The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-04
ROTTEN BEFORE WE ARE RIPE.

I
testimony of J. l.. Anderson before the Potte
committee given Saturday and printed In tn
dispatches Of the DEMOCRAT Sunday morn
Ing, must be convinced whatever may hav
been their previous opinion, that the best In
forests Of the country require this nvestiga
ton. If the public were in total ignorance o
the revolving facts connected with the falsii
cation of the elections in 1876 In the parishes
Of East and West Feicana. the unenviabIt
character Of J. l.. Anderson would render II
necessary, before any weight could be giver
10 his statements. to substantate them by
the testimony of other and more reputable
| witnesses. But unfortunately for Mcssrs
| Hayes, sherman and Company, the facts are
known and they 80 fully corroborate Amber
sons evidence and charges that we can see
no escape for the cOnspiratOrs from public
scOrn and detestation And, yet. the hundrndth
part of the perjury, bribery and forgery has
not been told The Great Fraud" has only
been pricked and already tho whole country
is filled with the noisome oder it has emitted.
| The most revolving fact shown by Ander-
sons testimony is, that, he and Weber, both
| very young men, had become alarmed at the
| magnitude of the vllainy they were making
| Intensely NJ parties TO- or that. unhardened in
such dehauGhery, they revOlted at the ''dirty
work" entrusted to them, and were about to
expose the whole plot and wash their hands
Of il. whrn John Sherman, then United
States Senator and now Secretary Of the
Treasury Camc forward 10 ease their CON
sciences, to dissuadc them from acting hon
estIy and hoHorabIy. and to not only persuade
and encourage them TO commit perjury and
dehase themselves, but actually 10 bride them
TO do 80. In this matter John Sherman PLAYED
the part Of nm old and hardened prOcuress.
who, when her frightened victims. terrified al
their first step in debauchery are about 10
flee from the brothel, steps forward TO per
suade them still TO pursue the path Of vice
and daHzlee and blinds their moral sense and
overcomes their fears by promises Of gold. and
jewels, and rich apparel, aud nights Of gaudy
revelry.
We never knew Anderson personally. but
we did know young Weber well, and we know
that he possessed some good and manly quail
tiles, as we have no doubt this man Anderson
did at one time. II he does not now. But they
were both tho political pupils of Warmoth.
West Kellogg. Hunsaker, and Geo Sheridan
dishonest men personally and politically
whom the Republican party had sent down
here to oppreas and pilIago Louisiana Under
the tuition Of these scourgcs of the State. these
young men were taught TO believe that "po-
litiCal virtue Is the mere Coquetry OF political
prostitution; that every patriot has his price:
that government can be carried on only by
measures Of corruption, and that the State Ia
given as n prey to politicians" 1t is not sur
prising, therefore, that young Anderson and
Weber were enlisted In the scheme to falsify
the elections In their respective parishes
neither is it strange that when they began to
the magnitude of the fearful
and dabOliCal scheme of villainy in
which they were working. they faltored
and were ready to turn back. But it Is won
derful. nay, appalling, that Unitet States
Senator, the man who, under the present ad-
holds the portfolio of the Treas
ury, prevented them from doing 80. per-
suaded them that the crime was necessary to
the salvation of the country, and that in
perjury and forgery they we're
serving q great and patriotic purpose.
And yet this Is Just what the Hon John !
Sherman did.
When the Potter resolutions were first |
passed, Sherman assumed tone of angry |
and defiant virtue; he Indicted a letter to Mr. |
Potter demanding what he then knew was |
inevitably thorough investigation, and de-
'laring emphatically that the allegation in the !
that he had induced or en-
Weber and Anderson to make false |
protests relative to the election in East and |
GrL, ri
Ten the shGdow Of TRUTH" Note the bold.
and uncQuivocaI character of
his denial ten days ago. Now, on the first in
slant, when he appeared before the Investigate
ng committee, and tho letter he had written
o Weber and Anderson encouraging and be-
ecching them to stand by their wicked work
md promising to take care Of them IL they
would, was shown him, John Shcrman's
one OF defiance turned into sicily pro-
est, and his uncquivOCal denial gave
way to fatcrng, Cqutvocating statement,
lalf confession and half a weak denial,
n reply to the question rs to whether or not
lo wrote the letter, he said he Thought it i'm
possible that he had ever written such a let
cr lie certainty had no recollection of it,
Lhero were things in that letter which he
would have written to these or any other
,entlcmcn but altogether he did not think he
rr0tC the letter. This is certainly very differ
mt language from that which Sherman used
n his letter to Mr.. Potter on tho twent.-
tn of May, when he said, referring to this
anderson Weber letter, Il declare and knou
he accusation against me to be absolutely
destitute of even the shadow of truth" Ger
ainly Mir. Sherman's memory has fcarfully
allied him since the twentieth of May. What
he positively knew on that day to be absO-
utely without even the shadow of truth, on
he first Of June he does not deny, and cx-
presses his doubts about it in such language
Is must convince the world that he wrote q
alsehood to Gen. Potter and that on the first
# june he was confronted with a true copy of
he letter he wrote to young Anderson and
Weber Offering them bride to swear to
alse protest against the elections in their
parishes.