The Morning herald., 1878-07-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.
fFrom our Special Correspondent. !

WAshINdToNs -. VI, July 1, 1910.
That was important evidence which L. G.
Dennis gave before Mr.. Potter's Committee
yesterday. He was, as is well known, an
officer whose position made him cognizapt
of all that WAS done in the celebrated
Archer precinct In Florida. he swore that
2l9 votes were added to the number thrown
for the Republican candidate, and that the
work was done in bis house and In his pros
ence by two of the Republican election
officers. These 219 votes were added be-
cause, as he and the others believed, the full
number of Republican votes thrown did not
appear in the boxes when the count was
made after election Yet the officers In
charge OF the polls were Republicans.
These 2l9 votes, to the adding of which
there can be no excuse In law or morals,
saved the State to Hayes. 1t is q natural
sequence to this story that Dennis and the
two officers who made the addition were
Immediately appointed to Office.
Dennis says that when the "Visiting
Statesmen" were in Florida and seeking to
have the Aarcher precinct counted with the
219 fraudulent votes in, Noyes, now Minis
ter to France, sought repeatedly to have
him, Dennis, testify to the correctness of
the reported vote, and that he as often de-
clined, and finally told Noyes it would be
better for the Republicans rot to have him
called. And he was not called. W.
Mrs. jerks finished her testimony the
other day, but still fingers, the object of
great attention whenever she appears upon
the street.
Fitz John Porter Is having bis case ex
amined into by military officers detailed for
the purpose. l have no objection to this.
He may have been wrongfnlly convicted
originally. His trial was held certainly at
. time when popular feeling was very strong
against him in the North, and this may
have Influenced the Court. Bot If Porter,
and Hammond, and Runkle, and others are
to be the subject Of executive clemency or
OF Congressional relief, let US have some
plan by which humber men, too, may seek
to have removed from the army record,
stains which are more likely to BE- undeserved
than those in any of the csses named above
Lei Congress authorize the appointment of
Board, partly of army officers and partly
of civilians, or wholly of civilians who we're
volunteer army officers, which shall sit in
Washington, and shall re-examine the evi-
dence in any case of 0 volunteer officer or
soldier who was convicted and punished
during the war, and SHALL now request such
re-examination. The Board should also
have power to pass upon evidence improper
ly excluded at the trial. There are thous-
ands of cases In which the technicalities
which govern Court Martial once swept
away, would be found to have been decided
against the evidence, or so arbitrarily passed
upon that the accused was unable to defend
himself. If thought necessary, the Board
might simply make q recommendation in
each case, and Congress might thereafter,
If it saw At, grant the relief asked for.
The 300 members of the House, at the |
lest session, received, or were entitled to re-
ceive, 40 tons Of printed matter from the |
Government, or about 2,700 pounds each. |
By law this goes through the mails free of
postage. The books going to make up this |
amount are the Agricultural Report, Of
which each member has 700; message Of
President and accompanying documents, Of |
which 80 are given of the reports of Cabi- |
net officers, 6 copies are furnished, and Of
the Congressional Record "a are supplied |
daily, of the Revised Statutes, 10 copies, |
and Of the Constitution and Charter, 20
copies. Don.