The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-02-14

WHhl NHuNbHN huOut lhliiJ
Sherman, Matthews, Garfield, Hale and White
send card Of Comfort TO Anderson now In Jail
at New 0rleans-SOft words however wont but
ter Parsnips when a man Is In limbo and the
Peniteutlary closely.
Washington, Feb. II.-Secretary Sher-
man being asked if it was true he, Mat
thews, Garfield, Hoar and White had sent
dispatch to Anderson, said it was true,
and as that fact had been made public, he
would furnish Copyof the dispatch, and
they meant all they said. Sherman then
stated that he regarded the arrest, trial
and conviction of Anderson as a great
outrage under color of forms of law. An
derson was not indicted. The grand jury
had refused to indict him. The proceed
ing is called on information" and is
expressly prohibited in cases of felony
by the Constitution Of the United States
and OF most of the States, but is provided
for by the law of Louisiana. The infor-
nation was signed and filed by man
who was an officer of the White League
and identified with all the numerous
crimes of that organization. The Judge
who tried the case is a public defaulter
for over six hundred thousand dollars.
When Anderson was arrested he was
Acting Collector of the port of New Or
leans, and the arrest was made while he
was in the discharge of his duty at the
Custom House, which stands as Sherman
thinks, on ground under sole Jurisdiction
of the United States, by cession from
Louisiana. He was hurried to prison, re,
quired to give an excessive bail and fall
ing to do so was kept in custody, denied
all postponements, forced to trial, con-
viCted, and is now held for sentence with
out the benefit Of bail. The Jury was
picked to convict, the panel had been
carefully selected-almost exclusively of
one political party and one race. Their
examination, as it was called showed
the deepest and strongest prejudice
against the defendants, and in any trib-
unal, he (Sherman) knew that nearly
every one would have heen rejected on
his oath, and yet, though challenged,
they were sworn in. With such Jury
am prepared TO believe the story tele>
graphed this morning that the two color
ed jurors were tricked into rgreeing to
this verdict by the empty appeal to the
mercy of the court.
The cause of this excitement against
Anderson and his associates is, that in
performance of public duty in plain pur>
suance Of the law and upon ample testi-
money, they eliminated from the election
returns in Louisiana results of violence
and intimidation, though this was not all
legged in the information" yet every>
body knew this was the gravamen oftheir
offence, and without it no man on this
jury would have convicted Anderson. 1t
is this that excited the populace, heated
with passion, to the highest state of re,
sentiment.
The pretense set up for the prosecution
was that Anderson had participated in
the forgery or the alteration of the Ver-
non parish returns, but there was not one
particle of evidence to connect him with
this act. The whole had been thorough>
ly examined here by commissioners of
Congress, and all the records and returns
had been spread before them, and even
Littlefeld, who made the alteration, had
eXculpated Anderson from the knowl>
edge of it. The truth is, the Vernon re-
turns we're opened by the Returning
Board before hosts of witnesses on the
ninth day of the examination, were print
ed precisely as they were in the daily pa.
pers and in both houses Of Congress and
the subsequent alteration by Littlefeld
of one copy of these returns was done
either as put up job by him or in the
interest of the local candidates, having
no effect upon the general result, and
there does not appear to be a single
scrap of testimony showing that Ander.
son participated in it in the slightes de-
gree.
There was no motive for such altera>
ton by Anderson; the true return being
printed in so many forms, it was absurd
to think he would alter it, and yet upon
this false pretext he was convicted. l still
hope this conviction will not be carried
into execution, but if it is, as a matter Of
course the deepest feeling of resentment
and hostility will exist in the minds of a
great mass of our people who believe
that these returning officers did but their
simple duty. Nothing has been done
pending the trial to intefere in any way
with the course of the judicial proceed
ings, but if Anderson is imprisoned un-
der this sentence it will be the mockery
of public justice, and will bring into con.
tempt all the efforts at peace and con-
ciliation. 1t is unlocked for, and would
be terrible commentary upon the efforts
of the President to quiet the turbulence
and violence of Louisiana politics, and
it seems to me an act of folly and mad
ness"
The following is the dispatch referred
to:
WASHINGTON, D. G., Feb. 4, 1878.
To General Thomas @. Anderson, Nel0 Orleans.
The undersigned feel it due to you under pres
ent circumstances to assure you of our unhesi.
tating belief that in the matter wherein you stand
charged you are altogether guiltes Of any offense
against the law; that you are falsely accused and
maliciously persecuted that the preceding
against you though in the form of law is without
the substance of justice; that we hereby tender
our earnest sympathies and express our hope that
sense of Justice and love Of peace Of the people Of
Louisiana will protect you and not permit the
best interests of the whole country to be disturbed
by a revival ofseCtional animosity. In any event,
we are confident that the American pc ople will
redress any injustice Of which you may be made
the victim.
JOHN SHERMAN, STANLEY MATTHEWS,
]. A. GARFIELD, EUGENE HALE,
HARRY WHITE