The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-26
ANpErtsoN,s RELEASE.
Views Of the Country Pfess ON the Ne.
cisfOn or eur supreme Court.

It Is useless to attempt to disguise the fact,
the decision Of the Supreme Court In the An
the oe very ends az
Of the thieving Returning Board, and indeed
their sympathisers throughout the land, had
exhausted every Device had resorted to every
quirk and bubble Of the law in searching for
q loop-hole Of escape for Anderson; At the
request OF Hayes Attorney General Devens
had devoted all his legal ability to this end.
II single lawyer In New Orleans. save An.
derson's counsel, anticipated such means Of
escape as the decision of the Supreme Court
afforded, we never heard Of him. UP to the
very hour OF the decision no such result seems
to have been anticipated, at least by none who
breathed it to the outer air.
There la another unfortunate incident con-
nected with this affair. Buell. the Wash
ington correspondent Of the DEMOCRAT, tele-
graphs as follows the day before the decision
was rendered:
81 am informed upon high authority that
Gov. Nichols has lately authorized q letter to
be written to Garfield, assuring him and the
rest Of the visiting statesmen that they need
not apprehend any trouble from courts In
Louisiana. The writer of the letter Is said to
be 81 prominent Conservative, who holds an
appointive office under Nichols, and it is also
said the letter has been shown to the Presi-
dent, accompanied with the Endorsement Of
| three Democratic Congressman from Louisi-
ana.
'"This letter is alleged to be the cause of the
serenity which has lately been noticeable at
the White House and Treasury Department.
That such letter Is in existence here is GER
| tain, but it is possible that Gov. Nichols s
misrepresented in and by it,"
Now, Ii Gov. Nichols bad authority to
speak In advance OF the action Of the courts
ia Louisiana with regard to the visiting
statesmen, the uncharitably disposed would
argue that he knew beforehand what the gu
prene Court would do In the Anderson case
or course, supposing such letter was actu-
ally received In Washington
tMorehouse Clarionl
The State Supreme Court, on the eighteenth
instant, reversed the verdict OF the jury
in the case of the State VS.. T. G. Ander-
son, on the grounds that the forged paper
altered was not public document, and that
the indictment was defective. We believe the
accused was guilty Of o great crime against
the welfare and md Liberties Of our people and
tribunal in the State has decided otherwise.
We presume the decision of the court was
made up from law, and while thousands of
people in Louisiana will regret that Anderson
tertiary for the great wrong perpetrated yet
few will fail to quietly accept the decision
coming as it does from q tribunal the men,
bers of which are known to be pure and
honest.
That virtually ends the prosecution against
the members OF the Returning Board. The
order of the court, however, discharging An
derson does not release him at once as the
State has five days In which to file applica-
ton for rehearing.
This decision also relieves Gov Nichols
from q very embarrassing position, as he
would have been severely censured no mat
ter what course he pursued in Anderson's
case. Had he granted him pardon. he would
have been condemned by "a majority of the
people Of Louisiana, and had he refused a
pardon howl would have been raised
against him by the Republicans of the forth.
So the Governor no doubt feels relieved. But
we are sadly disappointed.
tCarroll Conservative
The late decision of the Supreme Court re-
versng the verdict of the jury in the Ander-
son case, and virtually acquittfng the 1 remain
ing members OF the late Returning Board, has
elected any number Of opinions as to it's
merits and dement's, and provoked any
amount of debate.
The decision Of the highest court of our
State in this case has turned, as we are in
formed, entirely upon the law points, as it
properly should. and not upon any facts which
were ELECTED upon the trial in the Superior
people generally care but little about the law
points of the matter. 1t is the facts-the
damning factS-that interest them, as well as
the probable effect of the decision upon the1
future Of our State.
Now, as to the facts, they remain intact as
they were testified to before the .jury-Gen.
T. G. Anderson supervised and assisted in the
fraudulent alteration of the condensed returns
Of the election sent in from Vernon parish,
which alteration was forgery. The district
set up that the paper containing the said re-
turns fraudulently altered was "public doc
ument," and exception Is taken by the pris
oners attorney upon the ground that the
denial OF the fraud, no attempt made to show
that he, Anderson, and the others did not alter
the figures to suit their own views and calcu-
lations; no disapproval of the fearful crime
- Now, Tod. 14
born chuckling over their own audacty in
setting aside the will of the people as
expressed at the baiEot-box, and a de-
faint dependence upon the question. WAS
a public document?" The Supreme Court Of
our State said it was not and Anderson is
free But what sort of freedom will he or can
he enjoy? He has escaped the penalty Of his
crime by mere teehnicality. He will carry
cious deeds, from which he can never escape.
The brand Of convicted and condemned felon
will fasten itself upon him, and cause him to
be loathed by his fellows. A technicality has
arx bnt it dd no and can n saye HEM
from the damning proof that caused an i'm
partial jury to pronounce him guilty Surely
his punishment Is as much as he can bear,
and we are comparatively satisfied and will
AN ESCAPED CONVICT,
plCl1ul ODJecL, ana warning LG all OCneTS
who may in the future attempt to tamper
with the will of the voters, as expressed at
the ballot-box.
AS to what will be the immediate and future
effect of the acquittal upon the people and
general interests of our State, it is somewhat
difficult to conjecture. Hayes in the White
House, and Anderson In the Penitentiary,
would have been such contradictory car
toon that it would have been spread broad
cast over the country Hayes knew new eI it,
a revival of the by 8 question as would
have shaken the continent from it's centre to
it's circumference, and the experience of late
years has shown that whenever. general
shaking up takes place the South has always
come out undermost and now she needs
peace.
No one will doubt the integrity and legal
rectitude OF the august body that rendered
nal who has escaped on technicality, and
since all the forms Of law have been complied