The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1878-06-28
The Potter Investigation.

The long expected witness, Mrs. jerks, ap.
peared before the Potter Investigating Com
mittee, at Washington, last Saturday. Her
testimony was expected to fully clear Secre-
tary Sherman of the charge of having writ
ten the disgraceful letter to Anderson and
Weber, supervisors of election in Louisiana,
promising them immunity from punishment
and rewards from Hayes, for falsifying the
election returns. Mrs. jerks proved to be a
smart, shrewd woman, utterly devoid ofprin-
ciple and ready to swear TO anything, Her
testimony, instead of establishing the fact that
Sherman did not write the letter alluded to,
left his case in 4 worse condition than before.
Her story had evidently been well concocted
but not being allowed to tell it in her own
way, she was drawn into maze of contra
dictions. She corroborated Anderson's state
ment of the fact that he and Weber wrote a
joint letter to Sherman, asking him to put in
writing the promises he had made to them
orally that they would be cared for by Hayes,
if they aided in the conspiracy to count him
in. The relations between Mrs jerks and
the two supervisors had been CT the most
friendly and confidential character, and being
thoroughly intimate with the crookedness of
Louisiana politics, at their request she under
took to deliver their letter to Sherman and
get his reply. She testified that she received
a letter from them, went to the hotel where
Sherman and the other visiting statesmen
boarded, and while waiting to see Sherman
unconsciously bit open the end CT the envel-
ope. Her next step was to read the letter.
According to her own account, her virtuous
indignation was aroused at the demand for
written pledges from Sherman, and "to save
the dignity of the Republican party she i'm
mediately resolved to deceive her friends with
letter purportng to be written by Sherman
promising them what they required. She aver
red that she herself dictated the reply, but
upon being questioned fatty refused to say
who wrote the letter at her dctation, although
she acknowledged it was written in the parlor
in the presence ofsome of the visiting states.
man. This letter, which she unblushingly
declares was forged, she gave to her friends
and acting upon it they returned majority
for Hayes in their parishes when the actual
majority was for Tilden.
After Weber's death, when Anderson
found Sherman's promises were valueless, he
wrote to Mrs. jerks, whom he had always
regarded as friend, requesting her to get
for him from Mrs. Weber the letter of Sher-
man. Mrs. jerks wrote to Mrs. Weber, ask
ing her to look for the letter among her hus-
bands papers, but the document could not be
found.
Mrs. Jenks's story about forging the letter
is too attenuated to be believed Besides, if
Mr.. Sherman knew nothing of the letter from
Weber and Anderson, addressed to him, or
knew that any reply made thereto was for
gerry, why did he halt and hesitate, when
confronted with the copy? Why did he not
boldly assert that he wrote no such letter d?
His word would have had great weight with
the committee and the public. The fact is,
Sherman did write the letter, and he hcsitated
to deny it, for fear the original was in the
hands of the committee, and might be pro-
ducul.
Mrs. jerks has not been n useful witness
to Sherman, and Notwithstanding her glib
ness and pertness, suspicion exists that she
had the letter at one time, and either destroy
ed or turned it over TO Sherman, and was
paid for testifying that she wrote it.