New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-06-14
THE IMPENDING PITKIS.

is already thick with witnesses, but below
the horizon there's a rumbling sound as OF
something between a fOghOm and thunder
clap, and it is whispered among the cOrrcsp0n-
dents in the Potter Committee room that the
heavy-heeled Pitkn will shortly OvershadOw
the country and begin to pound the welkin
with the far-pumped tones of his pOnderous
utterances. II is said that he. is even now in
Washington, and that the Federal City has
already felt the thrill of his presence. Pitkin,
as we remember him now, is not an especially
wicked person. Or if he is, he.has not taken
the special pains to emblazOn it that we
have come to expect from the average
Louisiana witness. And yet he comes
from New-Orleans and has been q Fed
eral o0ce-hOlder 1t is known that he
has been in correspondence with General But
Ter, and that that mild-mannered cross-eX-
aminer was in the habit of addressing him as
"My Dear Pitkin." Pitldn himself revealed
this of himself several months ago, when, III
the discharge of patriots duty, he pub
lshcd portions Of the correspondence. But
even this may be, and, as things 90
in New Orleans, he not be especially
wicked. Indeed, the testimony of the Louisi-
ana witnesses who have preceded him has
made it rather difficult now for ANYBODY
to establish reputation for excelling
in wickedncss. The prizes for uncOmmoniy
bad persons have already all been earned,
if not awarded. And in the matter of
mixed and varicgated lying, we take
it that no competitor will have the temerity
to enter the lists with the knowledge that
Anderson has testified and is liable to be re-
MI 1 r.rtt.. En-
"a heard from, always sends ahead of him
that mysterious magnetic influence described
in Macbeth rs the priciing of the thumbs.
II is quite likely that Pitkin will vary the
mouotony of Louisiana testimony by letting
ont "a reasonable amount Of truth. At retail,
Of course no Louisiana politician would be
warranted, in The present condition Of the mar
kct, in iobbing it of in large lots; if the
market should be flooded, it would be
fatal TO a thriving and prosperous Industry
the making and unmakng and repairing
of afidayits. Then, too, every man IS cx-
Drcted TO keep truth enough on hand for seed
under any circumstances. We rather expect,
then. that Pitbin will, in discreet measure,
unfold the truth. We have not the slightest
idea what II will be about, nor does it make
much difference. He has always had more
or less OF the air of being oppressed with
the things he knows; the manner of man
who is holding himself together with a great
effort because he Is certain that everything
would wrinkle up and go out IN darkness If
he should once begin to disgorge the mys-
teres that dIstend him. Then too he
used to have such a sincere way of
bowling "MOrc Troops r-and he did it
usually in such unexpected and startling
fashion that we have always felt certain that
he meant It, and had some excellent reason for
it which did not at the time appear. If we
rightly remember, one of the very last things
which President Grant put his fingers in his
ears to avoid hearing was a call for
" more troopsn from New-Orlcans, signed
Pitlun. Pitkin must know lots and lots
of things about what used to be called =" the
political situation in louisiana" which, if
the country isn't dying to know, it Will
at least be a great relief to him to get Off
his mind. One thing he can doubtless tell
which we confess to have always been
curious about. 1t is said that when the
troubles began in Louisiana, somebody
| down there sent a dispatch to Washington
! for succor," and not until the call had been
so copiously answered that the State seemed
Botany Bay did it appear that the sender
had written succOr " in the plural number
and spclt it with 4. Pitlin might tell us to
whose bad spelling the State was indebted for
so much of its government
And yet, much though we may be delighted
TO hear from the sOnOrous Pitkin and WIT
ness the flow of his startling revelations, we
do not quite make out why he is summoned
TO testify before the Potter Committee. What
this committee is in search Of is evidence to
prove that the vote of Louisiana was fraudu-
lenny given to Hayes. To do this they must
show that there was no such violence and in
timidation as warranted the Returning Board
in throwing out the votes Of several precincts.
One step in this process was the production of
| Mr. James T.. Anderson, who, in the interests of
truth and Justice, has handed in q snarl of
afIidayits and tumble of testimony, out of
which it is intended eventually to unTavel
enough TO amount to q confession that
when ne swOre as Supervisor that his
precinct had been bulldozed, he was lying
with circumstance and generalization. Are
we to suppose, then, that PitkIn, the
intermittent shouter for More Troops n-the
echoes OF whose bugle were never known to
die during a campaign-that he is coming
forward TO make oath that there was really
no need Of troops that there was no violence
nor intimidation, nor anything to furnish the
Returning Board pretext for throwing out
the returns from bulldozed precinctsl Per-
haps we ought not to be surprised at
anything from Louisiana; but really
this is too much. Pitkin can hardly be
called to that part of the case. If he testifes
at all it must be to strengthen the Hayes and
weaken the Tilden case. And now it occurs
to us that Mr.. Butler has one branch of this