Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-04-25

To the Editor Of the World:
Sm: The history of the Florida canvass
continues interesting, as anybody might
guess from the currency given lately to =
fiction about it, ascribed TO McLin, of the
Canvassing Board, whose official act, since
pronounced illegal and false by the Execu-
tive, the Legislature and the Supreme Court
(all Republicans) of Florida, then defrauded
that State of it's vote for Tilden, and re-
versed it, and defrauded the people of the
United States of their choice for President.
When arrived at Tallahassee, the capital
of Florida, last winter, my first effort was, in
conjunction with Samuel Pasco, an accom-
plished graduate of Harvard, Chairman of
the Democratic State Committee, to ascer-
tain the actual vote at the November cleo
ton. Quebec was nearer in time than some
of the southern counties, across the
Everglades, at the foot of the PENN
sula. Nevertheless, from every county, how
ever remote or inaccessible, we organized a
speedy AS possible collection of certified
copies of the recorded canvass and returns
of the local county officers. Three copies of
each were then in existence: 1. The of
fetal record of each county seat. 2. The
return at or on the way to the secretary of
States Office at Tallahassee. 3. A duplicate
return with or on the way to the governor at
Tallahassee. Forgery or Justification of No.
2 and No. 3, and forced agreement of the
two with each other, were attainable by their
custodians if knaves, but these two official
returns could not be safely cooked at ITALIA
hassee and falsified without precisely cor
responding cookery at the county seat of No.
l, an original official record there.
Every leading Democrat in Florida, like
Colonel Pasco, firmly believed, with sufficient
reason in the reports from the near and pop
ulous counties, that their party had carried
the State. The whole Democratic organiza.
| ton throughout the State lent willing hands
to know and fix the literal truth and fact
The certified copies, for which we sent by tel
egraph. posi-, boats mounted messengers,& .,o1
the county seat record (No. y in every county
nailed that record-nailed it at the precise
majorities, whichever and whatever they
were, as computed and returned mo. and
No. 81 to Tallahassee by the county officers
for the board of State canvassers to canvass
aggregate and dec are.
In due time the arrival of our certified
copies of the county seat records gave Gov.
ernor Drew, Colonel Pasco, Elector Wilkin
son Call, and their friends from the North
actual and legal demonstration that the PEG
pie of Florida had cast majority of thei1
votes for George F. Drew and the othe,
State officers (who are now holding Office
f>r+ no OH pl~ ne a.
on the law-day, met, cast their votes anc
Senate. But so did the non-elected Hayes
electors, whose votes the electoral commits
sion selected for count.
| It was assumed, you perceive, in these ou1
precautions against forgery, that we had t.
do with rogues. Why assumed, if the tim,
ever comes to tell the whole story of tn,
Florida fraud, may then NOR,
fully appear. But when the fac
that Florida had voted for Til
den was then certified, recorded and fixed b,
evidence in our control, not that of the Stat
authorities, the rogues were driven to othe
means than forgery for effecting their crimi
aal purpose. They were shut up to fla
violation of the law prescribing the duty O
the State canvassing board.
| At the time of which McLin speaks the,
knew that the county, returns aggregated
Tilden majority. They knew that forger,
or Justification of these was prevented b,
certified copies in Democratic hands. Bu
also they knew perfectly well that in recen
previous decision the supreme court of Flori
da had rebuked construction of the cleo
ton law under which the same State canvass
ing board had usurped authority to do some
thing more than to compute and declare thu
aggregates from the county returns. Th,
subsequent decision of the same court (Which
unseated Gov. Stearns and implicitly oustet
the HAYES electors as welD was merely repe
tition of their former decision and of the &C
cepted doctrine of our courts.
Nevertheless, for obvious reasons. l al
ways treated Secretary McLin, in my Sigh
personal intercourse with him, precisely al
if he we're an honest man whose mere fulfil.
ment of his official duty might oblige hin
to make painful decisions that his own par
ty had been defeated. never called upol
him at his house, as he is reported to hav'
said, 'the night before the count" In fact
he was then closeted at the State House wit
his confederates. And If he has said tina
then or at any other time, in any way, di
rectly or indirectly, or by any form or impli
cation of language told him that the Dem
ocratic party would make him rich or nom
mate him to any place, or that any one woul
do SO with my consent or furtherance, h,
has uttered stupid lie. But am not con
cerned to deny anything, however false, tina
this disappointed man may choose to say o
me, or invent as my part in conversation
without witnesses-not even though b
charge me with promising him what Presi
dent Hayes has performed, or rather, tries
to perform, by nominating him to a fedora
magistracy in New Mexico.
! The shameful fraud by which he and hi
misguided associate soon after falsfied tn
vote of the people of Florida fraud, er
its completion by furtherance of the electora
commission, denounced and reversed by tn
Executive, legislative and judicial authori
ties of Florida in every public and possibl,
way-was worked out only in four county re
turns, thus: They took away about l,5O
votes from the Tilden electors and 500 vote
from the Hayes electors "a net gain of near
ly 1000 to the Hayes electors wa
ten times more than enough to over-balanc
the actual majority of Sc which the loves