam
! uel J. Tiiden vs.. Rutherford b. Hayes
! Ii is contest for the Office of President of
| the nlted States and the patronage of the eN-
ecutlve departments of the Federal govern
ment II is chiefly managed by David Dudley
Field. with the advice and pecuniary assist
ance of the national democratic committee. A
verdict Of packed jury Of Louisiana demo
n hnV nAi ntnI
| out, will, ii is expected, be accepted by the
people OF the United States as judicial Settle
| ment OF Mr.. Title to the presidency, is
BOLD AND DESPERATE GAME
t 1or great state. Myself and colleagues on
| the returning board are merely the Outposis
or or picket g guard which they hope to capture,
possible, and claim the patronage of the gov
| ernment as the Spoils Of war. I'm cOrrObOra-
tic ti3n lott OF this is view, refer you to the movements
| well-grounded reports that a large sum of
| money has been sent here from New York to
be used in the trial, to the fact that the ma
! ti0nal democratic committee has been hastily
| called together, though no national election is
pending, to the fact that several of the officers
OF the court; including the Judge, the attor-
ney general, the assistant attorney general,
| the sheriff, the principal witnesses, several of
| the Jurors, and many of the aiders and abet
Tors OF The proceedings, are. stained with
son, murder, larceny, perjury, subOrnatiOn Of
perjury, libel, attempting to defraud voters at
/ the poliS, and other serious OnenceS. Few eu-
! gagged in the prosecution have clean hands,
! and yet the democratic national committee
! inspired by
! THE MEPHIST0PHELEAN DAVID DUDLEY FIELD
! hope by the employment of such tools i'm a
! place and i'm case where the other side has
! no possible chance of a fair trial scarcely any
| to be heard to make up such a case as shall
| able them to wrench the sceptre from the
hands OF President Hayes .and give il to the
henchman OF the democracy. The eyes of the
leaders OF the rebellion are already fixed upon
the hlgh places OF the government, which they
| Ieel assured are as good as in their possessioi
aifeady as nothing stands in their way now
put Wells and Anderson, whose conviction
| they nave contracted for and the contractors
are hurrying up their work. This is natien-
al, not personal question. Ii is renewal I'm
InslduOus guiSe OF the tremendous conflict OF
1910, perhaps OF 1861. II becomes the republi-
cans of the north to be on their guard and
! give our Louisiana hirclings to understand
that 1t is time for them to be quiet or be pre-
| pared Tor open, determined, and unreleIrtng
war.