The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-07-18
WASHINGTON.
Letter Of Chairman Potter to Secretary Sherman.
Washington, July 1.-THE following letter ex'
tk,nI


Washington, July 1.-THE following letter ex.
plains itself:
House of Representatives, July 10.
SIR-I received this morning your letter OF the
9Th inst and have laid 1t before the committee.
General Garfield and the other gentlemen who
visited Louisan, named in the list sent ne by Mr..
Shellabarger, will be summoned at as early date
as practicable. As to the Weber examination,
neither General Cox nor myself could remain
over the Sd, and as he desired Weber 10 be in New
Orleans for further examination by him on the
10th 1t was arranged that Messrs HuntOn and
Springer should continue Weber's examination so
far as they desired to do so that day ana that Mr..
Shelabarser should attend for General Cox. The
stenographer's minutes of the session do not dis
close any objection by Mr.. Shellabarger which
was not assented to, nor any request of his reus.
ed and understand from those gentlemen that
they we're not aware that any difference between
them and Shellabarger as to the conduct OF the
examination existed whatever nor that anything
occurred to which he took exception, AS to the
publication by you Of your letters to the commit
tee, do not find that was under any mtsappre.
hension. Your letters of the Both OF May, LIST and
18th of June and 9th inst. were published in full
when sent That to which Mr.. Morrison proposed
reply was not indeed itself published, but the
substance Of 1t was given to the President at the
time. ,
AS to the testimony of intimidation in the par
ishes Of East and West FeliCiana proposed, IN mel.
ther of these parishes did the election oihcers
make any protests with the returns, and as re-
Ceived by the Returning Board the returns OF the
election Of 1876 In those parishes stood absolutely
lv Without objection. AfterWard Anderson, as
Supervisor of East, and Weber as Supervisor Of
West FelicIana undertook to furnish protests up
on which the Returning Board might object the
vote of those parishes. II is claimed that they
did this without cause, solely for politically pur-
poses and because Of political promises, and II is
IN evidence that they have themselves confessed
this, It is also claimed that the fact that there
was not Republican vote cast In certain sections
which had heretofore been largely Republican
was the result Of conspiracy to withhold the Re-
publican vote there in order to afford pretense
| for claiming that the result was occasioned by
intimidation, and thereby furnish ground for re-
iecting these parishes. The committee have not
considered that the evidence you propose, and
which has been taken by former committees OF
certain alleged murders, Whlppings and raidings
not known to Weber or Anderson nor connected
with the alleged conspiracy and upon which net'
ther they nor the parties engaged In the conspia-
cy acted, could have bearing upon these ques,
tions nor upon the action of the Returning Board
on their protests, and they therefore decided not
to take the same. Where In the course OF the ex,
animation the witnesses I. H. jerks, Pitkin, and
Weber have referred to intimidation In those par
ishes 1t has been incidentally or as bearing upon
the conspiracy. Should 1t later appear that the
specific acts to which you refer have any bearing
upon the conspiracy or upon the good faith OF
Weber or Anderson or Of the Returning Board In
respect of their protests, the cOT mittee will then
consider the praCticabiity Of taking the testimo-
nv and that in contradiction of 1t, or of permit
monD taken before former committees,
Respectfully your obedent servant,
CLARKsoN N. POTTER, Charm an.
To Hon, John Sherman.