The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-10
THE LOUISIANA FRAUDS.
SENATOR MCDONALD DENOUNGEs
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EJbllHLOE NGIJOuhIls NlEs MCDDlhlu WAS
one of the gentlemen who went to Louisiana
at the close of the last presidential election to
witness the count, and he Is thoroughly well
Informed Of what he writes:
Dear SiT--In endeav0ring to comply with
your request to furnish you brief statement
of the views presented by me to the Demo-
cratic National COMMITTEES at It's late meeting
IN this city, relating to the investigation or
dered by the House of Representatives into
the alleged frauds in the canvass made of the
votes cast for presidential electors in the
States Of Louisiana and Florida, 1t Is proper
to say that spoke on that occasion without
notes and without any previous intention to
discuss the questions. Although the opinions
expressed by me on that occasion had been
formed long before, have no hope that | can
recall the language used, and may not be able
to express the idea advanced as fully as | did
at that time. My purpose was to express
earnestly my personal appreciation OF the
course pursued by the Democrats of the
House OF Representatives In ordering the in
vestigatlon, and at the same time to show that
the attempt on the part Of the Republican
party to create alarm in the country on ac-
count OF It had no foundation.
| said that had no doubt whatever that
the majority of the votes legally cast for
presidential electors In the States of Louis
lana and Florida had been cast for Messrs.
Tilden and Hendricks, and that the boards Of
returning officers in those States had violated
the laws Of their respective States In making
the canvass and returns In favor of the Hayes
and Wheeler electors, and In doing this they
had committed the grossest frauds and the
highest crimes, and that In the commission
of those frauds and crimes they had been
aided and abetted by the leaders oil the Re-
publican party. That an Electoral Commits
sion, which had been created for the purpose
and charged with the duty of asoertaining the
electoral votes of those States, had. bya strict
party vote, refused to look into the alleged
frauds, but received the results of the fraudu-
lent and Illegal canvass made by the canvas
sing officers as the truth, and counted the
votes cast by the fraudulent electors as the
"votes provided for by the constitution of the
United States" and thus GOnsummated the
greatest political crime of the age-a crime
by which a majority Of 100000 OF the voters
OF this country were cheated out of their
choice Of Chief Magistrate. The Electoral
Commission having thus, as far as it was In
their power so to do, closed the door to the
investigation officially of this crime against
popular rights, itwas the duty Of the peoples
representatives to bring all of the facts to
light and to brand them upon the brow of the
party which had perpetrated them: That the
investigation could not prove o failure; that
In the case OF Florida no one pretended now
that the Canvassing Board had not violated
the law of the State In exercising powers they
did not possess, and that II they had executed
the law they would have been compelled to
return the Tflden and Hendricks electors as
the electors for the State; and Ii no other fact
is put into an official form than the statement
lately made by q repentant member Of that
board as to the motives which governed him
lii doing the illegal act, and the influences
which the Republican leaders brought to bear
upon him to stimulate him to commit the
deed, 1t will be worth the labor and time that
will be required to take the proof.
In regard to Louisiana, the secret history Of
that most infamous political crime by which
o popular majority of over 5000 was changed
Into minority Of more than 5000 and one
tenth Of the whole vote OF the State rejected
may not,eyer be fully known. Yet 1t will In
tee OF investigation to I'LL up the missing
links so as to show by whose advice and
counsel the Returning Board boldly set the
law at defiance by refusing to fill the vacancy
in their body, by receiving contesting papers
not made out and attached TO the returns as
the law required, and by rejecting polls and
parish returns when no officer OF election had
made any charges against them OF any kind;
and 1t may also get ut the bottom facts In re-
gard to that organized affidavit mill set up In
orned by wholesale. That these and many
more facts could be brought to light, and /
hoped they would, that the people might SEQ
how corrupt and arrogant party had tram
pied their rights under foot, and that meas
ures might be taken to prevent their recur-
renee in the future
But there is nothing In tho investigation
nor in the facts that may be ELECTED that can
affect the title to the presidential office. That
was definitely settled when, on the fourth of
March, 1877 Mr.. Hayes was duly installed In
office for the term prescribed by the constitu-
ti0n, The power to choose q President Is by
the constitution coniided to the States.
From the provisions Of the constitution 1t is
manifest that 1t was not the design of its
trainers that any Federal authority, or any
department Of the Federal government,
should exercise any control over the selection
Df tbn Tbipf MnniGtrntn nf tho nation Tho
only branch Of Congress that Is vested with
any power to choose q President in any con-
tingency, when that contingency arises acts
for the States and not as component part OF
the result Is once reached and the
solemn declaration of the constitution
as to the person chosen has been made,
and the person thus designated has been duly
installed In office, the forces Of the constitu-
tion for selecting Presidentl for that time
have been exhausted, and there is no power
legally anywhere under the constitution to
review the act or reverse the decision. 1t
might as we'll be cOntended that when the
House Of Representatives had, under the con-
tingency provided for In the constitution, Sc
lected President and the term OF that House
had expired that the next House, or some
other part of the Federal government might
at some future time undo what had thus
solemnly been done, and make another decla-
ration OF some other. person as 8 President, and
agitation. 1t may be asked, Is there no rem
edy for completed fraud by which a person
not really elected has been inducted into the
presidential Officer To this / answer, in my
judgment none except by an appeal to the
people when the time shall come to elect
successor. There are some political crimes Of
such magnitude that they can only be dealt
with by the people in their sovereign capacity,
and this, in my opinion, is one of them:
:, The electoral count, acquiesced in by the
nfa nd <Nf q IrfNfi
the solemn declaration Of the constitution
was announced, has rendered the title of the
present incumbent of the presidential office
as unassailable legally as any of his pre-
decessors, and he can only be legally de-
prived of it by impeachment under the con-
stttution for 'impeachable crimes within the
meaning of the constitution committed by
him; and, in my opinion, it is well for the
peace of the country that it is so, for we can
better endure the evils arising from the pres
ence in the presidential office of one who has
been placed there by fraud than we can afford
to unsettle the administration Of our public
affairs by a constant strife over the title Of
our Chief Magistrate.
J. E. MCDONALD.
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