The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1878-11-07
4 FLORIDA EDITORS TESTI-
MONY.

To the Editor of the Herald-Sir: 1t
is probable that the first intimatiOn Mr..
Marble received that the vote of Florida
could be had for consideration came
/ from me. | had been told that the vote
of one of the Republican members of the
Returning Board could be bought The
sum named as the price was $50, 900. |
informed Mr.. Marble of what | had
heard. agd gave him the name of the par
ty said to be ready to negotiate and the
name Of the member whose vote was to
be Sc ured. We talked the matter over
fully. Mr. Marble said, in substance,
that the proposal was piece of strategy
! designed to get an offer from the Demo
Gratis and make it the occasion for larger
demands from the other side, and that
under no circumstances would Mr.. Til
! den consent to the offer or payment of
money, nGr would he.
This IS the substance of what occurred
between us on that question. | have not
the least idea that Mr.. Marble was insin-
/ Cere IN his prompt rejection of the pro-
poSaI, or that he ever entered into negO-
tiatlon with any person having as its oh
Iect and end the purchase Of vote. SO
far from it, as | know from associations
with him, he had n strong belief that
both Cowgirl and McLin, especially the
latter, would ultimately SO vote as to
cause the right to prevail. I myself had
some faith IN Cowgirl, but none in Me
Lin. Mr. Marble had faith in both
He thought these persons knew, beyond
any reasonable doubt, that the Demo
Gratis had fairly elected their State ticket
and given a small majority to the Tilden
electors, even after counting for Hayes
all the fraudulent votes claimed as hav-
! ing been cast for him, and that their
sense of justice would finally triumph
over party prejudice and passion. He
held TO this view until in the informal
count, the true return from Baker county
WAS attempted to be concealed, and a
fraudulent one substituted for it. This
tended To open his eyes to the intensely
partisan ch .racter of the Republicans on
the Board, and satisfied HIM that little
was to be hoped for from their sense of
/ honor or Justice if that act was 10 be ta
ken as an indication of their feelings and
purpose.
Whatever kilograms may have gone
during those exciting days intimating
bargain seriously entertained, or viii b
failed to be completed for want of time,
we're either forgerieS or We're sent by
political gamblers. There could not
possibly have beta any ground for q
bargain beyond mere surmise that
vote was purchasable, and the first sug
gestiop rs to that-tO Mr. Marble az least
rs | believe-came from me, as already
said. / will add that the person who
professed to he able to secure and deliver
the vote was himself political gambler,
from Philadelphia, who was about that
time telegraphing to Mr.. Edmunds for
money ito prevent frauds / had no
confidence in the mans honesty, poll
teal or otherwise, and had no conference
with him on the subject of his proffer,
but obtained my information as to it from
a Democrat. | understood that he was
TO share the money with the member OF
the Board whose vote was to be pur-
chased.
If the Tri5mpe's Dispatches are gen
Uine and have been correctly translated,
any bargain" they intimate was based
on vague idea that vote was purchas-
able if the money was forthcomiDg-only
that and nothing more. If there had
been "a bargain, as the Tribrac asserts
was the case, some Of us here would have
known OF II, where's the first intimation
we got of anything of the sort was
through those dispatches.
c. E. DYK, Editor F}or;d:aR.