American citizen., 1878-01-26
Will the Democrats Investigate.

n. Y. Sun.
Ever since the completion of the
elect oral count, ten months ago, 6y
which Rutherford b. Hayes was
falsely declared President. the air
has bcen filled with rumOrs that this
result was brought about by bar
gain or agreement, to which certain
friends of Mr. Hayes and certain
Southern Democrats were partie .
The conditions of the alleged bar
gain have been repeatedly publisb>
ed; and they have now been formally
and respOnsibly charged by William
E. Chandler in shape hich admits
of no evasion.
If the explicit statements OF
Chandler are true, then all the par
ties to this arrangements are utterly
disgraced-and the chief among
them should he impeached and re-
moved from Office-lnd if they are
false, then the author of them can
not hope to escape pnbllc cOndem>
nation. The benpticiaries of the
Fraud are not likely to court inquiry,
because they have nothing to gain
by an exposure OF their transaction.
But the Democrats who have been
arraigned before the country for
treachery to their candidate and
their cause caunOt afford to be
passive under these charges, or to
rely upon general denials as a safh
cient answer.
Something more is expected and
demanded by the voters who gave
Mr.. Tilden over a million maturity
of white votes, over quarter of a
million majority of white and black
votes, and clear majority of fifteen
over and above the necessary major
ity in the Electoral Colleges. They
elected him fairly, peaceably, and
according to all the legal and con-
stiIution;il forms, and they want to
know by what process or contri'
vance, after having thus chosen a
President, he was permitted TO be
ousted from his place, and another
to be substituted.
The names of the Democrats
given by Chandler, as being respon-
sible for seating Hayes, are as fols
lows: Henry WatterSOn, l.. Q. G.
Lamar, John B. Gordon, j. e. Ellis,
Randall l.. Gibson, E A. Burke,
and John Yonng Brown. ALI OF
them are well known, and four OF
the seven are members of the pres
ent Congress. Mr.. Watterson, Mr..
Gibson, and Mr.. Burke have dis
tinctly pronounced the charges
affecting them to be false i'll every
respect.
Mr.. Burke, who represented the
Nichols interest at Washington
during the struggle to release Lou
isiaua from bayOnet rule, has not
only denied, but he has turned the
tables on Chandler, and charged
that he and other extremists were
active in offering pledges to with
draw the troops and to abandon
Packard as a consideration for
completing the count and letting
Hayes come in.
Mr.. Lamar, Mr.. Gordon, Mr.. Ellis,
and Mr.. Brown have yet to be heard
from, but the nature of their am
swers has been foreshadOwed by
previous explanations and state-
ments which plainly contradict Mr..
Chandler. Thus, on the one side
there are fornalized charges of a
corrupt bargain, and on the other
direct denials, with counter charges.
1t is not to be denied that these
have taken such hold
on the public mind, followed as they
have been by the acts of Hayes,
and the seeming alliance of some OF
these parties with his policy and the
support of his nominations, that
more is needed to remove
belief than contradictions by tele
graph.
Honorable men occupying public
trusts cannot expect to preserve re
spect If they submit to these impu-
tatiOns, or content themselves with
indignant denials only. While they
rested on vague and irresponsible
silence could be understood.
But since they have been framed
into an Indictment by counts, the
is changed, and the only
course left open is an impartial and
investigation.